Baker's Waterproofing Q&A

Your WaterWatch® Alarm will sound off to let you know if water has risen past the point where the pumps should have turned on.

If your alarm on the sump lid is screeching, and you DO NOT have an UltraSump battery back-up pump here's what you should do. First, pull the alarm straight up and out, then dry it off and/or remove the battery to stop the screeching.

The reason for pulling the alarm out and drying it off is because the probe at the bottom sounds off when water reaches it. It may take a moment before the alarm stops.

Next, check the pump's electrical outlet. Plug a small lamp, hair dryer, radio, etc. into the same outlet. If there's no power, the circuit breaker may need switched back on. If there's power, call our office for a service appointment, because your primary pump may be failing.

If your alarm on the sump lid is screeching, and you DO have an UltraSump battery back-up pump here's what you should do. First, pull the alarm straight up and out, then dry it off and/or remove the battery to stop the screeching. Your back-up pump will turn on once the water rises to a certain level. You will hear the back-up pump sound an alarm only if it discharges water. If you hear an intermittent beeping, that means your back-up pump is working, but your primary pump may have failed. So call our office for a service appointment. Your battery back-up pump will re-charge once the power returns to the pump's electrical outlet.

Don't forget to replace the WaterWatch® Alarm once the pump is functional. You should not replace it until the water level has receded, otherwise it will sound off again.

The warranty is transferable to anyone who purchases the home after the installation and the warranty will be valid for 25 years from the date of install. The lifetime warranty can only be transferred if the property is sold within 1 year of the date of install and is paid in full upon completion.

It’s a plastic vapor barrier that follows the contour of the wall. It’s very flexible. It would be extremely difficult to paint, if it would stick, due to the texture, material, and the UltraFresh additive. However, you can add a false wall to finish the area.

No, there is no discount if a customer pays in cash.

It is highly recommended that annual maintenance is done every year, but it does not void the warranty if you do not.

Sump pumps are the most effective way to forcibly remove water from the home.

If you can be there when we first arrive, the Foreman will introduce himself to you and will go over the project with you. The Foreman is responsible for your home while the crew is there working. If you provide the Foreman with access for the rest of the project, you do not have to be there.

If you live in Bethel Park, PA, Mt. Lebanon, PA, Wheeling, WV, Morgantown, WV, or Moundsville, WV, you must obtain a permit for your home improvement project. You will need to get in contact with your local municipal's planning office to do this. We recommend you keep a copy of your estimate in case it is required.

The permit certifies the work is done correctly and helps the resale of your home. Staying involved every step of the way will help you get through the process quicker and for less cost.

If you have any questions please call our office.

If you plan on finishing, yes. Or it will destroy your drywall with mold and moisture.

No, but there is free replacement on the pump if it’s within 30 months. We guarantee that no water crosses the system and gets onto the floor.

We have years of experience working with buyers and sellers to help this process go as smoothly as possible. What works best is if we meet with the sellers, or that the sellers agent is present for the inspection. This way, we can take everyone's concerns into account and answer all questions. 

No, we do not use sub-contractors. We have about 17 crews that install our work year-round.

Your contract states you, the homeowner, are responsible for preparing the work area for installation. Dust should be expected and you should protect the area as you deem necessary.

If you are unable to completely clear the area or have any questions about how to best get your home ready for the work, please call our office.

We wet the existing concrete to try to reduce dust before jack-hammering. We have hose attachments that go on some of our install tools. We hang plastic if able to. We sweep and clean up once we leave. We also recommend the customer does their part to help reduce dust. We recommend turning the air conditioning and furnace unit off and covering items you don’t want dust on with plastic. 

We raise settled concrete with our permanent PolyLevel slab solution. PolyLevel relies on the unique qualities of expanding polyurethane foam. The foam is injected beneath a concrete slab, where it expands into voids, instantly raising concrete!

The benefit of multiple holes on one side of the drain is that water will flow better.

