Foundation waterproofing falls into two categories, interior and exterior. Most waterproofing work is done on the interior of the home because of the labor and expense involved. Interior waterproofing usually involves the installation of interior footer drain tiles, a sump pump crock and pump which is done by breaking the concrete around the perimeter of the home about a foot from the wall and digging a trench about 14 inches deep to the footer level where the drain tile is installed. This is a big job and usually expensive.

Exterior waterproofing also installs footer drain tiles which are usually connected through the wall to the sump pump on the inside of the home. This however, must be done at the footer level which requires digging a trench about 4 feet wide and 8 feet deep all around the home. This is often complicated by plants, patios, sidewalks, etc. which must be removed first. This requires a great deal of labor and is very expensive and is usually only done as a last resort. Surface waterproofing is much less expensive and can be done to prevent the water from reaching the walls, but will not deal with hydrostatic pressure if it is present.

Everyone thinks waterproofing is expensive, but it is not necessarily so. What looks like a very serious and expensive problem may not be. Once the problems are explained and you have an understanding of what is involved in solving it, it is just common sense. Foundation Waterproofing is covered in Section R – Pages 46-51 of The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z. . Diverting the water away from your walls may only cost $50 to $300 or so, but there’s no money in that. You might wonder why the water proofing contractors don’t talk about that. If there’s a cheap way to fix the problem, they usually won’t tell you because their profit is based on a percentage of the sale. Don’t put yourself at the mercy of high priced waterproofers.

You can save thousands of dollars and many headaches by learning what is going on first. Often what looks like an expensive and serious problem may not be. Once the problem is explained, solving it is just common sense. I’ve used the knowledge I’ve put in The Home Waterproofers Manual – Home Waterproofing A to Z every day to fix water problems. It will work for you too.

But remember, when dealing with salesmen, in the waterproofing business it’s “buyer beware”. Most get a percentage of the sale and don’t consider it their job to save you money. They charge as much as they can. If they see a problem that can be fixed at low cost, or one that has a simple solution, they won’t mention it, but will only talk about “preventing serious damage” and try to scare you into signing a big contract.