Basement Waterproofing and Foundation Repair for Massachusetts and New Hampshire Homes
Water along the floor after every thaw, a crack that weeps in April, a sump pump that runs all night, or a basement you want to finish but can't trust to stay dry? New England Basement Pros is a free referral service for homeowners in Greater Lowell, MA, Andover, Lawrence & Haverhill, MA, Woburn, Reading & Melrose, MA, Nashua Region, NH, Salem, Derry & Londonderry, NH, Manchester & Bedford, NH and Portsmouth, Dover & Rochester, NH. Call (978) 800-2819 or send the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Contractors screened first
- One company per area
Ask About Basement Service in Your Area
Tell us what the basement is doing and when it happens. A person reads it and replies with what happens next.
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What we refer
What is the basement telling you?
Waterproofing & Drainage
Wet walls, seepage at the floor joint and spring water in the basement, handled with interior drains, exterior work or both.
Sump Pumps
New pits, replacement pumps and battery backups, with the discharge going somewhere your town allows.
Foundation Cracks & Repair
Leaking cracks, bowing or settling walls and failing mortar in old fieldstone, with an engineer brought in when the job is structural.
Crawl Spaces & Finishing
Damp crawl spaces sealed up, and dry basements turned into finished space with the right permits.
Not sure what it needs?
(978) 800-2819White crust on the walls, a musty smell, a damp stripe where the wall meets the floor, a stair-step crack in the block: describe what you see and when it shows up, and we'll help you put a name to the job.
How it works
One request instead of a week of phone tag
Basement contractors are hardest to reach right when you need them, after a wet spring or a week of rain, and most homeowners end up leaving messages with four or five of them. Tell us what the basement is doing and your town, and the request comes to us. No basement contractors are participating yet; we're signing up one area at a time, and until then we reply to every request ourselves.
Each area has one participating company at most. We don't dig, pump, patch or price anything, and we don't sign contracts. The quote, the schedule and the agreement are between you and the contractor.
- Describe the problem. Your town, roughly how old the house is, what the foundation is made of if you know, where the water or crack shows up and when.
- A person reads it and answers. Every request is read by a person, who writes back with what to do next.
- Some jobs need the town first. Structural repairs and turning a basement into living space generally run through your building department, and digging outside the foundation needs a Dig Safe ticket before anyone breaks ground.
Service area
The towns we cover
Each town page covers who issues building permits for basement work there, where sump pump and foundation drain water is allowed to go, the brooks and flood zones that matter, and the kind of foundations the town's older houses sit on. Towns with a local guide so far: Greater Lowell, MA (Lowell, Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Westford, Tyngsborough and Pepperell), Andover, Lawrence & Haverhill, MA (Methuen, Lawrence, Andover, North Andover and Haverhill), Woburn, Reading & Melrose, MA (Woburn, Lexington, Burlington, Wilmington, North Reading, Reading, Wakefield, Melrose, Stoneham and Winchester), Nashua Region, NH (Nashua, Hudson and Merrimack), Salem, Derry & Londonderry, NH (Pelham, Salem, Windham, Derry and Londonderry), Manchester & Bedford, NH (Manchester and Bedford) and Portsmouth, Dover & Rochester, NH (Portsmouth, Dover and Rochester). We add towns across New England as we can cover them properly.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts basement rules and every town we cover →
New Hampshire
Before anyone signs
Five Massachusetts rules that shape basement jobs
Over $1,000, the contract goes in writing. Massachusetts requires a written agreement for residential contracting over $1,000, with the contractor's registration number, start and completion dates, the work and materials, the total price and a payment schedule. The deposit can't be more than one-third of the price, or the cost of special-order materials if that is higher, and the contract must explain your three-day right to cancel (M.G.L. c.142A §2). Check a company's registration on the state's HIC contractor search.
A registered contractor keeps the Guaranty Fund open to you. Homeowners may apply for up to $25,000 of actual losses if they meet the fund's requirements, including winning in arbitration or court against a registered contractor who didn't pay (HIC homeowner resources). Hiring an unregistered contractor shuts you out of it, and so does pulling the permit yourself (HIC contractor resources, c.142A §2).
Structural work needs a permit and a supervisor. Ordinary repairs don't need a permit application, but the code names "the substantial cutting away of any wall" and "the removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as work that does (780 CMR R105.2.2). On one- and two-family homes, a licensed construction supervisor or a registered design professional must oversee construction (when a CSL is required); you can check a license on the state's license verification site.
Sump water stays out of the sewer. MassDEP counts sump pumps connected to the sewer as inflow and says local sewer regulations must prohibit those connections (MassDEP infiltration and inflow). Where the pump may discharge instead is set by your town.
Digging outside means Dig Safe first. Exterior waterproofing means excavating, and anyone excavating must premark the area and notify Dig Safe at least 72 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays (M.G.L. c.82 §40A). Dig Safe recommends that the contractor make the call when one is hired (Dig Safe FAQ).
New Hampshire works differently, from contractor licensing to who issues permits. The New Hampshire page covers it.
Last verified November 2026.
FAQ
Common questions
Does it cost anything to use New England Basement Pros?
No. Asking is free for homeowners. The contractor prices the job, and the price and the contract are between you and that company.
Can you send someone tonight for a flooded basement?
We are not an emergency service. We review it and reply by the next business day. If water is near your electrical panel, outlets or appliances, stay out of the basement and call your electric company or 911. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 from outside.
Will a bunch of contractors start calling me?
No. Your request goes to one company at most, the one that covers your town. We never send it out to a list.
What basement work do you refer?
Work at homes: interior and exterior waterproofing and drainage, sump pumps, foundation crack and wall repair, crawl space sealing, and finishing a basement that is already dry. New construction, commercial buildings and mold or radon testing on their own are outside what we refer.
Can my sump pump drain into the sewer?
No, in either state. MassDEP counts sump pumps connected to the sewer as inflow and says local sewer regulations must prohibit those connections, and New Hampshire's rules say sump pumps and foundation drains shall not be connected to a public sewer. Where the water may go instead is a town rule, so ask your public works department.