We install our sump pump in a low-lying area. Water gravitates to the lowest spot in the basement. Small amounts of water could be absorbed into the surrounding gravel and soil beneath the basement. Typically, water successfully gravitates toward the pump.

Each product has specific warranty information which is listed on your copy of the warranty at the appointment and with your contract. Most of our products have a lifetime warranty, but it’s specific to each product and project, which is all included in your paperwork. We encourage you to review this. There are zero fees.

NexusPro is a highly flexible material that is UV resistant and is proven to last more than 20 years. Although, we don't guarantee that it will not need replaced before that time.

It depends on how long the pump runs while the power is out. Average 2-4 hours. It recharges automatically as soon as the power kicks back on.

It depends on how much it runs and how much water it pumps out. The average is 3-5 years, but we’ve seen them last 12-15 years. Annual maintenance is what helps extend the life of our pump.

The estimate is valid for 30 days.

The average job is two days, but it depends solely on job size and the products to be installed.

Crews are between 2 and 3 people.

We have multiple products that provide solutions for bowing walls, foundation settlement, wet basements, sinking concrete, and crawl space dampness.

We understand wanting to get an estimate as soon as possible. Our goal is to give you an accurate diagnosis to your unique problem, so that we can leave you with an estimate that will provide the very best, permanent solution. To do that, we must complete a thorough on-site inspection and analysis of each issue.

Keep in mind our inspections are completely free and are no obligation and the sooner you are able to have the problem inspected, the sooner you will have the information you need to prevent the problem from getting worse.

The SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier is one of the quietest dehumidifiers.

It depends on how much it rains. The water level has to reach a certain level for the float switch to kick the pump on.

We recommend you wait 4-6 weeks to allow for the concrete to completely cure with no moisture coming up through the concrete.

No. We only recommend liquid nail. Tack strips would pierce the system which would void your warranty.

What we find with these types of issues is that they tend to only progress as weather, temperature, and soil conditions change. This will cost you more money, more inconvenience, and can lead to health and safety issues for you and your family.

We offer free, no obligation estimates. At the very least, our Service Advisor will let you know what you are up against and provide you with all the information needed to make the best decision.

Yes, depending on how much water is around and under the home, it is normal for water to be in the bottom of the liner, that is, until it rises to a certain level where it will activate the float switch.

This relieves pressure against your foundation. It is best to release water through those cells in the weep holes. By drilling weep holes, it lets the wall drain instead of holding water inside of it. It could also help prevent water damage and mold growth higher up on the wall.

If we are working on the outside, the yard and landscaping will be disturbed quite a bit. If we are working on the inside, there will be lots of dust and debris. We ask that if you are getting work done in your basement that you have the area cleared and protected from dust. We have multiple ways that we try to be as neat as possible including laying and hanging plastic to protect from dust, we wet the concrete to minimize dust while breaking the concrete, and we sometimes use vacuums that hook up to specific pieces of equipment. That being said, we do our best to clean up, but the work will still be dusty.

If it’s in the area we treated, 4-8 weeks after install is typical for the concrete to be curing. After 8 weeks, if you still see dampness call our office, so one of our Certified Service Technicians can evaluate the situation. If it’s in the middle of the floor or another area we did not treat, call our office because additional work may be needed.

Call our office. We need to have the new homeowner's first and last name, email address, and phone number. Then, we would take care of transfering all the information to them.

Top button: GREEN means the battery is hooked up properly

Middle button: GREEN means the AC power is good

Bottom button: GREEN means the battery is charging properly

Bottom button: It will remain RED while charging until it's 80% charged, then the RED light will blink until it’s at 100% (at that point it will turn GREEN).

BLACK “test” button: When pressed, it will make the “fan” spin on the battery backup. (If water is high enough it will discharge, if not you will hear the fan “spin” inside to let you know its working.)

Call our office and we can schedule our dedicated service team of technicians to take care of an issue if deemed necessary.

