Perma-Seal Basement Systems

After shopping around and getting three estimates on our basement wall leakage problems we decided to choose Perma-Seal. We made the right choice. Using their sealants they successfully treated the cracks in our foundation. No more leaks!! We recommend them and would and will call them again for any new problem. They also gave a life-time warranty the work they did so should they need to come back the work will be done free of charge.

I chose them because the representative that came out was very informative and answered all of my questions. They did great work when they installed the system. They've been out twice since then for follow up inspections. Everyone is always very nice. They called many times to let me know that my warranty was coming up. Everyone has been great.

I was pleased with the outcome. I completed a survey page that was provided and send it in with some minor suggestions on improving the contract process. Dan made a follow-up visit to check the completed job and to find out if I had any questions.

It was a very good service. The carpenter was good. The gentle that came out to seal the cracked, cleaned up, and no issues. Really happy.

John Roberts, the sales consultant, came out. He took a quick look at our finished basement interior and within minutes started trying to sell us on the Permaseal brand. Only after my prodding, did he agree to look at the exterior of our home. He went outside, took a brief look and was back inside our basement within a few short minutes. We told him that we were getting some seepage during heavy downpours, but were able to dry the floor with a mop and paper towels. John Roberts? response was to offer two costly options; exterior excavation ($25K project estimate) or interior drain tile and sump pump ($8K project estimate). The first option was totally out of the question as it involved removing our stamped concrete patio, driveway and front and back stairs! However, with the second option we'd have to spend additional money before they could even begin the work. This included paying someone else to remove four stairs leading to the basement, baseboards, 1.5' of our tile floor, move the washer/dryer, hot water heater, toilet, open up the shower wall and build out another wall for sump pump piping in our downstairs bathroom. We would then have to pay to repair/reinstall these items after the job was finished. This option also included placing the sump pump in a downstairs bedroom, which we were not sold on this idea either. Both solutions seemed to be overkill for our basement needs. Despite our obvious reservations, John continued to talk about the drain tile system as well as all of the awards Permaseal has won. He did not seem interested in offering us anything but the costly and excessive drain tile solution. Thankfully, we had two other highly rated companies from Angie?s List come out after Permaseal. On separate occasions, they BOTH diagnosed our problems as foundation cracks that could be repaired from the interior or exterior of our home. They each quoted us prices between $700-$1782 to repair the cracks. The only work we would have to do is to remove and repair parts of the drywall. Neither rep from the other companies even suggested a drain tile system for us. When we asked about it, they each said that it was an unnecessary solution for our situation. One rep said that though he did install drain tile in other basements, our problem was not that extreme. We appreciate the honesty of these two companies and regret that we can't hire them both. They were very honest, listened to what we were saying, took the time to examine our individual problem and didn't try to scare or take advantage of us. One of the things that really turned us off about John Roberts was that he asked us questions such as, "How long do you plan to stay in your house?" ?What?s your budget? and "On a scale of 1-10, where are you in terms of getting the work done?" When we responded to the last question that we didn't know, he attempted to insult us by stating, "So you're going to live with the water for another two years or so?" We responded that we did not say that, but would need to get more estimates as we were uncomfortable with the amount of work involved with option two. He then went on to tell us how many jobs Permaseal does per year, week and day. Throughout the consultation, he also kept repeating that whatever we chose, "It's gotta make sense and it's gotta fit your budget." He spent approximately two hours at our home telling us how great Permaseal was and showing videos and slide shows on drain tile and wall lining solutions, awards and even a Pam Zekman feature which thankfully, we weren't made to endure. We wish John had spent more time accurately/honestly diagnosing our problem instead of giving us a one-size-fits-all solution and promoting Permaseal ad nauseam. He repeatedly told us that Permaseal is a $25 million company. If their solutions involve installing expensive solutions that customers don't need, I understand why their business is so lucrative. From the reviews here, the company appears to do good work. However, from our personal experience, we have to question how much of the work is actually needed. Please do your research. Don't pay expensive solutions that you don?t need. If John Roberts taught us anything, "It's gotta make sense and it's gotta fit your budget!"

Very well as described above. It has been some time since the work was performed but for the first month afterwards, there was no appreciable rain, so the quality of the seal couldn't be assessed. However, we've now had several heavy rains including a couple of back-to-back days of such and there isn't a single drop of water coming down the previously affected wall. Yay! We're very satisfied.

I thought long and hard before I gave this review but I would not hire this company again. The installation went well but I feel that they did not analyze my situation and just wanted to sell a product/service. After the first big rain we had I again had flooding. When I called (there is suppose to be a warranty) they said if it was not the problem that they fixed they would charge me $85.00. This was a different issue concerning a sewer backup which was not addressed in the initial evaluation. I currenly have a check valve for the sewer and the sales person said he would have somebody check it out, which was obviously not done. They then in turn wanted to charge me $85.00 for something that needed to be addressed at the evaluation of my flooding issues to begin with. I depend on reputable companies to analyze my situation and give me the appropriate solutions. This did not happen and they wanted me to keep on paying even though in my opinion, I have paid quite enough.

