Websites for waterproofing contractors.

Outside is the real fix: it stops water before it reaches the wall and keeps the concrete dry. Inside is a management system that collects water once it is through and sends it to a pump, and it is the right answer where digging is impossible or where the budget only stretches so far. We will tell you which one your house actually needs, and if you are getting other quotes make sure they are for the same method, because the prices are not comparable.

Usually not structurally. Hairline vertical cracks from shrinkage are normal in poured concrete and most of them can be injected from inside in an afternoon. What we look harder at is a horizontal crack, a stair-step crack in block, or one side of a crack sitting proud of the other, which can mean the wall is moving and needs an engineer before it needs us.

Crack injection is the cheapest job we do and is priced per crack. Interior systems and exterior excavation are priced by the linear foot and depend on depth, access, whether a deck or driveway has to come out, and what we find at the footing, so a real number needs a visit. We quote a fixed price for the scope in writing rather than a rate per hour that grows once the hole is open.

Only the wall that leaks, and only as wide as the machine and the trench need, which is usually about a metre off the foundation. Interlock, decks and gardens are lifted and put back, and we tell you before we start what will and will not survive the dig. Where the neighbour's house or an addition blocks access, an interior system does the job without the excavation.

Some municipalities, including Toronto, run basement flooding subsidy programs that pay part of a sump pump, a backwater valve or severing the weeping tile from the sanitary sewer; the rules and amounts change, so check your city's website or ask us what applies where you live. Home insurance generally covers a sudden event like a sewer backup if you carry that endorsement, but not seepage through a wall, which is why waterproofing is worth doing before you need to make a claim.

Crack injection is a couple of hours. An interior system is usually two to three days, and an exterior dig on one wall two to four days depending on depth and what has to come out and go back. We work spring through late fall and dig in winter when the ground allows; the busiest weeks are right after the spring thaw, so booking an assessment while the basement is still dry gets you a better slot.