Masonry waterproofing in Carbondale, PA
Lackawanna County · ZIP 18407 · Published pricing · Call (570) 909-2820
Carbondale was digging coal a decade before Scranton was a town, and the housing shows it. The oldest streets carry frame houses from the 1840s through 1880s on fieldstone foundations that predate anything else in Lackawanna County, and the Main Street commercial blocks are three-story solid brick from the railroad years. Nothing here was built to a modern spec. Anthracite Masonry Waterproofing ranks Carbondale second on our list for exactly that reason: more old stone per block than anywhere else we work.
The city also has a mine fire in its history. The west side fire burned from the 1940s into the 1970s and left ground on that side that the state still monitors, and Carbondale sits squarely in the counties the Pennsylvania DEP mine subsidence insurance program was created for. When we look at a foundation crack on the west side we ask about ground movement first, because a stone wall that has shifted needs a different plan than one that has only lost its mortar.
Down on the flats along the river, the problem is the water table and the 2011 flood memory. Basements near Seventh Avenue take water at the slab seam every spring, and the honest fix is drain tile and a sump rather than a coating that will blister off under pressure. We price both on the same table so you can see the difference before choosing.
What the oldest stone in the county needs
Carbondale's oldest houses were built when nobody parged a foundation, so the stone is exposed on the inside and the joints have been open to the air for a century and a half. Those walls want a full rake and repoint in lime mortar, not a skim of hydraulic cement over the face, which peels away from soft stone within a few winters.
Where we work in Carbondale
Regular stops include Main Street, Salem Avenue, the West Side above Belmont Street, Brooklyn Street, the Canaan Street hill, Carbondale Area High School side, the Lackawanna River flats along Seventh Avenue. If your wall is near those, a crew has probably already worked your street, and the price is the same table as everywhere else: the cost guide.
Price a Carbondale basement or storefront
Address in Carbondale first, then what you see. The range comes off the published table and we set a time for the hose test.
Questions from Carbondale homeowners
- Does mine subsidence cause basement leaks in Carbondale?
- It can. Ground movement opens stone joints and cracks slabs. If we find fresh stair-step cracks, a bowed wall or a floor that has dropped, we tell you to file with the state mine subsidence insurance program before repairing, because that damage is covered there and not on a homeowner policy.
- What does it cost to waterproof a 150 year old fieldstone foundation?
- Interior rake, repoint, parge and coating runs $3,000 to $8,000 on most Carbondale houses. Very deep joints and walls that need stones reset run toward the top. Drain tile adds $4,500 to $12,000 when water arrives under the slab.
- Can you do the brick facades on Main Street?
- Yes. Commercial and historic facade restoration is $25 to $60 per square foot quoted per building after a lift inspection, and we prepare the historic review package where the building is contributing.
- Is a coating enough for a basement on the river flats?
- Usually not. Coatings handle seepage through joints, not water rising under pressure at the slab. On the flats the honest answer is interior drain tile and a sump with a battery backup, and we will say so on the first visit.