By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor
REGION – Unprecedented rain, greater awareness among homeowners and the steady strain of New England weather has made for busy times at Crack-X® concrete crack repair and waterproofing.
Headquartered in Natick, Crack-X is a family-owned company that provides services throughout New England, specializing in repairing cracks in everything from foundation walls, to bulkheads, to concrete garage floors and pool decks.
“If it’s concrete and it’s cracked, then there’s a good chance that there’s something that we can do about it,” Crack-X operations manager John Kuhnle said in a recent interview.
Cracks pose problems
A concrete crack and a leaky basement, Kuhnle said, pose any number of problems for homeowners.
Water can lead to mold, which can lead to unhealthy air quality in an affected space. Mold can, likewise, ruin belongings.
Cracks can also invite pests into the home. Those can include various insects and mice. In at least one case, Kuhnle said, garter snakes were also getting into an individual’s home.
Cracks in basement floors, in particular, can limit the effectiveness of radon mitigation systems in many homes. Cracks need to be sealed to allow those systems to work properly, Kuhnle said.
Proactive crack repair can save money
Kuhnle said he’s long seen his company’s crack repair services as opportunities for homeowners to address problems that might otherwise progress and require more costly solutions.
The team can fix a typical crack for $725, often stopping water leaks without a homeowner needing to spend thousands on products like Perimeter French drains.
“We try to market ourselves as a first stop,” Kuhnle said. “We may offer a fast and inexpensive solution that resolves the leak.”
Knowing the impacts of a crack left unaddressed, Kuhnle encourages homeowners to act quickly. Even those that don’t know of any cracks in their home, he said, should keep an eye out for issues that can begin as hairline fractures in concrete before progressing into larger cracks.
“With the way New England is with freezing and thawing, and just the nature of concrete itself, [cracks] don’t fix themselves and they only get worse.”
COVID-19, heavy rain prompts spike in crack repair calls
Customers are needing crack repair services now more than ever, Kuhnle said.
He cites a number of reasons, including record rainfall this summer which has highlighted smaller cracks in foundations that might not have previously caught the attention of homeowners.
Even without rain, though, COVID-19 had already increased awareness of certain issues as individuals now spending more time at home are noticing cracks and wanting to get them fixed.
That, in turn, is on top of calls from homeowners starting basement finishing projects, which have become more common of late.
“We’re a company you really want to consider when you’re finishing a basement, because the cracks in your foundation, even if they’re not leaking today, can leak in the future and you don’t want them to start leaking behind your walls,” Kuhnle said.
Crack-X offers free assessments, with technicians often being called to the homes of those finishing their basements to evaluate the need for any foundation repairs.
Crack-X: now hiring
Crack-X is hiring as it contends with this surge in demand.
The team is looking for technicians in all areas, but particularly in Southern and Central MA. Crack X technicians are dispatched from their homes, responding to customers in company supplied vans.
Crack-X is also seeking full and part-time inside sales representatives as well as a marketing professional who can help maintain company websites and create posts on various social media outlets.
Learn more about at Crack-X® at crackx.com.
Learn more about job opportunities at crackx.com/careers/.
