Q: I have been trying for a couple of years to get someone reliable to give me an estimate on repairing a vertical crack in my cinder block basement. It's about 5 feet up from the basement floor and about 5 feet across with a slight bowing. As I am heading into retirement, I'm trying to get this done without breaking the bank. I've tried making contacts on the Internet and haven't had too much luck. It's not a situation where there's any water leaking.

I have had a couple of people respond but one of them was over the top in price and the other wasn't very good at following up. I'm hoping that you can lead me to the right reliable person. I'm hoping that you can help me with this. Thank you for your time. — Massachusetts via e-mail

A: Thank you; I am glad you find it helpful. From your description, you must mean a horizontal crack. These cracks are caused by frost pressure and are usually found two to three courses below grade. If the crack is no wider than 1/4 inch, it may not be worth doing anything about it unless it is getting wider every year. You should check the grade and make sure that it is not flat or low in the area of the crack; that would cause the soil to become saturated and freeze deeply. If there is a flowerbed or there are shrubs, you should consider relocating them and raising the grade to slope it about two inches per horizontal foot and planting grass on it.

An experienced masonry or general contractor is the person to call to see if anything needs to be done. There are firms that stabilize bowed block foundations, but the fix is pricey. One such system consists of metal plates inside and rods to anchors in the soil some distance away. Another is made of straps that are glued to the walls on each side of the crack to prevent it from getting larger.

Can't scrimp on flashing

Q: I really hope you have a solution to my problem! I have a large bay window in my living room and one in my kitchen. There is an overhang over both. When we have a very cold winter storm, water pours in from above those windows. I had wires installed several years ago but the squirrels ate the wires. Two years ago I had a new roof and larger gutters installed. I still have the same problem. Last year, the water in the kitchen came in over to the side of my window and rolled down the walls. I spent seven hours mopping up the water. Normally, I put buckets under the windows but the water still caused damage as I had to have the ceiling torn out and replaced above the windows.

My roofer assured me he installed rubberized material so far up the roof. However, he did not replace the flashing as I asked him to and I just discovered that. What do you suggest I do as I don't know where to turn for help• — Via e-mail

A: I am assuming that you are having this problem when there is snow on the roof and an ice dam has built up at the eaves. If so, there may be two causes of the leakage: 1) The roofer may not have installed the ice and water protective membrane properly; it needs to be applied directly to the roof sheathing. If he or she put it over any felt, be it asphaltic or synthetic, water can get under the protective membrane. If it was applied over the older shingles, the same will occur, and I have seen both of these errors made. The roofer should have replaced all old flashing with new one. The fact that he or she did not tells me that you used someone who cut corners and does not really know what they're doing. 2) The gutters may fill with ice, and water can back up and leak into the house between the sheathing and fascia. The way to prevent this is to install flashing with a leg onto the roof sheathing and under the membrane and the other behind the gutter to seal the crack between the roof sheathing and the fascia.

I also assume that by wires you mean electric wires to melt channels in the ice dam so that water can drain off the roof. They have limited success. Have a very experienced and reputable general or roofing contractor, or an experienced home inspector certified by ASHI, check the entire roof system. He or she should lift the bottom shingles to check for the presence of any rubberized membrane, as well as any flashing, and make sure of their proper installation.

With asphalt, gray matters

Q: I questioned the reason for waiting to seal the pavement on a newly poured asphalt driveway. What happens if the drive is sealed after a few weeks and the oil hasn't had time to evaporate• — Via e-mail

A: The oils in the mix are sealed in and the asphalt will not dry and harden, leaving it prone to damage from vehicle wheels, bicycles left there for any length of time, including their kick stand that will sink in. The advice to wait until the asphalt turns gray is from experts in the field. You're welcome to disregard it at your own peril.

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