DiY basement waterproofing vs hiring a pro in Cleveland - I learned the hard way which saves money

3 comments

3 Comments

You know what this reminds me of? My neighbor tried to fix his own roof after a storm. Same kind of idea. He was up there with a bucket of tar for a week. Next big rain, his living room turned into a pond. Had to call a real roofer anyway. That story from wendysanchez about the wall buckling is exactly the same energy. Some jobs just need the right tools and someone who knows what they're doing.

clark.alex1mo ago

Oh man, that's a tough lesson. I tried sealing my own crawl space a few years back. Bought the "pro-grade" kit online, spent a whole weekend on it. It held up for maybe eight months before the damp smell came back, and I saw new cracks. The problem is you don't know what you don't know. A pro with a good warranty would have fixed it right the first time, and actually stood behind the work. Now I'm saving up to have it done properly.

wendysanchez1mo ago

Wait wait wait you DIY'd basement waterproofing in CLEVELAND? With our clay soil and all that lake effect rain? That's insane. I had a buddy who tried the same thing with that cheap rubber paint from Home Depot and his whole wall buckled within a year, ended up costing him triple to fix. Water finds every tiny crack and weak spot down there, man.