Young Waterproofing

Back in 1959 the foundation repair company that Chuck Young worked for went out of business. Instead of a final paycheck, he was left with a beat-up handtruck and miscellaneous tools. With little else to do, he put an ad in the newspaper to drum up some work. Today, Young Waterproofing is thriving with 28 employees — 24 are relatives.

"Yea, we do have some nepotism going on here," Dick Young jokes.

Young Waterproofing, based in Cheektowaga, New York, provides services to home and business owners in 13 western New York counties — what he says is a relatively small market of about 1 million people. Services include basement waterproofing, reinforcing basement walls, repairing leaks, and the installation of sump pumps, back water valves, vinyl moisture barriers, stanchion posts, and drain tiles.

Dick Young was just 13 when his older brother Chuck got his first foundation repair job out on his own. The younger teen soon found himself helping his brother on Saturdays as the jobs came in.

Back in its beginnings, the company focused strictly on foundation repair. But it soon became apparent to the Youngs that foundation repair was directly related to water damage. In just a few years they shifted gears, concentrating on water damage and prevention.

Young Waterproofing continued to grow and evolve, catering to clients' needs and improved technology and products; eight years ago it introduced Ram Jack services after becoming certified by Ram Jack Foundation Repair Systems.

Ram Jack, a family-owned foundation repair business, was formed in 1968 in Ada, Oklahoma.

The owners embarked on a research program to develop a repair system that would stand the test of time and one in which an acceptable warranty period could be provided to the building owner. The first patent of the Ram Jack system was issued in 1985. Additional refinements and patents followed over the next 10 years.

The modern system involves piling or piering — the technique of driving steel pipe pilings to remedy failing building foundations and to correct foundation settlement.

Ram Jack's patented lift system is used to recover settlement in homes. High-carbon, steel pilings are driven vertically by 70,000 lbs. of hydraulic power to an average of 22 feet below the home to anchor the structure and prevent future settlement.

A hydraulic pump uses a synchronized lift to raise the affected areas of a house simultaneously to maximum practical recovery.

About 90 percent of Young Waterproofing's clientele is residential; the other 10 percent is light commercial — churches, apartment buildings, condos, and the like.

And the most common soil- and moisture-related problems Western New Yorkers encounter basically fall into three categories:

• Water leaks in the basement. The National Association of Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors says wet basement problems are found in three of four American homes.
• Basement walls buckling. This is one of the symptoms of water leaks in the basement.
• Settlement, which involves using the Ram Jack piering process. The soil may be at or near its optimum moisture content when the foundation is built, but it may lose enough moisture during a drought to cause the foundation to settle. Settlement is usually greatest near the perimeter of the foundation where the soil dries most quickly.

For each of those three problems there are variations to the problem, which means different remedies. The cost to homeowners runs the gamut, depending on the extent of the problem. But if basement problems aren't fixed, the homeowner is left with a decreased property value, an unhealthy home environment that can lead to respiratory problems, an unsound foundation, and a basement that can't be used or finished.

Young said one question he hears repeatedly from homeowners is whether a crack in a basement floor or wall something to worry about.

"Often basement wall and floor cracks are nothing more than hairline fractures caused by shrinkage due to the curing process of concrete," the Youngs advise homeowners. "These cracks are usually insignificant. However, if these cracks leak water or if they appear to widen as time passes, it can be an indication of a developing problem."

As weather and moisture change with the seasons, soils can potentially harm the foundation or wall footer.

"Dry weather conditions, as we have had this past summer, can cause walls to crack due to the drying and contracting of soil under and around the wall footer (or foundation)," the company tells homeowners. "The wetter weather conditions of fall not only increase the likelihood that newly developed cracks will leak water, but also create pressure on the walls due to the soil expanding as it absorbs water.

The intensifying pressure can then turn into horizontal cracks, indicating the wall is bowing or buckling.

Meanwhile, having been in the business for more than four decades, Young has seen numerous changes.

"The biggest change is the quality of the work — the products, materials, and sealants that have been developed," he said. "They're much better than they were 40 years ago."

Another transformation has been the tightening grip of government through increasingly restrictive regulations and a costly permit process.

"We're required to be licensed, buy permits, and be inspected," said Young, an advocate of reforming the costly system. "What used to cost $500 is now $2,500 to $2,800."

It costs $525 a year for a license in the city of Buffalo. And the permit for a $500 job is $81.

"The cost of doing business here is high," Young said. "Government regulations at all levels have meant an added expense."

It's an expense that gets passed on to homeowners.

And being a contractor in New York is a nightmare when it comes to workers compensation and liability coverage, Young said.

In fact, Young said his carrier recently cancelled his policy — on which he had filed no claims — simply because he is "a contractor working in New York." So Young had to pick up a policy from a risk pool, which comes with extremely stiff premium costs.

With a more rigorous process for contractors and better products than four decades ago — products that now provide a 20- or 25-year warranty instead of 5-year warranties issued 40 years ago — homeowners are reaping the benefits and are receiving waterproofing and foundation repair services at a quality level like never before.

But it has come at a cost, Young said.

"The consumer has come out ahead," Young said. "But the down side is that it's costing much more."

Young Waterproofing
Dick & Pat Young
413 Shanley St.
Cheektowaga, NY 14206-2348
(716) 893-1939
(716) 893-1756 FAX
Send Mail Now - Click Here
www.youngwaterproofing.com

Michele Dawson writes each week on one of the contractor members of The Concrete Network. She has written about the home building industry for several years and was on the public affairs staff of the California Building Industry Association.