Waterproof paint and interior patches have a way of buying a season or two before the dampness comes right back. The reason is simple enough: the water was never starting inside your basement. It's sitting in the soil pressed against your foundation wall, and it works a little further through the concrete with every storm that rolls across North Georgia. A&A Waterproofing has been handling exterior foundation waterproofing for property owners across Marietta, GA, and the communities around it since 1996, and treating the outside of the wall is the only approach that stops water before it ever reaches the space you live in.
Homeowners across the Marietta, Georgia, area know A&A Waterproofing as a veteran-owned foundation waterproofing and repair contractor run by owner Allen Aschwege. Our crews specialize in below-grade exterior work, which covers excavating along the foundation wall, cleaning and preparing the concrete or block surface, sealing the spots where water has been getting through, applying protective barrier systems rated for underground use, and correcting the drainage that put water against the wall to begin with. New construction falls outside what we take on, so every project involves a building that's already standing. Marietta anchors our service area, which reaches out through the surrounding counties, and looking at your foundation costs nothing.
Most homeowners find out they have a problem when something inside gives it away. A dark patch spreading across the block wall, chalky white powder collecting near the floor, paint or sealer bubbling off the surface, a smell in the lower level that never quite clears, or water actually running down the wall the morning after a heavy rain. Each of those is the last stage of a process that started outside months or years earlier.
Behind it sits the clay soil this part of Georgia is built on. Clay holds rainfall rather than letting it drain away, and saturated soil pushes against your foundation with real force. Concrete and block are porous materials, so that pressure drives moisture into every available opening: the pores in the concrete itself, form tie holes, the cold joint at the footing, mortar joints in block walls, and any crack that already exists. Short downspouts, a yard that slopes toward the house, and missing or clogged footing drains all keep the soil wetter and make the whole situation worse.
Our repair happens where the water is. We excavate along the affected wall down to the footing, then clean the surface and let our crew see exactly what's been going on. Cracks, tie holes, and open joints get sealed, a barrier system goes on across the full below-grade surface, and protective board or drainage material shields it during backfill. Before the trench closes, we address the drainage side of the equation with footing drain lines, corrected grade, and downspout discharge routed well away from the structure.
What you're left with is a wall that water no longer has a path through. The lower level dries out and stays that way, stored belongings and finished spaces stop absorbing moisture, and the concrete itself gets protected from the freeze cycles and constant saturation that break it down over time. Our warranty coverage stands behind the installation, which means this becomes a repair you handle once rather than a maintenance item you revisit every spring.
Sealing a foundation from the outside solves several problems at the same time, and here is what that looks like in practice.
Interior systems manage water after it has already entered the wall, while an exterior barrier keeps it out of the concrete entirely. Stopping moisture at the soil line means the wall stays dry through its full thickness rather than shedding water on the inside face. Homeowners generally notice the humidity difference in the lower level within the first few weeks.
Constant saturation is hard on foundation walls, contributing to spalling, deteriorating mortar joints, and cracks that widen over the years. A sealed exterior keeps the wall from soaking up groundwater, which extends how long the structure holds up. Preserving what you already have costs considerably less than replacing a section of wall later on.
Since the soil is already open along the foundation, our crew can install or repair footing drains, fix the grade, and reroute downspout discharge without a separate excavation. Handling both pieces together reduces the water load on the barrier and saves you money compared with doing them in two phases. Most properties need some drainage attention, and this is the most practical moment to do it.
Working outside means no jackhammering through a basement floor, no cutting into finished walls, and no relocating furniture or storage. Families with a finished lower level appreciate keeping the disruption in the yard rather than in the living space. Landscaping gets restored once the backfill is complete.
Qualifying exterior projects come with coverage that starts at a decade and can extend to a lifetime warranty, with the specifics tied to what we installed. Written terms come with the job so you know exactly what stands behind it. That documentation also becomes useful if you sell the house down the road.
Exterior sealing frequently overlaps with other repairs we perform, and these related pages cover the details.
