Waterproofing Company Q&A with Tony Romanelli of RCC and Top Choice Awards
RCC Waterproofing’s very owner President Tony Romanelli sits down with Top Choice Awards on an episode of their show “Social Questions” to answer some questions about our waterproofing company with topics ranging from basement waterproofing costs, warning signs for basement leaks, how to vet a waterproofing company to see if they are experienced, and more waterproofing questions homeowners want to be answered.
Check out the video below to see the full interview:
Question: What are some common signs that a building or structure is in need of waterproofing?
Typically, it is evident on the inside of the home that something is not finished. Or aging is the number one sign like houses in the GTA that might be 50 years or older. It had zero waterproofing done and even most newer homes still don’t have waterproofing done. If you get to a more commercial level or industrial level then yes, but when it comes to residential homes, it is still not common. There is still so much more construction businesses can do and it is very easy to have the basement waterproofing done when you are building the home but much harder when you have to repair your basement foundation afterward.
Question: How long does the waterproofing process take and how much does waterproofing cost?
When you are waterproofing the foundation when it is new, it can be done in a day and the waterproofing cost is one-tenth what it would be if you had a leak on your house 10 years down the road and it wasn’t previously waterproofed. So you can spend about $1000 on a minimum level waterproofing although this will not have much done to address the leak. But then you could spend up to $50,000 on one job so it is a very big expense for a household. One of the biggest that people don’t take seriously until they have basement leak problems.
Question: What is the biggest waterproofing project RCC Waterproofing has done to date?
We have worked on many cool waterproofing projects! One of the biggest we did many moons ago was the Royal Hotel. Maybe it wasn’t the biggest from a dollar value or square footage perspective, but it was the most difficult, most prestigious, and certainly the most interesting. This was done a long time ago but it was very cool and this was when I was there hands-on with the project. It was downtown right in the middle of the city so it presented lots of challenges and it was the marquee location in the City of Toronto.
Follow-Up Question: Have you ever had to go back there and check up on things?
No, we have never been back there. We had a consultation with them on something five years ago but that’s about it. So obviously we did a good job and that’s great!
Question: What are the benefits of hiring a professional waterproofing company?
A problem with the term “professional waterproofing company” is that there are very little to no barriers to entry. Two guys with a couple of shovels and a pickup truck can call themselves waterproofers. There are no Harvard University graduates that get into this business so you have to be very careful when you are hiring a waterproofing company. Professionals in the waterproofing industry come with experience and you need a lot of experience. Waterproofing seems simple when you look at it from the outside but there is a lot of stuff to know and you have to know what you are dealing with when working on a waterproofing project. You are competing with God’s creations and water wants to go where it wants to go and you only get an understanding of this through experience. To this day, RCC Waterproofing still runs into things today that makes us say “Wow! Unbelievable! What is happening at this property or this building?” So in the end, you just have to be careful which waterproofing companies you hire. The job is not as easy as may seem in a video and accurately assessing the problem is very important.
Question: How do you train and manage your team of waterproofing technicians? OR What are some exciting developments or trends you see on the horizon for the waterproofing industry?
You have to understand that we are the professors here. I have two waterproofing experts that have been with RCC Waterproofing for 40 years. They are teaching the people below them on their team and the people below even them. We always say that we would like to hire people that are natively in this field but the reality is there are no people in this field. So if they did come to work for us, we have a great staff here that can train them and they can be apprentices because there is no schooling for this type of business.
As far as new products in the waterproofing industry, we are always cutting-edge. We even make some of our own products like Hydro Guard which we make at a commercial-grade for residential waterproofing projects. So we have a lot of great waterproofing products that we have done over the years and we try to build and test them until they come to fruition. We are always trying to improve them to make things last longer. We went from offering a five-year warranty to 10 years, 15 years and now we offer a lifetime warranty guarantee on all our waterproofing projects because we believe that strongly in our waterproofing products and our workmanship.
Question: How long has RCC waterproofing been in business now?
Since 1920! My grandfather was in the business not necessarily doing waterproofing exclusively as it wasn’t a big thing back then but worked on Funkin and Drain kind of projects. Waterproofing became more important as more people had houses with basements so it became more important for the family.
Question: What would you like to say to all your Top Choice Voters?
I’d like to say thank you! As much as it’s nice to get trophies and all of those kinds of accolades, really knowing that people like to reach out is great. Not just through calls but online reviews and other things like that. It’s just nice to hear people’s feedback. It’s easy to complain about stuff and harder to hear good stuff so when you hear good stuff like when people call in, give you handwritten letters and write nice online reviews, I take all of that to heart because this is a personal family business. It’s not like you are writing a review to a big corporation like Bell or some company like that. This is very personal to me and in general, waterproofing is a terrible experience. You are spending a lot of money on something you really don’t want to spend it on. You don’t get to show it to your friends in the end because it’s underground. So it’s not a very happy moment so if people are happy that they got their money’s worth and feel confident while using our waterproofing services than that makes me feel good.
RCC Waterproofing and Foundation Repairs has been servicing Ontario customers for over 100 years. Their repairs have outlived lifetime warranties by at least two times. The company provides professionally trained sales representatives to view, assess and quote on repairs. The installers are employees of RCC and most have long term working relationships. RCC carries full insurance including WSIB coverage and HST registration.
RCC Waterproofing offers:
- A Lifetime Waterproofing Guarantee!
- 24-hour emergency services for Ontario residences
- Fully trained technical sales representatives to view, assess and quote the repair
- Over 100 years of third-generation family success both in products and services and superb warranty
- Full-service options, providing either exterior or interior repairs depending on issues, location, and structure
- A successful record of servicing over 75,000 customers
