Exterior Excavation & Waterproofing · Chicago & Suburbs
Some walls need the repair done where the water is
When a foundation wall itself lets water through — old limestone, bungalow brick, deteriorated block — the lasting repair happens on the outside, where the clay meets the wall. We excavate down to the footing, waterproof the wall the way its material requires, and put the yard back. It is the oldest kind of work we do, and since 1986 no one in Chicagoland has done more of it.
Exterior waterproofing means excavating to the footing and sealing the foundation wall on the side the water actually hits — the lasting repair when the wall itself lets water through, and the right method for Chicago's limestone and brick foundations, which Forever-Dry has excavated by hand where needed since 1986. The work carries a lifetime transferable warranty.
Warning Signs
Signs a wall needs exterior waterproofing
- ▸Damp or crumbling mortar joints in a limestone or brick foundation
- ▸Seepage across the face of a wall, not from one distinct crack
- ▸Block walls that stay damp for days after the rain has stopped
- ▸Peeling paint or flaking surface on the inside of foundation walls
- ▸A century-old foundation that has never once been waterproofed
Our Process
How an exterior waterproofing job is done right
Free inspection, material-first diagnosis
Limestone, brick, block, and poured concrete each fail in their own way and need different repairs. We start by identifying what your wall is built of and where the water is moving through it — then recommend exterior work only if that is what the wall truly needs.
Careful excavation to the footing
We excavate along the affected wall down to the footing — by hand where old foundations demand it, because a limestone wall that has stood since the 1910s deserves better than a machine bucket beside it. The wall is then cleaned and made ready for repair.
Repair and waterproof the wall itself
Joints are repaired and the wall is waterproofed from the outside — the side the water actually hits — using the treatment its material calls for. Limestone is not concrete, and brick is not block; forty years of this work is knowing the difference.
Backfill, grade, and warranty
We backfill and restore the grade so surface water moves away from the house instead of toward it. The work carries our lifetime warranty and transfers to the next owner — fitting, for a repair meant to outlast everyone involved.
The Local Picture
Chicago's old foundations deserve their own kind of repair
Chicago's housing stock is a museum of foundation types: pre-1920 cottages and two-flats on limestone, the brick bungalow belt, postwar block in the south suburbs, poured concrete after that. The oldest walls were built before waterproofing existed — for a century they have relied on luck while the region's blue clay held storm water against them. When they finally let water through, they seep across their whole face, and no interior patch can change what is happening in the soil outside. The honest repair is exterior: expose the wall, fix it, waterproof it, and send the water elsewhere.
This is also the repair where experience matters most, because the wrong work damages old walls permanently. Sandblasting-era coatings, cement smeared over limestone, machine excavation tight against fragile masonry — we have been called to basements where the previous repair did more harm than the water. Working on limestone, brick, and concrete foundations has been our specialty since 1986, and it is why the careful version of this job — hand excavation where needed, materials matched to the wall — is the only version we do.
Lifetime warranty, transferable to new owners
Straight Answers
Exterior waterproofing questions, answered plainly
How is exterior waterproofing different from interior work?
Interior systems like drain tile manage water after it reaches the foundation — the right fix when water rises under the floor. Exterior waterproofing repairs the wall itself, on the side the water hits first — the right fix when the wall material is letting water through. Some houses need one, some the other, and some genuinely need both. The inspection sorts that out before anyone talks price.
My house is over 100 years old with a limestone foundation. Can it be waterproofed?
Yes, and it should be done by people who handle limestone regularly. These walls were laid before waterproofing existed and cannot be treated like modern concrete — the excavation is done carefully, often by hand, and the repair uses treatments suited to stone and lime mortar. That work has been our specialty since 1986.
Do you have to dig up my whole yard?
No. We excavate along the wall sections that need repair, down to the footing, and only as wide as the work requires. Landscaping near the trench is disturbed and then restored at grade when we backfill. It is honest to say the yard shows the work for a season — and then it does not, while the wall stays fixed for good.
Is exterior waterproofing worth it compared to patching inside?
When the wall itself is the problem, interior patches are rented time — the water keeps moving through the structure, and the wall keeps deteriorating behind the patch. Exterior repair costs more than a patch because it fixes the actual wall, protects it from further damage, and carries a lifetime warranty. For walls that need it, it is the only repair we are willing to stand behind.
When is the best time of year for excavation work?
The work runs most of the year; deep-frozen ground in midwinter is the main limit. There is a practical reason not to wait for the perfect season: each freeze-thaw winter and each saturated spring works on a leaking wall a little more. If the wall needs the repair, sooner is cheaper than later — that is arithmetic, not a sales line.
Does the lifetime warranty cover exterior work too?
Yes. Exterior excavation and waterproofing carries the same lifetime warranty as the rest of our work, and it transfers to the new owner if you sell. On a repair designed to last as long as the house, a warranty that does the same is the only kind that makes sense — it has been our practice since 1986.
Find out what your foundation walls actually need
A free inspection that identifies your wall's material and its real condition, a plain-spoken verdict, and an exact written price — whether the answer is exterior excavation or a smaller job.
Or call (708) 423-2800