WATERPROOFING YOUR BASEMENT 101

Water-proofing refers to the process of making objects or surfaces water resistant. In this article, we are going to outline the basic process of waterproofing your basement.

1.    Examine the perimeter of your house. Ensure that the ground next to the foundation of your house slopes away from the foundation of your house, not towards the house. The dirt around your foundation will typically be lower than the surrounding dirt thus causing the surrounding ground to sink in, thus sloping towards your house. Add dirt up against the house foundation if necessary so as to create at least a two inches per foot slope against the foundation. Always make sure the top of the dirt is six inches below the sill plate. This way there is no contact with the ground which may cause certain some building materials to rot.

2.    Make sure that your downspouts are discharging their water atleast two metres away from your foundation and that your gutters are clean to avoid having problems.

3.    Watch out for plants and shrubs that are close to your foundation. Rotten roots can create a good path for water to flow down to the foundation. Keep all plantings at the very least ten inches away from the foundation of your house and on a slight slope so as to direct the water away from the foundation of your house.

4.    Make an effort and waterproof all of your walls with a waterproofing product such as Xypex or Drylok incase you have intermittent leaks. Drylok is a waterproofing product not a water sealer. Drylok expands as it dries up to become part of the wall. On the other hand, using Xypex is like applying a waterproof concrete on the surface for the two to bond. Xypex relies on moisture presence to form the waterproof crystalline structure. Incase a Xypex application has small areas of water leakage, the areas will seal themselves as they cycle through the moisture. Xypex is 3-4 times more expensive compared to Drylok. The main problem with these two solutions is that at the bottom of the walls or water underneath the basement floor is under significant pressure. This is because of the weight of groundwater above it pressing down.

5.    Make sure that you repair all the defects in the poured concrete walls such as cracks are repaired. Incase you see a crack in the concrete wall that goes all the way to the other side of the wall,, that's a potential source of water. Cracks that will not experience any structural or thermal movement, the DRYLOK Fast Plug is effective in sealing all the cracks in the masonry. Another very reliable way to repair cracks on the wall is by using an injection of construction grade epoxy that will penetrate the crack all the way from the outside to the inside. Hiring an experienced repair technician is your best shot at doing this right.

6.    Install a sump. This is a hole in the basement floor that contains a pump. When the level of water in the sump rises too high, the pump powers on and draws out the water out of the sump,and discharging the water outside the house a couple of feets from the foundation.Sump installation requires a high degree of experience and skill because you will be creating a hole in the concrete floor of your basement002E.

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QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE HIRING A CONTRACTOR

The contractor that you pick for your project either breaks or makes your whole project. Finding the perfect contractor  for your job will be determined by the timeliness and quality of the work, and the amount of financial and emotional stress you will have to deal with.

To make sure that the chosen contractor is going to do the best work possible, here are five must ask questions to ask each of the candidates.

Quick Tip: Listen well on how the prospective contractor answers your questions. If he or she has difficulty communicating with you well means that you might have difficulty communicating on the job later.

1. Is your bid a fixed figure or an estimate?

There are some contractors that treat their bids as estimates. This means that the bills could wind up being much higher at the end of the project. Make sure to request a fixed bid instead. This will enable make a good straightforward budget.

If the contractor says that he can’t offer you a fixed price because your job has too many unknowns, sit down with him and try to eliminate all the unknowns.E.g, having him/her examine a crawl space or open up a wall.

If you cannot resolve all the unknowns, have the project stipulate only what the contractor is expected to do and his budget and if additional work is needed, then you can write a mini-contract for the new work or do a change order.

2. Would you itemize your bid?

Most contractors will prefer to give you a single price for your project. They have their own reasons but this usually keeps you in the dark about what they’re actually charging for each aspect of the job they are handling.

E.g If the original plan calls for a bathtub in your bathroom, but you decide you are not going to install it, how much should he give you back for eliminating that part of work? With a single price, you have no ability to know.

By getting an itemized bid, it will clearly show you the costs for all of the various aspects  of the job, including:

●      Plumbing

●      Hauling trash and Demolition.

●      HVAC

●      Finishing and Framing carpentry

●      Electrical work

●      Drywall and painting

●      Tiling and other floor installations

●      Lighting fixtures

This makes it much more easier to compare the different contractors’ prices. If you want to cut down the project costs, you can figure out your options easily. A well itemized bid also becomes a valuable documentation about the whole scope of your project. This will help eliminate disputes later.

Contractors shouldn’t give you a hard time about itemizing their bids. If they resist, it’s a red flag for sure.

3. How long has the contractor been doing business.

Contractor that have been working in an area for five or more areas  have an established network of suppliers and subcontractors in that area and a good local reputation to uphold. This makes such contractors a safer option than contractors who are new to the business or are planning to commute to the project site from kilometers away. 

Ask the contractor for:

●      His/her business card with his/her address.

