Project spotlight · Long Island · September 2026

Basement Entrance Rebuild with New Caps, Drainage and Floor

A below-grade basement entrance at a brick home on Long Island, rebuilt over four visits between September 3 and September 8, 2026.

Before & after

Basement entrance walkway before the concrete slab, with capped walls and a dirt base — Before: walls capped, floor not yet poured

Finished concrete basement entrance walkway and capped walls — After: new floor, parged walls and caps

The problem

Outside basement entrances sit below grade, so they collect rainwater and snowmelt. This one needed new wall caps, better drainage and a finished floor so water would be carried away from the basement door.

What we did

Visit 1 (September 3): forming and pouring new wall caps

The crew set wood forms on top of the existing low walls along the side walkway, then placed and troweled new concrete caps.

Wood forms set for a new poured concrete wall cap along a side walkway — Forms set for the new caps

Concrete poured into forms for a new wall cap beside a walkway — Wall cap poured in forms

Freshly troweled concrete wall cap next to a white porch column — Freshly troweled wall cap

Visit 2 (September 4, morning): sump pump and drain line

A sump pump was installed in a new basin in the corner of the areaway, and a trench was dug to run the PVC discharge line along the wall.

New sump basin installed at a basement entrance stairwell — New sump basin at the stairwell

Sump pump and PVC discharge line installed in a new basin — Sump pump in its new basin

Trench dug for a PVC drain line along a foundation wall — Trench for the drain line

Visit 3 (September 4, afternoon): walls, caps and drain set

With the caps on and the areaway drain and grate set, the stairwell was ready for its floor.

Basement entrance stairwell with new concrete wall caps — Areaway walls with new caps

Concrete retaining walls with caps at a basement entrance before the floor pour — Walls capped, drain in place

Areaway drain set between new concrete walls at a basement door — Areaway drain set

New drain grate set into a parged concrete wall at a basement entrance — Drain grate set into the wall

Visit 4 (September 8): finished

The walls were parged smooth and a new concrete floor was poured and pitched to the drain at the basement door.

Finished concrete basement entrance with new retaining wall caps and floor at a brick home — Finished basement entrance

Finished concrete basement entrance with capped retaining walls — Finished areaway with railing and garden

New concrete wall caps and finished areaway next to a lawn — New wall caps along the lawn

Smooth parged concrete walls and new floor at a basement entrance — Parged walls and new floor at the door

New concrete floor and drain grate at a basement door — New floor pitched to the drain

Scope summary

New poured concrete wall caps
Sump basin, sump pump and PVC discharge line
Areaway drain and grate
Parged walls
New concrete floor pitched to the drain

Have a basement entrance that floods?

See our drainage service, related retaining wall and steps work, or request a free estimate.

Monday	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday	9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday	8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday	8:00 am – 6:00 pm