Dear Customer,

In our first run of Myth Buster 2 our research indicated some very interesting insight that we decided to share with the construction community regarding waterproofing choices. We have since received many requests to republish this article with more emphasis on waterproofing warranties in general. Once again, after doing more research we now have this publically available information to share.

What is damp proofing or waterproofing anyway? Well, in the concrete construction industry it is the method used to prevent water or moisture from entering or penetrating crawl spaces, foundations, basements, and walls. In the waterproofing industry there exist many techniques and materials. Most of the installation is done by contractors who themselves are responsible for the application after purchasing their materials from national suppliers. It is the suppliers who back the warranty not the installation contractor. Each material supplier has their own material warranty of varying degree and not all of them are transferable.

The most important issues surrounding materials and warranties are the security and peace of mind that you won't run into unforeseen leakage problems sometime down the road. When it comes to making the choice between installing and NOT installing waterproofing materials, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". That is simply because at the time of construction the most practical and economic opportunity exists to have waterproofing materials installed. Because after the construction phase is complete and the final dirt work is now covering your footings, foundations, and walls the opportunity of convenience becomes past tense economically.

Let's take an older home without any waterproofing materials installed and now we have discovered it has a leaking basement for example. The home owner will most likely open the phone book and start making calls to figure out options. The home owner will quickly understand that many options exist and most of the people in the phone book would be glad to assist. This is just the sort of call all small business owners would like to get all day long. Why? Money.

The homeowner has a serious problem. The home they are making payments on is leaking and all of their possessions are at risk of damage. And that guy in the phone book, he knows this too! The guy in the phone book is going to come out and look at the jobsite and work up a quote and most likely the homeowner is not prepared for the news. That's because there are many things the home owner has not considered as a necessary part of the solution.

In order to add waterproofing later versus during construction will require bringing in heavy equipment and actually digging up the homeowner's yard to expose the entire structure all the way down to the footer just to find the leak. Then the entire surface area has to be cleaned and prepared to accept the waterproofing materials. And after application is complete the whole area needs to be replaced and landscaped again. In reality there will be many billable man hours, equipment and material costs. And that's if everything goes smooth.

Buyer Beware: As the old adage goes "you get what you pay for" and "read the fine print" are among the two most important issues needing attention when choosing your waterproofing materials and installer of preference. If a waterproofing installer tells you that his products and installation is covered by any amount of time exceeding the product manufacturers warranty you must understand that the installer is taking responsibility for difference of remaining life span. Also find out if your waterproofing material warranty will allow you to transfer the remaining life of the warranty in the event you should sell your home to someone else. This could provide a good selling point to your buyer when they too can rest assured they won't have to worry about the downsides of unforeseeable leaks or potential damage and then having to bare the cost of solution later.

We have been successfully installing waterproofing materials for several years with an unprecedented accuracy rate. During all the time we have been in business and the hundreds upon hundreds of homes we have either damp or waterproofed, we have only had one that required us to come back and do rework. Even then, our product manufacture paid the whole cost and not a dime was charged to the homeowner. That is because we have teamed up with Americas premier waterproofing materials supplier "Tremco". We are the only official north Alabama's authorized Tremco dealer servicing north Alabama and middle Tennessee. We would take great pleasure in looking at your project and providing free competitive quotes. And Yes! Our warranty is transferable covering labor & materials for 30 yrs.

• Excavation and Worksite Preparation
• Full Footer Crews for Forming and Pouring Concrete
• Forming and Pouring Everything from Footers to Walls to Basements
• Flat Work, i.e. Sidewalks, Slabs, Driveways....

Our professional team members are able and available to help assist with your concrete project. Call our offices or use the following directory to email one of our sales reps. We provide free quotes and reply promptly.  

Alabama-Madison
Jim@allstarwalls.com
Josh@allstarwalls.com
Tom@allstarwalls.com