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Foundation Repair and Basement Waterproofing in Andover, MA
Andover's Building Division keeps its own Basement to Habitable Space worksheet, and since May 1, 2026 contractors have had to pick up a printed building card before work starts. Call (978) 800-2819 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Town and state rules on this page
- Ballardvale to Shawsheen Village
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Basements in Andover
What's the basement project?
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) 800-2819Tell us whether you're fighting water, fixing a wall or finishing the space, and we'll help you work out the job.
Permits
Permits and rules for basement work in Andover
Andover's Building Division, which includes the electrical and plumbing and gas inspectors, hands out permits weekdays from 7:00 to 3:30. Since May 1, 2026, contractors must pick up a printed building card before starting work and keep it on site with the approved plans; a replacement card is $100, and an inspection with no card on site fails and brings a reinspection fee. Applications go through OpenGov or ViewPoint Cloud (Building Division).
- Building Division
- Permit pickup Mon–Fri 7:00–3:30
- Apply online
- OpenGov or ViewPoint Cloud
- Building card
- Required on site from May 1, 2026; replacement $100
- Finishing a basement
- Basement to Habitable Space worksheet
- Building fees
- Building Permit Fees (town PDF)
- Sewer
- No sump pump water, groundwater or roof drains; backwater valve required
Finishing a basement. Andover has a form for it: the Fees, Forms and Checklists page lists a Basement to Habitable Space worksheet with the building forms, next to the Building Permit Checklist, a Massachusetts Existing Building Code checklist and the homeowner license exemption (Fees, Forms and Checklists). Under the state code, a habitable basement room needs a ceiling of at least 6 feet 8 inches, and Massachusetts requires photoelectric smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm on every story, basement included (780 CMR chapter 3).
Other basement jobs. The town lists no form for foundation repair, waterproofing, egress windows or sump pumps. The state code requires a permit to alter or repair a building, leaves ordinary repairs exempt without defining them, and always requires one to substantially cut away a wall or remove a beam or load-bearing support (780 CMR R105); ask the Building Division about a drain or sump job before it starts. Andover's residential electrical fees, last modified May 9, 2025, charge 200% of the fee for working without a permit (electrical fees).
The contractor's credentials. Home improvement work on an owner-occupied one- to four-unit home generally calls for Home Improvement Contractor registration; check it on the state's Contractor Hub. On one- and two-family homes, a licensed construction supervisor or registered design professional must oversee construction (construction supervisor rules). Get a written contract for anything over $1,000, and don't pay a deposit above one-third of the price unless special-order materials cost more (M.G.L. c.142A §2). No state rule makes every foundation repair an engineer's job, but the building official can require more documents, and in a flood hazard area they must be sealed by a registered design professional (R107.1, R322.1). Excavating outside the foundation means a Dig Safe notice at least 72 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays (M.G.L. c.82 §40A).
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by November 2027. New England Basement Pros is a referral service. We don't pull permits or do basement work; the contractor files the permit.
Water
Where the water comes from in Andover
Nothing clear into the sewer. Andover's Sewer Regulations, amended by the Board of Health on May 12, 2025, allow no rain water, sump pump water or surface runoff into the system in any manner and prohibit discharges of groundwater and roof drains, with penalties of up to $1,000 per day or noncriminal citations (Sewer Regulations). The same rules require a backwater valve in every building sewer, 10 feet outside the foundation wall, and make the owner responsible for the building sewer from the inside of the foundation wall to the end of the service connection. When a building sewer is repaired, the town's fact sheet of April 1, 2023 says a backwater valve and cleanout must be added if there isn't one, and all sewer work needs a trench permit (Sewer Permitting Fact Sheet).
