My Story

Waterproofing a basement can be an expensive problem especially if left too long. I am writing this article from experience and my story might be similar to yours.

I smelt the problem first. It was that damp mildew smell in my basement. My basement is quite large, probably around 18 feet x 18 feet. All of that is under ground level by about 6 feet.The remainder of the foundations of the house are at ground level and they were OK.

We only use the basement for storage, but it does hold up our house so it is quite important. I ignored the smell for a while hoping it would go away, as I knew it would be expensive to repair. My way of ignoring it, was not to go down there and not discuss it, but my wife kept raising the issue.

I was passing through Chicago, and viewed a TV advertisement about waterproofing your basement by a firm called Permaseal. They had repaired over 200,000 basements in the state, so when I got home it prompted me to do some research on the internet. By this time my basement was showing signs of mold on the basement walls and the smell was getting stronger.

There were also small cracks along the wall. I am no home handyman so didn’t want to tackle the problem myself but research led me to what the issues could be. I learned about water tables and the pressure they can exert on your concrete floors and walls, of how that pressure can cause cracks and moisture, dirt and bugs can enter over time. Each raising of the water level only increases the problem.

That type of leak can be repaired from the inside but is probably better to be attacked on the outside. In my situation I called in the contractors for first of all, an inspection and then a quote. To cover all bases I called in three different waterproofing companies.

They all identified that I indeed had a water table issue, and that I would need two sides of my basement dug out. A digger would be needed, and after that, the walls were to get a good waterblasting. They would then get a bitumen like waterproofing sealer to which was then applied a waterproofing membrane. A drain around the perimeter of the 2 sides of the basement had to be allowed for, so there would be no repeat of the water table issue. The drain was to be covered in gravel and then the digger was to replace the dirt.

I was happy that all 3 contractors identified the same problem and had, the same, or similar solutions. Even if I was a handy man there would have been months of digging involved.

When it came to the quotes, two of them were posted to me, and one Company made an appointment to sit with me an explain every billable cost and also explain the start and finish time.

By this time I had done a bit of research on all 3 Contractors and managed to track down some customers, some of which were happy with their jobs and others not. Those quotes were $11,500 $13,460 and $18600. I chose the $13,460 which was the Contractor who came to explain the account to me, and they were also the Contractor that got the best testimonials from their former customers.

That job was completed over two years ago, and there is not a musty smell, any sign of mold or leak since the job was completed.

I am happy that there has been a solution, and that this job has given me peace of mind.