Between 9-10am is typical arrival time for our crews.

We can provide a schedule date at the time of your appointment. When the work can be scheduled depends on which service. We have a move-up list to get customers’ work done as soon as possible. We review this list daily!

Filters can be purchased and shipped from our office directly. You can call into the office and place an order for some, or you can have them delivered at the same time you schedule your annual maintenance and we can bring them to you.

We specialize in waterproofing. We don’t do electricity, and we recommend an electrician so the work is done properly and is up to code.

This process is used nationwide with the Basement Systems contractor network. It is the most common way to address water entry into the basement. Baker's Waterproofing has done this process since 1975 before even joining the Basement Systems network.

Many other competitors install a form of an internal drain system. This has been studied by specialists in this field, and our waterproofing solution is the most popular and proven method. We would not use this method if it has not been proven to safely waterproof your home.

As for why not stop water from the outside? We are not inviting the water in. What we do is stop the water at its point of entry, then evacuate it from the home. There are uncontrollable factors that won't allow us to provide you with a warranty for outside work, as we know it will eventually fail.

Our internal drain system is safe for foundations, the most cost-friendly, least intrusion to the home, and best warrantied method.

We don’t require permits, but your city might require it. The city might require information that only the homeowner would have on record.

The fee for the permit is a percentage of the job. To go to each individual job, we’d have to charge a fee to the homeowner in order to obtain the permit from the city. It’s less expensive for our customers to obtain the permit themselves. Otherwise, you would end up paying double for us to cover the costs.

It is impossible to know how much water is present in a basement. The amount of water showing may be the "tip of the iceberg," indicating a much larger problem than what it looks like. When the WaterGuard drain and CleanSpace vapor barrier is installed with a TripleSafe sump pump, it guarantees that the water will be contained no matter the volume of the water. Simply putting in the drain without the sump pump will not guarantee that the water will be contained and removed from the premises. Much of what we do is insurance against water invading our living space. We have life insurance and hope that we do not have to use it, but it is there if the need arises. The same is true for a waterproofing system.

One of our advisors, Tom McKee, has our waterproofing system in his own home, “The water system in our home has been in over a year, and our sump has not come on once; but we have not yet had a multiple day rainstorm, which is when we get flooded. It will happen again, and when it does, we are ready. Our basement is now refinished and usable without the worry of water coming in. The sump is an important part of the equation.”

Pumps are mechanical and have a manufacturer warranty. It’s hard to warrant mechanical items, but we use the manufacturer warranty.

Shrinkage cracks are normal.

Our system is patented and design by structural engineers that know one of the most common points of water entry is where the floor meets the footer. That’s why we place our drain there to capture water coming through that joint. Also, the holes in the drain capture groundwater that comes up through the earth. We also catch water that would come through the weep holes.

We can’t control what you might do to your concrete and we can’t control the weather factors. The SealantPro manufacturer describes it as permanent because it binds with the concrete at a molecular level. We don’t know how your concrete was originally poured which could also affect its lifespan. But we have a warranty on our workmanship, so if we had any issues on the installation, we would fix that for you.

Water will find its path of least resistance, and will find another way to get through the foundation. Also, labor manual never gets cheaper. It’s cheaper now compared to what it could be in the future. It’s good to protect your entire basement now, rather than requesting work piece by piece as you see water enter new areas.

Mold won't grow on the CleanSpace liner. CleanSpace is infused with a mold inhibitor called "UltraFresh" which will not allow mold to grow on the CleanSpace vapor barrier. 

As for mold growth behind the liner, this is why it is referred as a vapor "barrier". Barriers block entry. The walls may become moldy or mildew-stained behind the liner. That's where we want it to stay, behind the liner and not entering the living space.

Mold spores are dangerous when airborne. The CleanSpace liner traps those spores between the block and liner as not to allow it into the air. This method, like our internal drain, is proven to be safe.