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Foundation Repair and Basement Waterproofing in Rochester, NH
Rochester's stormwater code lists foundation and footing drains and clean pumped groundwater among the discharges allowed into its storm drains, and its 2025 hazard plan names three single-family homes near the Cocheco with repeat flood claims. Call (978) 800-2819 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
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Basements in Rochester
What's the basement problem?
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 when the water comes in and how close the house is to a river or brook, and we'll help you figure out what kind of job it is.
Permits
Permits and rules for basement work in Rochester
Permits come from the Department of Building, Zoning & Licensing Services at 33 Wakefield Street (603-332-3508) and are filed on the city's OpenGov portal. The city sorts building permits into Major (new homes and added units), Minor Building Permit (Residential) "for residential alterations," and Express, which is only for fences, re-shingling, siding, small sheds and windows (permit types and fees). Basement finishing, foundation work and egress windows aren't on the Express list, so a basement remodel goes on the Minor permit. Inspections are in person except for Express permits.
- Permits issued by
- Building, Zoning & Licensing Services, 33 Wakefield St, 603-332-3508
- Apply online
- OpenGov
- Residential alterations
- Minor Building Permit: $9 per $1,000 plus $10 application fee
- After the fact
- Twice the fee
- Code edition
- 2021 or 2024 ICC codes until January 1, 2027
Posted fees. The city charges "$9.00 per $1,000.00 of construction cost (rounded up if only a portion of 1,000), plus a $10.00 application fee," and gives the example of a $4,300 job costing $55 (permit fees). After-the-fact permits are twice the fee, and trade forms need 48 hours' notice for inspections. City forms add that New Hampshire adopted the 2024 ICC codes effective July 1, 2026, and that until January 1, 2027 applicants may choose ICC 2021 or ICC 2024 (city permit form).
Hiring a contractor. "In New Hampshire, contractors do not need to be licensed," the Attorney General's office says, so check references and proof of insurance, insist on a written contract with the scope, materials, total price and payment schedule, and treat a deposit over half the price as a warning sign (NH AG). Contracts over $5,000 must include the RSA 359-G notice about resolving defects before a lawsuit (RSA 359-G). Plumbing tie-ins and new electrical circuits are licensed trades, except for an owner working on their own single-family home (Mec 300; RSA 319-C). Exterior excavation needs a free Dig Safe ticket at least 72 hours ahead, not counting weekends and holidays.
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by January 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 Rochester
Rivers and brooks. The city's 2025 Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Update, released for public viewing February 3–7, 2025, has blank adoption dates on the posted copy, so treat it as a draft (2025 hazard plan). It puts about 8.3% of the city's land, 2,413 acres, in the 100-year floodplain, with significant floodplain along Rickers, Howard, Axe Handle, Heath and Willey brooks, Hanson Pond and parts of the Isinglass River, and calls the Cocheco and Isinglass corridors flood-prone. Three repetitive-loss buildings, all single-family homes near the Cocheco River, account for four claims totaling $33,771.72.
Salmon Falls River
Flooding near Autumn Street and Salmon Falls Road, the draft plan says.
Cocheco River
A flood-prone corridor and home to all three repetitive-loss houses; Cocheco Estates Mobile Home Park is also listed for flooding.
Rochester Neck Road
Flooded in heavy rain on December 18, 2023 and closed for 24 hours, the same storm that pushed the Mill Street Dam over capacity.
Evans Road
Flooded down to one lane for 24 hours on January 13, 2024.
The draft also lists flooding at Wilson Street, Estes Road and Chestnut Hill Mobile Home Park. Check your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center before finishing a basement.
Where the pump water goes. Chapter 218, the city's stormwater code, lists among the allowed non-stormwater discharges "foundation or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering systems)" and "rising groundwater, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration to storm drains, uncontaminated pumped groundwater" (Chapter 218). We didn't reach the text of the sewer chapter, but state rules say sump pumps and foundation drains "shall not be directly or indirectly connected to a public sewer" (Env-Wq 704.20). Ask Public Works before tying a line into a city storm drain; land disturbance in a critical area needs a DPW stormwater permit under the same chapter.
Near wetlands. The Conservation Overlay District sets a 75-foot buffer from the Cocheco, Salmon Falls and Isinglass rivers and 50 feet from named brooks and ponds, poorly drained wetland soils and vernal pools. "The land surface within 25 feet of the edge of the wetland shall not be altered," and heavy equipment is banned within 25 feet (Conservation Overlay District). An exterior drain or regrading job near water has to plan around those lines.
Rochester's homes
Mill villages and a 19th-century downtown
We didn't find official figures on when Rochester's homes were built. A draft master plan chapter on cultural and historic resources (Draft #3, June 7, 2024, not adopted) describes the Gonic mill of 1849 with its 19th-century layout intact, East Rochester's 1862 woolen mill and the company housing on Front Street, and downtown blocks built between 1890 and 1910 (draft Cultural & Historic Resources chapter).
Downtown's Historic Overlay District requires approval before a building is altered or the ground is significantly disturbed, but work on a single-family or duplex building in the district is exempt (Historic Overlay District). Larger buildings there should check with Planning before exterior drain or bulkhead work.
Radon
Radon in Strafford County basements
We didn't find a city radon figure. Strafford County is among New Hampshire's three highest counties, with half of the homes tested there from 2007 to 2021 at 7.7 pCi/L or more; statewide, about 37% of tested homes were at or above 4 pCi/L (NH DHHS data brief, August 2023). The state Radon Program offers free test kits and recommends testing the lowest livable area, usually the basement (NH Radon Program). New Hampshire doesn't license mitigation contractors, so ask for national certification.
FAQ
Rochester basement questions
Where can sump or foundation drain water go in Rochester?
The city's stormwater code, Chapter 218, lists foundation or footing drains, rising groundwater and uncontaminated pumped groundwater among the non-stormwater discharges allowed to storm drains. Under state rules it can never go into the sanitary sewer. Check with Public Works before connecting anything to a city storm drain.
Which permit covers a basement remodel in Rochester?
Residential alterations go on the Minor Building Permit, at $9 per $1,000 of construction cost plus a $10 application fee. A permit taken out after the work is done costs twice as much.
Which code applies to my basement job right now?
City forms say New Hampshire adopted the 2024 ICC codes effective July 1, 2026, and that until January 1, 2027, applicants may choose either the 2021 or the 2024 codes.
Which Rochester roads have flooded recently?
The 2025 hazard plan says heavy rain on December 18, 2023 flooded Rochester Neck Road, closing it for 24 hours, and that on January 13, 2024 Evans Road flooded down to one lane for a day. It also names the Salmon Falls River area near Autumn Street and Salmon Falls Road, Wilson Street and Estes Road.
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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