Basement waterproofing in Passaic, NJ
In Passaic the difficulty is usually space. Where houses stand a few feet apart, roof water has nowhere to go but along the foundations, and there is no room outside to dig.
You will be put through to an independent local waterproofing company. Calls may be recorded.
Look at the side walk first
When two houses share a strip of concrete a few feet wide, both roofs can end up draining into it. The water runs along the base of both foundations and finds the low basement window or the joint at the bottom of the wall.
Before any work indoors, go out in the rain and follow each downspout to its end. Turning one toward the front or the back of the lot, or dropping it into a buried pipe, can change a basement more than anything done inside it. If the walk itself has sunk toward one house, relaying it with a fall to the street is part of the same fix.
What tight lots do to the choice of method
Digging outside
Seldom possible down a side wall. A machine will not fit, and an open trench would sit against the neighbour's foundation. The front and back walls are sometimes reachable.
Draining inside
The usual proposal, because all of the work stays within your own walls. See interior drains.
The pump's outlet
This is the awkward part. With little open ground, there are few good places for the pipe to end. Emptying it onto the shared walk only sends the water back to both houses.
Stone or block walls
If the foundation is rubble stone or hollow block, expect the company to talk about a wall liner, not crack injection.
City Hall, by problem
Sewage backing up, an overflowing sewer or a damaged street inlet
The city takes sewer complaints on (973) 473-7003. That covers backups, overflows, strong odours and clogs.
A trench that reaches the sidewalk or the street
Road opening permits come from the Division of Engineering, which also looks after the city's storm and sanitary sewers.
Where the storm drains and outfalls are
The city posts its stormwater map, outfall locations and ordinances on its Stormwater Management and Flood Control page.
Low streets near the river
The Passaic River borders the city and Weasel Brook reaches it here. If your street is near either, look the address up on FEMA’s flood map before agreeing to a drain system, and tell the company what you found. The flood map guide explains what to do with the answer.