The Crackman Podcast

We all suffer from summer humidity. It’s terrible this time of year. In this episode, Adam explains how summer humidity affects a home’s basement..

Adam has another interesting case study in this episode. He sent some pictures for the blog of a house with a long horizontal crack at the top of the foundation, just above the soil line on the outside. He explains how rusting rebar can affect a home’s foundation and how the fix can be far less expensive than what the homeowner was led to believe.

In this interesting case study, Adam explains why a homeowner might find a mysterious water puddle in their basement every morning. Is it a phantom or something equally sinister? The CrackDaddy explains.

When you think of concrete, the last thing you think of is termites, given the little critters feed on wood and not concrete. What in the world do termites and foundation cracks have in common?

A1 Foundation Crack Repair has earned--through excellence, integrity, and hard work--over 300 5-star Google reviews. One that came in the other day where the customer was absolutely gushing about a call with A1 where they didn’t actually do any work for them. What happened there?

An insurance company cancelling a homeowner’s policy can be quite disconcerting, especially when it’s for foundation structural issues. A1 Foundation Crack Repair has dealt with this issue a number of times. Tony how A1 has helped customers get this situation resolved.

Adam shares an interesting case study about a leaking coal chute. He explains how he was able to stop the leak in this legacy apparatus no longer in use.

It seems to be a fad these days to lay down a fancy epoxy resin over the garage floor to spiff it up and cover up blemishes. Seems like a nice upgrade; but, is it a good idea from a concrete maintenance perspective?

The CrackDaddy extols another interesting case study...this time about a huge home addition that caused a major concrete foundation issue for the homeowner.

We all love the X-men character, Wolverine, who can self-heal wounds in seconds. But of course, that’s just fantasy. Is self-healing concrete pure fantasy or something that really exists? Adam Tracy breaks it down for us.

Spring weather can fluctuate wildly, going from freezing cold to quite warm in the matter of days. How does that affect how watertight a bulkhead can be?

There is a phenomenon in Massachusetts where some foundations in homes are crumbling for no apparent reason. In this episode, Adam explains why some foundations are crumbling due to pyrrhotite and what can be done about it.

It’s only natural for a homeowner to try and fix problems with their house on their own before calling in a professional. The Crackman has seen some doozies in his 3+ decades as the Crackman. Listen in as he regales us with some of his favorite DIY disaster stories.

It’s been a warm winter and now we’re just into Spring, which brings a lot of rain. How could that affect a homeowner’s basement?

The Northeast frequently gets hard, deep freezes. When that happens, A1 Foundation Crack Repair gets a lot of phone calls. Here's why.

It’s pretty obvious that fixing holes in a foundation is good idea, but why is it especially important to fix stone foundations in the winter? The Crackman explains.

To some it may seem counterintuitive that you’d be getting a ton of water in the basement in the winter, but it happens quite a bit. Why is that? Adam explains why basements can flood, even during winter.

Over the years, we’ve covered a ton of DIY disasters but this case study involves a contractor who bit off more than he could chew. Adam explains what can happen if you start digging around your foundation without the expertise to do so.

Most homeowners know that having a large tree too close to the house can be bad on several different fronts. But what are the ramifications of felling one with respect to the foundation? Adam explains how felling trees around a house can affect the foundations of nearby homes.

In this episode, Adam has another interesting case study about a customer who was concerned about a rusting lally column. He explains how important it is to maintain one’s lally columns.

In this episode, Adam shares this case study and explains how leaking bulkheads can introduce water into the basement and how to fix it.

In this episode, Adam talks about an image he shared on his blog that shows a picture of a busted lally column and explains why it’s so important to address it with a professional.

Last week’s podcast was a warning of why it’s a bad idea to dig out a swimming pool in your basement. On the heels of that, we have another DIY self-digging project gone bad. Adam explains what happened in this fascinating case study.

We’ve had several episodes in the past that dealt with flooding so bad, it looked like the homeowner had a swimming pool in their basement. So, what if the homeowner actually wanted a pool in their basement? Is it a good idea to dig one yourself? The CrackDaddy analyzes.

In a newly constructed house, especially with today’s strict construction standards, the last thing a homeowner should worry about is the foundation the home is sitting on. In this episode, Adam discusses a situation a homeowner faced when this very issue came to a head.