I contacted Perma Seal via email through the Angie's list website. A company representative contacted me the very next day via the telephone to listen to my concerns regarding my old sump pump system and clogged pit. She scheduled a technician to come to my house to clean out the pit, checked the current primary sump pump, and check around the inside and outside of my house for potential flooding and foundation problems. She informed me that this would cost $98.00. They are a very busy company and the soonest appointment was 3 weeks away. I went ahead with the appointment. The day before the appointment, Perma Seal left me a voicemail stating the technician would be at my house between 9-12 the next day. The morning of the appointment, the technician, Tony, contacted me and informed me he would be at my house around 9:30 AM. He arrived at that time, and began his evaluation. After testing the primary sump pump and demonstrating for me that the old sump pump was failing and that the battery backup pump was basically overriding the primary pump, he suggested that I have a new sump pump installed. My sump pump is approximately 8 to 10 years old, so I knew it was about time. He stated that he could give me an estimate and could install a new sump pump immediately. At first, he quoted me a price of approximately $398 for a new sump plus the cost of $98.00 for the inspection and cleaning of the pit. I asked for information on the new sump pump and questioned why I would have to pay an additional $98.00 if I was going to pay to have the pump installed. He briefly went out to his work truck to retrieve a brochure. I went on Angie's list to see if there were any coupons or discounts for Angie's List members from Perma Seal. I found a 10% discount and printed it out. When the technician came back into my house, he gave me a brochure and also stated that Perma Seal would waive the $98.00 above mentioned fee and would also honor the 10% percent Angie's LIst member discount. I signed the contract and he began the work. He installed a Zoeller 98 cast iron series "Flow-Mate" Model 98 sump pump in approximately 30 minutes and cleaned out the sump pump pit. He demonstrated for me that the new pump was working properly and completed his paperwork. He informed me that there was a 3 year warranty on this pump and suggested that I make an appointment in approximately one year to have the pump inspected. He informed me that I should test the sump pump twice a year (Summer and Winter) to make sure the pump was operating properly. Besides a small dispute over the price that was resolved right away, I was very happy with the service that was provided to me by Perma Seal.

Perma-seal came to my home to seal several cracks in my basement. These were water leaks, not foundation leaks. Scheduling everything and getting the required forms signed was sort of an ordeal, but most of this was on me. They were great to work with in scheduling the work. Thereafter, working with their front office staff was a little difficult. They stated communicating with me via email with forms and such. There were several to sign, but I didn't get all of them, so there was some back and forth. When I replied back asking for confirmation of receipt of signed forms and such, the response time was several days. There was one point where I was worried that the scheduled work wasn't going to get done because they hadn't gotten the right forms. Phone seems to work much better. My suggestion would be to call, not email. The onsite team really saved the day for this experience. The initial consultation was great. The initial inspection was thorough and everything was explained to me. The guys who actually did the work were great. They wore booties in the house so that the floor didn't get dirty, and were very courteous. After getting the work done, they provided me a one page sheet with all the information that I needed to know. There are some odd things that can happen with resin injection, and I was very thankful for the sheet as every question was answered on there. If that were not enough, they also called to make sure everything was good a few days later, and left the door open for further communication if anything went wrong. All in all, this was a positive experience. I'm sure that I could have shopped around a little more and gotten a marginally better price, but I like working with larger companies with a good reputation. My only ding is that the office staff needs to be more communicative over email if that's what they are going to use. 24 hour response is what I feel that is necessary for confidence in the communication medium.

Fantastic. Came on time and were very professional.

They said that if something goes wrong, they would come out to fix it. The guys who came out for the work were really hard working. My contact guy was really good. They did a good job. They were very professional.

I have no complaints, the Consultant was good to work with, offereing different options for me to choose from. The two workmen were professional and courteous , left the area in a tidy condition . They used drop cloths and paper " footies " to protect our carpet during access to and from the work in the basement.

Notified Perma-seal and a consultant came to my home, check the basement and discovered two leaks. On this date, a two man crew responded, George & Jorge, and repaired the leaks. Both men were professional and after fixing the leaks cleaned the area in the basement where they worked. I was very happy with the job they performed.

Perma-seal got back to me the same day and had a worker out the next morning. The worker identified that my primary, existing sump pump was ancient and gave me a quote to replace the primary pump, as well as adding a new battery back up. Within a few hours everything was good to go.

