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Foundation Repair and Basement Waterproofing in Billerica, MA
Billerica has 51 repetitive flood loss structures, more than any other community in the region, according to its open space plan. 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
- Pinehurst to West Billerica
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Basements in Billerica
What's wrong in the basement?
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 the water seeps, rises through the floor or backs up, and we'll help you work out the job.
Permits
Permits and rules for basement work in Billerica
Billerica's Building Department is at 365 Boston Road. Its FAQ says a building permit is needed to construct, reconstruct, alter, repair, remove or demolish one- and two-family homes, that homeowners can pull their own building permit once a homeowner exemption form is on file, that only licensed electricians, plumbers and gas fitters may do that work, and that a plot plan is required if any structure or living space is added (Building FAQ). Permits are filed online through the town's MapsOnline permitting (Building Department).
- Building Department
- 365 Boston Road; 978-671-0942
- Apply online
- MapsOnline permitting
- Fees
- Posted as scanned schedules; Building Department documents
- Homeowner permits
- Building permits only, with an exemption form on file
- Sewer
- Sanitary-only; sump pumps discharge outside
- Owner's sewer pipe
- From the inside foundation wall to the main
- DPW Engineering
- 978-671-1300
Fees. The town posts its building and its plumbing and gas fee schedules as scanned documents (building fees; plumbing and gas fees). Ask the department for the amount that applies to your job.
Basement jobs. Billerica's FAQ doesn't name basement finishing, foundation work or egress windows. State code treats ordinary repairs as exempt but always requires a permit to substantially cut away a wall or cut a beam or load-bearing support (780 CMR R105), and the state chart marks structural carpentry, insulation, wallboard and new windows as permitted work (state HIC chart). A finished basement room needs a 6-foot-8-inch ceiling, photoelectric smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm on that level (780 CMR chapter 3).
Contractors and contracts. A contractor working on an owner-occupied home of one to four units generally needs Home Improvement Contractor registration, which you can check on the Contractor Hub; a licensed construction supervisor or registered design professional must oversee construction on one- and two-family homes (construction supervisor rules). Contracts over $1,000 are written, with a deposit of no more than one-third unless special-order materials cost more (M.G.L. c.142A §2). In a flood hazard area, state code requires construction documents sealed by a registered design professional (R322.1); elsewhere the building official can ask for more documents (R107.1), though no state rule makes foundation repair engineer-only work. Excavation outside the foundation needs 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 May 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 Billerica
Two rivers that flood. Billerica's 2024 Open Space and Recreation Plan says the Concord and Shawsheen rivers and their tributaries flood, worst in spring and late summer. The Concord stayed at flood elevation for 14 days in 1936 and at 117 feet for eight days in 1955, reached 118 feet near the water plant in 1979, and has reached or passed its 10-year flood elevation of 114 feet almost every year since 1957. On the Shawsheen, the most severe recent flood was in March 2010, and the river has passed flood stage ten times since then at the Near Wilmington gauge (2024 Open Space and Recreation Plan).
Groundwater and ledge. The same plan says floodplain soils have severe limits from frequent flooding and seasonally high water tables, and dense till can hold water high. Water tables are usually more than ten feet down except in the Pinehurst area; some soils have a fluctuating water table within two feet of the surface and hardpan at 1.5 to 2 feet; and in parts of West Billerica bedrock is only one to three feet down, with many ledge exposures.
Concord River west bank
Between Route 4 and Route 3A, historically subject to flooding, the plan says.
Shawsheen River
Its March 2010 flood was the river's most severe recent flood, the plan says.
Pinehurst
The one area the plan names where water tables aren't usually more than ten feet down.
West Billerica
Shallow-to-ledge ground, with bedrock one to three feet below the surface.
Keep the sump outside. Billerica's wastewater FAQ says sump pumps shouldn't be connected to the sewer and should discharge outside the home; the sewer carries sanitary flow only, and stormwater runs in separate pipes back to the rivers. Owners are responsible for the building sewer from the inside foundation wall to the main (Wastewater FAQ).
The 2013–14 redirect program. The DPW's Sump Pump Program page says the sewer system and the Letchworth Avenue treatment plant aren't designed for sump pump flow. Funded by the 2012 Annual Town Meeting, the program began in August 2013, with surveys through the end of 2013 and a second phase into early 2014; a DPW team assessed and redirected pumps at low or no cost, and the page's diagrams show discharge to the ground, to an on-site infiltration basin or to a storm drain. The page doesn't say whether the program is still running, so ask DPW Engineering at 978-671-1300 (Sump Pump Program).
Floodplain limits. Billerica's floodplain district follows the FEMA map revised July 7, 2014; zoning bars buildings in it without a special permit, fill or paving in the floodplain needs approval, and the plan says a Board of Health regulation prohibited new construction within 100 feet of the 100-year floodplain without a variance (2024 Open Space and Recreation Plan). Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. The local Wetlands Protection Bylaw sets a 100-foot buffer zone and a 200-foot riverfront area (Wetlands Protection By-Law), and the regulations require an undisturbed vegetation strip of 25 feet on lots developed by June 27, 2003 and 50 feet on previously undeveloped ones (Wetland Protection Regulations).
Billerica's homes
Single-family houses, some on tight older lots
In the 2000 Census, 82.4% of Billerica's 13,058 housing units were single-family homes (Housing Production Plan draft, October 2021). The 2018 Master Plan describes older, denser neighborhoods on lots of half an acre or less in East Billerica, Pinehurst, Nutting Lake, Rio Vista, River Pines and North Billerica (2018 Master Plan). The 2024 open space plan says the town sewer now serves about 85% of the community, and that sewer lines were extended to Nutting Lake homes after septic seepage from older cottages fouled the lake there.
The Historic Districts Commission reviews exterior changes in the Center, North Billerica Mills, Corner and Richardson's Mill districts; applications are $25 for minor work and $50 for major, and the commission's staff can confirm whether a change is exempt (Historic Districts Commission). A new bulkhead or window well in one of those districts should go to the commission early.
Radon
Radon under a Billerica house
We couldn't pull a Billerica radon figure from the state's dashboard. Middlesex County is one of the three counties, with Essex and Worcester, where Massachusetts requires a passive radon mitigation system in new one- and two-family homes, and the state publishes test results by town on its residential radon tracking page. State health guidance we checked in November 2026 says to test 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).
FAQ
Billerica basement questions
Can my sump pump drain into the sewer in Billerica?
No. The town's wastewater FAQ says sump pumps shouldn't be connected to the sewer and should discharge outside the home. Billerica's sewer is sanitary-only; stormwater runs in separate pipes back to the Concord and Shawsheen rivers.
Will the DPW help me move a sump pump off the sewer?
It did. The DPW's Sump Pump Program, started in August 2013 with surveys running into early 2014, sent a team to assess and redirect pumps at low or no cost. The page doesn't say whether it's still taking sign-ups, so call DPW Engineering at 978-671-1300 to ask.
Who fixes a sewer backup in my basement?
It depends where the blockage is. The town says the property owner maintains and repairs the building sewer from the inside foundation wall to the main, and the town clears the main. On weekdays from 7 to 3:30 the treatment plant takes calls at 978-671-0956.
Is my part of Billerica wet or rocky?
The 2024 open space plan says water tables are usually deeper than ten feet except in the Pinehurst area, that some soils carry a fluctuating water table within two feet of the surface, and that bedrock is only one to three feet down in parts of West Billerica.
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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