Stop the water
By Randal Vanderhaven
The approach of spring marks an important time to check your basement walls. Melting snow and falling rain release an immense amount of water into the ground around your home, ready to seep through any cracks and put pressure on your home’s foundation.
“Moisture on your basement walls or a white residue or cracking can indicate a problem that should be fixed,” explains Mark Olivieri, the son in Olivieri and Son and an expert in basement waterproofing. “I’m sure it isn’t anybody’s favorite way to spend money, so it’s a good idea to do it right. That way you won’t have to do it all over again in five or 10 years.”
Mark cringes as he describes how some companies waterproof basements—from the inside.
“That is not the best way to do it,” Mark insists. “That’s controlling water, not preventing it. You’re still going to have water penetrating from the outside and seeping down into your bottom block. It’s much better to stop the water from getting into the block in the first place. That’s why we seal it from the outside.”
It’s significant, adds Mark’s father, Rocco, who has been waterproofing basements the right way for more than 40 years, that some basement waterproofing companies offer customers a free dehumidifier.
“I guess that means you can still expect to have humidity in the basement,” Rocco shrugs. “If you do it right, you don’t need a dehumidifier.”
Rocco and Mark begin the process by excavating your leaky wall all the way to the footer. They then pressure wash your foundation to clean the debris and highlight any cracks where moisture may be entering. Those cracks are patched and sealed with Waterplug Sealant. For added protection, they coat the end wall from the footer to grade with Thoroseal Sealant.
“Rolling and tar rubber emulsion from footer to grade is the final step in preventing moisture from entering your wall,” Rocco says. “For proper water drainage, we install four-inch heavy-duty perforated PVC along the footer. We will also provide a clean-out on each wall excavated.”
The excavation is backfilled with No. 57 premium wash gravel to direct water to the drain tile. The project is completed with a layer of topsoil—not dirt—to promote the growth of plants.
“When we finish, you will hardly even know we were there,” Mark promises. “We respect your home, gardens and lawn, and we keep them clean and professional.”
That respect is one reason that so many of their customers become friends.
“It’s kind of humbling when people want to hug you, buy you a beer, or send you Christmas cards,” Rocco says. “One lady recently found out it was my birthday. When we finished the work and were about to leave she brought out a cake with a candle and everything.”
Kevin Russell, of Strongsville, is another happy customer.
“I am very pleased with the work Olivieri and Son performed at my residence,” Kevin says. “Since my job, I have passed their name along to clients and friends with positive feedback. Rocco and Mark were very thorough and explained the whole process. The job site was very neat and clean. Mark really went above and beyond my expectations. They actually were able to point out a few things that would save me money.”
Rocco learned the business the old fashioned way—by doing the work.
“My godfather got me a job at a construction company when I was 16,” he recalls. “Back then, we didn’t have the equipment we have today, so we had to dig everything by hand. It taught us to make sure we did it right.”
In 1981, he started his own business.
“The most important thing I learned from Dad was to do the job right, be loyal and to respect people’s homes,” Mark says. Along with basement waterproofing, Olivieri and Son also does sewer line rebuilds and sewer camera inspections.
You can find out for yourself how Olivieri and Son can stop water from invading your home’s foundation by visiting the website, at BasementAndWaterproofing.com. To schedule your no-obligation estimate, you can call 440-342-6844. Olivieri is a Super Service Award winner for Angie’s List and they are BBB accredited.