Active water entry points get sealed before any barrier system goes on, and our foundation leak repair work targets cracks, tie holes, cold joints, and pipe penetrations using the method each one calls for. Finding the entry point often tells us more about the underlying cause than anything visible from inside.
The barrier layer itself deserves close attention, since installation quality determines whether a system lasts for decades or fails at the seams. Our foundation waterproof membrane installation work covers surface preparation, material selection, and careful sealing at corners, seams, and the transition down at the footing.
Every below-grade solution we offer falls under our broader foundation waterproofing service, which includes both exterior and interior approaches depending on the property. Allen walks each customer through which method suits their situation and why, rather than applying the same fix to every house.
Digging up the side of a house calls for a contractor you can actually trust, so here is what you get with our team.
Allen has been at this since 1996, and the business ran in Missouri for roughly twenty years before he brought it to Georgia. That history means we can usually tell what's happening before we finish walking the perimeter, and we take the time to show homeowners what we're seeing so the reasoning makes sense.
Customers get more than one path forward with a price attached to each, because the largest job on the list isn't always the one that solves the problem. Being upfront about what a property actually needs has saved our clients considerable money over the years. You decide what fits your budget after you understand the choices.
This is a veteran-owned company working in its own community, so the person quoting your project is the same one accountable for how it turns out. Reputation travels quickly around here, and we treat that accordingly.
Coming out, assessing the foundation, and putting together a quote costs nothing at all. Acorn Finance handles our financing when timing is tight, and the Hometown Heroes discount trims 10% for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, veterans, and active-duty military.
Every qualifying project carries warranty protection, and how long it runs depends on the job, with a decade at the low end and lifetime coverage at the high end. Standing behind our work is part of how this company has stayed busy for close to thirty years.
Clay is exactly why it works so well here. Because clay holds water against a foundation instead of letting it drain, sealing the outside face of the wall removes the pathway that pressure has been using. Properties around Marietta, Kennesaw, and Acworth sit on some of the heaviest clay in the metro area, and exterior work addresses that directly.
Most residential projects run somewhere between three days and a week, depending on how much wall we're opening, how deep the foundation sits, and what we find once the soil is off. Lot access matters too, since a tight side yard on an older Marietta home takes longer than an open backyard in a newer Woodstock or Canton subdivision.
Our crews plan the excavation around what's already there, and we protect walkways, beds, and irrigation lines as much as the site allows. Some plantings along the affected wall have to come out, and we'll identify those before starting so nothing catches you off guard. Backfill gets compacted properly and the grade gets restored when we finish.
Winter is actually a reasonable time for exterior work in this part of Georgia, since our ground rarely freezes deeply enough to stop excavation. Rain schedules are the bigger factor, and we plan around the forecast either way. Waiting through a wet spring usually means several more months of water working on the wall.
Not necessarily, and we'll tell you honestly if the interior system is doing its job. Interior drainage manages water that has already entered the wall, so homeowners who want the moisture stopped before it reaches the concrete, or who are dealing with a deteriorating wall, benefit from adding exterior protection. That conversation happens during the free estimate.
FAQs reviewed by Allen Aschwege, owner of A&A Waterproofing and a foundation waterproofing specialist serving Marietta, GA, since 1996.
Give us a call and we'll walk the property, explain what's driving the moisture, and lay out what it would take to seal the foundation properly. Since 1996 our crews have been keeping water out of basements around this area, and the assessment stays honest whether or not you hire us.
Business Name: A&A Waterproofing
Address: Marietta, GA, 30064
Phone: 770-443-1155
Business Hours:
Mon - Sat: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Hometown Heroes Discount
We're proud to offer 10% off for veterans, active-duty military, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders as a thank-you for your service.
Comprehensive Warranty Coverage
We stand behind the quality of our work. Warranty coverage varies by service and repair, with options ranging from 10-year warranties to lifetime warranties on qualifying projects.
