Basement waterproofing for Binghamton and Broome County, NY

How it works

1. Call or send a request

   Tell us your town and where the water or dampness shows up.

2. We connect you

   Your call goes to an independent waterproofing company serving Binghamton and Broome County.

3. They call you back

   They inspect the basement and give you a written proposal directly.

Who is this for?

Homeowners, landlords and house hunters in Binghamton, Johnson City, Endicott, Vestal, Conklin, Kirkwood and the rest of Broome County. Binghamton had 47,969 people at the 2020 census, and much of the housing in the Triple Cities went up in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when shoe factories and later IBM were hiring. A lot of those houses have stone, brick or block foundations with basements that were dug for coal and furnaces, not for a family room. Newer houses in the towns have poured walls, which crack and leak in their own way. If you keep anything important in plastic bins on pallets "just in case," this site is for you.

Why do basements around Binghamton get wet?

Start with the map. The city sits in a valley where the Chenango River runs into the Susquehanna, with steep, wooded hills on every side. The U.S. Geological Survey describes the Susquehanna valley here as filled with glacial sand and gravel, in places mixed with fine-grained lake deposits, while the uplands are blanketed in glacial till. Each of those causes trouble differently:

• Hillside houses on the till-covered slopes catch runoff and shallow groundwater on the uphill wall. Dense till doesn't let water soak down quickly, so it moves sideways until it hits a foundation.
• Valley-floor houses sit over sand and gravel connected to the rivers. When the rivers run high for days, groundwater under the slab can rise and push up through the floor joint.
• Lots of precipitation. Binghamton averages roughly 42 inches of precipitation and about 86 inches of snow a year. Snowmelt plus spring rain is the classic time for basements to leak.
• Old gutters and downspouts that drop roof water right at the corner of the house, often onto soil that slopes the wrong way after a century of settling.

What signs mean it's time for an inspection?

• A wet stripe along the bottom of the wall after rain or a thaw
• White crust (efflorescence), rust stains or flaking paint on block or stone
• A crack in a poured wall that darkens, drips or keeps getting longer
• A sump pump that runs in dry weather, hums without pumping, or is old enough that nobody remembers installing it
• Musty smell, mildew on stored boxes, or water beading on cold pipes in summer
• Damp carpet or swollen baseboards in a finished basement

How do I know which fix I need?

It depends on the path the water takes. Seepage at the floor edge on several walls usually means interior drain tile feeding a sump pump. One leaking crack in a poured wall is often a job for crack injection. If you want the walls themselves dry, or the outside drain at the footing has failed, exterior waterproofing stops water before it reaches the wall, at the cost of digging. And if nothing ever puddles but the basement always feels clammy, humidity control plus better gutters may be all you need. A good company will tell you which of these problems it's solving, and why it isn't selling you the others.

Is seepage the same as flooding?

No, and around here the difference matters. Binghamton built flood walls along both rivers after the floods of 1935 and 1936, and in September 2011 the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee still topped those walls, with damage across greater Binghamton estimated around $1 billion. Waterproofing deals with groundwater and seepage. It won't keep out river water pouring over the ground and through basement windows. If your house is in a mapped flood zone, talk to your insurance agent and your municipality about flood coverage and flood-zone rules before you spend money finishing the basement.

What can I check myself first?

Go outside during the next steady rain with a flashlight and a raincoat. Look for gutters spilling over, downspouts that end within a few feet of the foundation, soil or a walkway that tilts toward the house, and window wells holding water. Those are the cheapest fixes, and sometimes they're the whole answer. If water still shows up downstairs once roof and surface water are carried away, it's time to have a company look.

Buying a house in Broome County?

Look for new paint on the bottom few feet of the basement walls, fresh drywall in a finished basement, a dehumidifier humming in August, a sump pit with a brand-new pump in an old house, and tide lines on the water heater or furnace. Ask the sellers in writing whether water has ever come in and what was done. Having a waterproofing company look before your inspection contingency runs out is cheap insurance.

Are you a waterproofing company?

No. Binghamton Basement Waterproofing is a referral service. We connect you with an independent waterproofing company that serves your address, and that company inspects, prices, performs and warranties the work. Before you sign anything, read our hiring tips and the Broome County basement water guide.

Areas we cover

• Binghamton
• Johnson City and Endicott
• Vestal
• Conklin and Kirkwood

Planning ahead? Read our Broome County basement water guide.