Every basement contractor in New Hampshire says they warranty their work. Almost none of them will tell you what the warranty does not cover. That second part is the one that matters when your basement is wet again in year four.
So here is ours, in plain English, including the parts that are not covered.
How long is a basement waterproofing warranty good for?
It depends entirely on what got installed. That is the honest answer, and anybody giving you one number for the whole trade is guessing.
A full waterproofing system and a single crack repair are not the same job, so they do not carry the same promise. At 603 a complete Forever Dry System carries a full transferable lifetime warranty. A non-structural crack injection carries ten years. A sump pump on its own carries three. Same company, same crew, three very different numbers, because they are three very different pieces of work.
What 603 warranties, and for how long
This is our whole list. Nothing hidden in a glovebox somewhere.
| What we installed | Warranty | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Forever Dry System (complete) | Transferable lifetime | You stay dry or we come back free of charge |
| Crawl space encapsulation | 25 years | Liner, wall barriers, workmanship |
| Basement wall vapor barrier | 25 years | Material integrity |
| Wall stabilization | 25 years | Further inward movement within design tolerances |
| Helical piers | 25 years | Engineered performance |
| Floor support and power posts | 10 years | Further settlement in the treated areas |
| Crack injection (non-structural) | 10 years | Leakage through the treated area only |
| Crack injection (structural epoxy) | 10 years | The structural bond only |
| Radon mitigation | 10 years | System integrity and components |
| Dehumidification | 5 years | Per the manufacturer terms |
| Sump pump system | 3 years | The system, batteries excluded |
| Concrete patching (non-structural) | 1 year | Structural only, cosmetic excluded |
Read the third column twice. That is where warranties actually live. “Ten years” on a crack injection means ten years of that crack not leaking. It does not mean ten years of a dry basement, because the crack we filled was never the only way water gets in.
Why the lifetime warranty is the full system only
The Forever Dry System is a specific build. Full perimeter interior drainage. One half-horsepower sump pump per 120 linear feet of that drainage. Full WhiteCap wall barrier tied into the drainage. A dehumidifier.
All four. That is the system.
We can put in three of those four, and sometimes that is genuinely the right call for a budget. But three of four is not a Forever Dry System and it does not carry the lifetime warranty, because the promise depends on the water having somewhere to go from every direction. Drainage with no wall barrier still lets water through the wall. A wall barrier with no drainage just moves the puddle.
If somebody quotes you a “lifetime waterproofing warranty” on a partial install, ask them which four components are in it. The answer tells you a lot.
What voids a basement waterproofing warranty
Here is the one we wish more homeowners heard before it happened.
You get your basement waterproofed. Two years later you hire somebody to finish it. Their framer shoots nails into the concrete to hang the studs, right through the wall barrier we installed. The waterproofing system is now full of holes.
That damage is not covered. Not because we are being difficult, but because somebody else put a hole in it.
We are not trying to sell you the finishing job too. We are telling you to say one sentence to whoever does it: there is a waterproofing system on these walls, do not fasten into the concrete. A good finishing crew already knows how to frame off a waterproofed wall. It costs them nothing to do it right. It costs you the whole system if they do not.
Tell your contractor. That is the whole tip.
Radon is the one where we will not promise a number
Our radon mitigation systems carry ten years on system integrity and components. What they do not carry is a guaranteed radon level, unless we put that number in writing for your specific house.
We could promise you a number. Plenty of outfits will. We would rather test your house, install the system, test again, and show you where it actually landed.
If a mitigation number matters to you, and for a real estate closing it usually does, ask for it in writing before the work starts. From us or from anyone else.
Does the warranty transfer when you sell the house?
The Forever Dry System warranty is transferable. That is deliberate.
A buyer walking a basement with a sump pump in the corner has one question, and it is whether they just inherited somebody else’s water problem. Handing them a transferable lifetime warranty answers it on the spot. We have watched that close deals.
If you are selling and you are not sure what got installed or when, call us and we will look it up.
Questions we get
Do I have to do anything to keep the warranty valid?
Do not let anyone fasten into a waterproofed wall, and keep the sump pump plugged in and the discharge line clear. That is most of it.
Is a sump pump battery covered?
No. Batteries are wear items and they are excluded from the three-year sump warranty. Plan on replacing one every few years, same as a car battery.
What if my crack leaks again in year eight?
If it is the crack we treated, that is covered under the ten-year injection warranty and we come back. If water is coming in somewhere else, that is a different problem and we will tell you so honestly.
What is not covered on concrete patching?
Cosmetic issues. Patching carries one year on the structural side. Concrete moves and colors do not always match, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
Do you warranty work another company installed?
No. We will absolutely come look at it and tell you what you have got, but we cannot stand behind an install we did not do.
Ask about the warranty before you sign, not after
Any contractor you are considering should be able to hand you this same breakdown for their own work: what is covered, for how long, and what voids it. If they can only give you the first two, that is worth noticing.
We have helped thousands of homeowners across New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, and we would rather you understand the promise than be surprised by it later. We don’t cut corners. We stand behind our work. We care.
Call us at 603-610-1770 or book your free inspection and we will walk your basement and tell you straight what it needs.
