The Crackman Podcast

In addition to fixing wall and floor cracks, the Crackman also fixes damaged concrete. What if a home has surface pits, chips, and other kinds of blemishes that really make it look bad. What is that called and can it be fixed?

If you are in the market to sell your house, consider how your foundation can impact the sale of your house. Listen in as the Crackman reveals some of the ways he has seen that foundations can affect the prospect of a sale.

There you are...living in your dream home and after emerging from your winter slumber on a beautiful Spring day, you notice new cracks on your foundation walls. Why would that happen? The Crackman answers this intriguing question.

Homeowners typically try to fix things on their own before calling a pro to come in and laugh at their handiwork. In this episode, Rich shares some amusing stories he's come across during his tenure as the Crackman.

As sure as death and taxes, concrete will eventually crack at some point. It's fairly normal to have cracks in foundation walls that aren't leaking and don't pose any structural concerns...so why, then, would a crack suddenly start leaking after 20 years? The Crackman explains.

The term "repointing" isn't something us commoners use in our everyday vocabulary so in this episode, the Crackman starts with what repointing is. Then, he explains when it's time to repoint a stone foundation.

If your sump pump suddenly isn't working properly during a hard freeze, consider the Crackman's 6 common reasons why it could fail. You just might save some money.

Northeast winters can be quite schizophrenic. For instance, in the last 2 weeks, we've had temps well below freezing with snow and ice. Today, the temps are in the 40s with heavy rain. How does that affect a foundation?

A man with the Crackman's considerable, shall we say, tenure in this industry has certainly seen some weird things and strange coincidences. In this episode, he shares some interesting vignettes on the history of lally columns along with some weird stuff he runs into as he inspects, repairs, and replaces them.

Basement wall cracks are somewhat common and they don't always mean you need to panic when you see them, but is there a concern that cracks that are wide enough can allow wood chewing critters like termites to infest your home? The Crackman answers.......

The Crackman has been fixing basement floor cracks for more than 2 decades, so who better to talk about basement floor cracks than him, right? In this episode, Rich covers everything from how and why basement floor cracks happen to begin with, whether or not every crack should be fixed, and when you know it's time to fix a crack.

Every utility company that runs a pipe through a stone foundation knows how to seal it properly, right? So, why this is an issue? Well guess what? They don't.

It's case study time again and this time the Crackman helped talk a new homeowner down from the rafters after they came home and found water in their basement coming from the chimney.

In this episode, the Crackman recounts an interesting story about a firefighter with a basement water problem in who wanted to tear down his Sheetrock with a pickax.

As we were perusing Facebook we saw A1 Foundation Crack Repair was highly recommended for fixing a basement water problem in the Hudson Mass area. The Crackman reflects on recent accolades.

We're smack dab in the middle of Fall and during this tumultuous time of year, every day seems to bring its own exciting conditions from heavy rain, to freezing conditions, and even snow. And as we all know, whacky weather can play havoc on a basement. In this episode, the Crackman explains how he goes about troubleshooting the calls he gets over the phone?

Winter is fast approaching and the Crackman is starting to get some calls from people with cold air or mice in basements with stone foundations. In this episode, the Crackman talks about the most common causes of cold air and mice in the basement and what to do about it.

In addition to fixing just about any basement water problem one could imagine, the Crackman also fixes a wide variety of concrete problems. In this episode, the Crackman talks about fixed concrete that looks really bad on its surface.

Winter is right around the corner and that often means sump pumps get a workout, so now is the time to make sure your sump pump is in tip-top shape. The Crackman has a quick, 4-step process that people can do at home to ensure their sump pump is ready for action.

The Crackman recently had a customer reach out because they were concerned about the surface of their exterior foundation wall. It showed signs of excessive pitting and spalling. Why does that happen anyway? Is it just poor quality concrete or something else?

In this episode, the Crackman describes some images we posted with this podcast explaining the state of a customer's rusted lally columns. How do you know when it's time to worry about replacing a lally column that shows signs of corrosion? The Crackman explains.

In this very interesting case study, the Crackman share the story of a customer who had basement cracks because the basement was TOO dry. What?? Fascinating podcast.

In this episode, the Crackman describes the events in the following video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5c8kgd5-V8) in which a person had moldy baseboards and discovered really wet walls behind the drywall. They were so damp, the homeowner demonstrated how he could play tic-tac-toe on the wall using just the condensation. You have to see to believe.

How is it possible to have a damp bulkhead in your basement but there isn't a leak? In this episode, the Crackman discusses a case where this happened with a customer and what he did about it.

It's been said on this show many time before that there are 3 certainties in life: death, taxes, and concrete will eventually crack. So, if you discover the inevitable crack in your basement floor or wall or foundation...and it's not leaking...should you fix it?