So where does the sump go? We didn't find an Andover rule saying where sump water may discharge, and the Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Bylaw, amended in 2023, only requires a Planning Board permit for land disturbance of 43,560 square feet or more (Stormwater Bylaw). A public comment in MassDEP's response-to-comments document on its I/I guidelines notes that redirecting a sump can create an illicit discharge to local waters (MassDEP response to comments). The town's stormwater directory sends illicit discharge and storm drain questions to DPW Engineering at 978-623-8770 and sanitary sewer backups to DPW Water and Sewer at 978-623-8860 (stormwater directory); call Engineering before choosing an outlet.
The Shawsheen. The state's undated Climate Ready Shawsheen page says serious flooding in May 2006 and March 2010 closed many roads, cancelled school and forced evacuations, and that the 2019 resilience planning process named flooding a particular hazard of concern. It projects 2.34 more inches of rain a year for 2020–2049 compared with 1971–2000, and 23% more days with over 2 inches of rain (Climate Ready Shawsheen).
South of the Stevens Street bridge
Named as a flood-prone area along the Shawsheen River.
Andover Commons, Marland Place and Frye Circle
Three housing properties along the Shawsheen that the state's page says are at elevated risk from flooding.
Find your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. If you're finishing a basement in a flood-prone spot, note that flood insurance doesn't cover finished walls, floors, carpeting or most belongings in a basement (FEMA).
Wetland zones. Andover's Wetlands Protection Bylaw treats the whole 100-foot buffer as a protected resource area, with an inner 25-foot no-disturb zone and an inner 50-foot no-build zone; some houses that existed or were permitted by January 1, 1999 may qualify for exemptions (bylaw fact sheet). Exterior drains and excavation near a wetland or the river go to the Conservation Commission, which meets on the first and third Tuesdays (wetland permitting).
Andover's homes
Mostly single-family, a third of it older than 1960
Andover's 2025–2030 Housing Production Plan says over one third of the town's homes, about 36%, were built before 1960 and 8% after 2010, and about 70% are detached single-family houses; it names Ballardvale, Shawsheen Village, downtown and River Road among the town's areas (Housing Production Plan).
In the Ballardvale Historic District, any work visible from a public way needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first, which can include a new bulkhead or window well (Ballardvale Historic District Commission). The Central Street Historic District, created at Town Meeting on April 30, 2025 with 39 properties, reviews certain exterior alterations and exempts driveways, walkways and fences among other items (2025 Town Meeting recap).
Radon
Test the basement before you finish it
We found no Andover-specific radon results. Essex County, along with Middlesex and Worcester, is where Massachusetts requires a passive radon mitigation system in new one- and two-family homes, and the state publishes residential results by town (radon tracking). State health guidance, checked November 2026, calls for testing at the lowest livable level between November 1 and March 31, strongly recommends mitigation at 4.0 pCi/L, and says to consider it between 2.0 and 4.0 (testing your home for radon). A basement you're about to turn into living space is the place to test.
FAQ
Andover basement questions
Does Andover have a form for finishing a basement?
Yes. The Building Division lists a Basement to Habitable Space worksheet among its building forms, alongside the Building Permit Checklist. Ask the Building Division how it fits with your permit application.
Can a sump pump drain into the sewer in Andover?
No. The Sewer Regulations, amended May 12, 2025, say no sump pump water may enter the system in any manner, and they also prohibit discharges of groundwater and roof drains. Penalties run up to $1,000 per day.
What is Andover's backwater valve rule?
Every building sewer must have a backwater valve 10 feet outside the foundation wall, and the Sewer Permitting Fact Sheet says one must be added, with a cleanout, when a building sewer without one is repaired. The owner is responsible for the building sewer from the inside of the foundation wall out to the service connection.
Which parts of Andover flood?
The state's Climate Ready Shawsheen page describes serious flooding in May 2006 and March 2010 and names a flood-prone area along the Shawsheen River south of the Stevens Street bridge, and says Andover Commons, Marland Place and Frye Circle housing along the river is at elevated risk from flooding.
What does it cost me to use New England Basement Pros?
Nothing. Asking is free for homeowners; the contractor prices the job, and the price and contract are between you and them.
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