●      References from past clients. This will help you verify that he has been in the business for a long time. 

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9 TIPS TO HIRING A GOOD MASONRY CONTRACTOR

Finding a good, reliable and efficient masonry contractor will take a little extra work than just making a few phone calls but if you want the best for your project, the extra time is worth the effort.  In this article, we are going to share with you 9 amazing tips to finding a good contractor.

1.    Take some time to do some research. Ask your family and friends for good recommendations. The best way to find good contractors is by word of mouth. Check in online contractor directories and the local yellow pages. Typing in masonry contractors and your city in the search engines will bring up lists of the top contractors in your environs.

2.    Do not hire the very first contractor you talk to. You should set up appointments with at the very least four contractor's to look at your project and bid on the job.

3.    Ask each of the masonry contractors for a well written price quote that itemizes the cost of materials needed and labor. Be very clear on the type of work that you would want done. Some masonry contractors specialize in a specific type of work. You want a concrete counter top, thus it would be inappropriate to hire someone that specializes in poured foundations

4.    Do not forget to always ask for references and make an effort of contacting them. Enquire if the customers were satisfied with the work done and was the whole job completed on the time agreed on. You need to do a little more research because it is not in the best interest of any contractor to include dissatisfied customers in their references.

5.    Check information on the contractor from the Better Business Bureau so as to see if there any complaints that have been filed. It’s common for any business with a very large number of customers to have a few complaints. This few complaints should not stop you from considering awarding the contractor the job.  What’s important to look at is the nature of the complaint and what the contractor did about it.

6.    Ask for some proof of licensing. Every masonry contractor, must be licensed by the country or state in which they are working. This provides assurance to you that the contractor you are hiring is knowledgeable at their trade. It also illegal for a masonry contractor to work without a license

7.    Make sure that the masonry contractor is insured. Insurance should include workers compensation to cover all the employees in case of injuries and general liability.  Get the name of the insurance company and make sure that you verify the policy is adequate and in effect.

8.    Make sure to check if the masonry contractor you are considering to hire is bonded. Bonds provide the customer with financial protection should the hired contractor fail to fulfill the contract

9.    Get the contract in writing. Once you have found a good masonry contractor in NYC that you feel is perfect for your project, make sure that  all the details are well spelled out in the contract.




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HOW TO POSITION AND REPOSITION A BRICK.

It is very hard to damage brick houses. However, a time comes when the mortar positioned between the brick begins to degrade. The process of repairing the bricks and the mortar is known as brick repointing. This process is pretty easy if you are handy, but time consuming. Without doubt, this is a very wise thing to do to prevent further damage.  If the mortar is not fixed, water will be able to seep between the bricks thus causing the bricks to swell and start cracking.

Here a step by step tutorial on how to reposition your bricks.

1. Remove The Old Mortar

Brick re-pointing is all about removing the old mortar and replacing it with a new one. You should do these in small sections not at once. Removing the mortar at once will weaken the wall thus creating a higher risk. Now,, working along the walls in an area about two to four feet wide, start removing the old mortar from both the vertical and horizontal joints. This is to ensure that you do not damage the bricks. Use a handheld grout saw or cold chisel to tap it out.

A joint raker can also be used. If you are very confident in your repair abilities, you can use a 4 inches angle grinder, but be very careful not to cut the brick. You will remove the mortar to a depth of about half an inch. Use a wire brush, hose or whisk broom to remove all the dust in between. Do not forget to wear a respirator to keep from breathing in the dust and debris.

2. Wet The Wall

Spray your brick with water by use of a hose pipe to soak the brick and let it sit overnight. This will make sure that the old mortar and the bricks are properly hydrated and that they do not suck the water out of the new mortar. You will place the new mortar in between them the next day. When ready to put in the new mortar, you should lightly spritz the bricks at least one more time before beginning.

3. Mix The New Mortar

If the house you are working on is less than fifty years old, then you will likely be safe using the standard Portland cement mortar to refill all the spaces between your bricks. If you have an older house, you should use a mix consisting of sand and lime. This mixture is what was used originally in brickwork and it’s advisable that you use the same mix as you replace the mortar. This is because the standard Portland cement mortar is extremely hard when it dries up and can cause the old bricks to crack.

Whichever mortar mix you use, make sure you make the mix in smaller batches as it hardens very quickly. You should place the ingredients in a wheelbarrow and then mix.

4: Insert The New Mortar

Pick up some of the mortar on a trowel and then, using a trowel, work smaller amounts of the mortar into the vertical and horizontal gaps between the bricks. It's easier to fill the vertical joints with another tool known as a margin trowel.

5: Clean Up

Wait about an hour till the mortar has hardened a bit. Now  scrape off any excess mortar that has remained on the brick surface. Use a sturdy wire brush to do this.

All in all, brick re-positioning is a tedious, and very detailed job. We can re-position your bricks. Contact us at Amin Home Improvement.

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