If spring rains have brought water into your basement, call Olivieri and Son
By Mimi Vanderhaven
The annual Northeast Ohio springtime tease—60 degrees and drizzly one day, 30 degrees and snowy the next—may frustrate you. But what’s worse is the effect it may have on your home’s foundation.
“Springtime is typically the most stressful time of year for basement walls,” says Mark Olivieri, the son in Olivieri & Son, basement waterproofing and sewer repair specialists. “That’s because of the subtle expansion and contraction of the ground as it warms and cools and absorbs water from rain and snow. In Northeast Ohio, water in the ground can freeze as deep as three feet below the surface. The pressure it places on your walls can eventually cause cracking and bowing. That’s an invitation for groundwater to work its way into your basement.”
The silver lining in the springtime cloud is the exposure of minor cracking in the foundation which, left untreated, could result in more extensive—and expensive—damage in the years ahead.
Without a little spring seepage, those small blemishes may continue to grow unnoticed.
“If you notice moisture, mold or a white effervescence, it may be a sign that your foundation has been compromised,” Mark says. “We can assess the damage and help you decide on the best way to stop it from getting worse.”
Most companies try to repair foundation leaks from the inside of the basement by re-channeling the invading water back outside. That, insists Mark’s dad, Rocco, isn’t the ideal way to do it.
“The best way is to prevent the water from penetrating your walls to begin with,” says Rocco, “That’s why we prefer to fix the problem from the outside.”
Rocco and Mark, who have been fixing foundations as a father-and-son team since 1981, begin the repair process by excavating your leaky wall all the way to the footer. They then pressure wash your foundation to clean the debris and highlight any cracks where moisture may be entering. Those cracks are patched and sealed with Waterplug Sealant. For added protection, they coat the end wall from the footer to grade with Thoroseal Sealant.
“Rolling a tar rubber emulsion from footer to grade is the final step in preventing moisture from entering your wall,” Rocco says. “For proper water drainage, we install four-inch heavy-duty perforated PVC along the footer. We will also provide a clean-out on each wall excavated.”
The excavation is backfilled with No. 57 premium wash gravel to direct water to the drain tile.
“When we’re finished, we clean up the lawn and plant beds, so you can’t even tell we were there,” Mark promises.
If you think you may be having problems with water in the basement, or a shifting foundation, Olivieri and Sons will do a no-cost, no-obligation inspection, including a moisture detection test to reveal basement problems that may be hidden behind drywall.
You can schedule your inspection by calling 440-342-6844. See for yourself how Olivieri & Son can stop water from invading your home’s foundation by visiting BasementAndWaterproofing.com.