From the first visit through installation and follow up the team was very professional. They do an excellent job explaining the process of how the cracks are sealed as well as the lifetime guarantee. The sales staff and installation crew is friendly and knowledgeable, and did not mind answering any questions. They also had a separate crew out on the same day to make on site and install window well covers. These also come with a lifetime guarantee. They called the day before to confirm the appointment as well as about 30 minutes before arrival to confirm they were on the way and about what time they could be expected. This was a welcome surprise when compared to the traditional service or delivery companies that say "we will be there between 8-12", and then just magically show up. I would definitely recommend Permaseal and their services to others.

Ran the sprinkler in my front lawn, over the weekend of 22 June. Went down in my basement on Sunday, and found a river running through my basement. After determining that it was not a water pipe problem, the only thing it could be was a foundation crack. Called Permaseal on Monday, the 25th, and they had a representative, Jim Burlison, at the house on Wednesday. Jim was very friendly, and examined the entire foundation, not just where the water was infiltrating. He did find a crack in the foundation wall, and we also observed water coming in around one of the glass block windows. The inspection was very thorough, and Jim was very knowledgeable about what the possible causes and the many solutions that they could do. He recommended epoxy injection of the crack in the foundation wall. He also recommended that I try and repair the masonry around the glass block window myself (with some mortar repair or roofing mastic), and see how that would work (Looks good so far!). A solution through Permaseal would have involved digging a sump pit and installing drain tile, which would have been very costly. Since our schedule was very hectic, we could not schedule the repair work until 14 July. The technician arrived promptly on time, at the early end of the time window. I do not recall his name...he was only in the house for about an hour! He was friendly and professional. The work took about an hour to perform, and the area was cleaned up very well after the work was completed. Due to the nature of the epoxy injection, the area doesn't look that pretty, but it is in a closet where we don't really see the wall anyway. However, we were informed that it could be painted to match the surroundings. Overall, Permaseal was very professional, courteous, and knowledgeable about the work they do, and I would not hesitate to call them again for any work we may need in the future.

Overall went very well, with only one minor complaint with scheduling. Robert and Fransisco and the installation team were great. Robert came to the house before the installation for a consultation and estimate, and he spent 2+ hours with us at the house walking us through the entire process and answering all of our questions. After scheduling the installation date, Fransisco and the team came to the house on time and spent the entire day installing the waterproofing system and pouring the new concrete. Also the team did a great job digging the trench out to the backyard where the water gets ejected. The installation team was very professional, hard-working, and they left the basement just as clean as when they first got there, with the new waterproofing system fully installed. Only minor complaint is that the Permaseal electrician was supposed to also come out on the same day as the waterproofing installation team, to hook up the new electrical panel and back-up battery. Well as it turns out Permaseal never scheduled him to come out to the house that day, and it took 2 separate phone calls on our end with Permaseal to get finally get him out to the house. He did a great job though once he was out here. Other than the minor scheduling issues, I would highly recommend this service and the professional team there at Permaseal. I would certainly recommend this to family and friends.

Art Lehmann came several weeks in advance to give us an estimate. We were very impressed by Art, in contrast to some other salesmen we talked to. We greatly appreciated two things: first, Art gave us a specific breakdown of every line item included in the job. The other major company we talked to would not give us the cost breakdown. Second, Permaseal's warranty applies to the lifetime of the house and can be transferred between an unlimited number of owners. This is different from every other company we reviewed, who would only insure their work for the next owner, but none thereafter. On the day scheduled to do the job, we received a call from the foreman, Juan Gomez, who was very friendly and an impressive worker. He arrived with his crew, who immediately began using jackhammers to break up the foundation perimeter. Before doing that, they covered everything in our basement with plastic sheeting and then tacked up a plastic curtain that separated the perimeter of the basement from the interior. Consequently, other than mopping up at the end, we had no dust issues at all after the job was complete. The crew proceeded to transfer chunks of the foundation by bucket through a basement window, followed by dirt and gravel excavated to the proper depth under the foundation. They then put in gravel and a rigid perforated PC pipe around the perimeter that is all tied to a new sump pump in the corner. They installed a grating in front of our basement door to catch any groundwater that might seep over the lintel. Next they attached the Bright Wall siding with seepage control flashing at the bottom to direct any wall seepage down into the tiling system. Finally, Juan Gomez finished the job by beautifully cementing over the whole tiling system. We were especially impressed by his cementing skills. Now that the jobs's done, it's hard to believe that it's the same basement. It wasn't cheap, but the result is pretty spectacular. Highly recommended!

Perma Seal I rate an A company!The salesman Jeff Kowalik was extremely professional, knowledgeable and a very kind individual.The gentleman who worked on Allen basement was prompt, very professional, knowledgeable, respectful and kept things orderly & neat.Over all we were extremely pleased. We will have no problem referring and using Perma Seal again!Thank-you so much Perma Seal!

The process of working with Perma Seal started out great, I met with the salesman Mike who was very responsive while we worked out the details of the job. I had also interviewed other companies, but went with perma seal because they supported all my needs. the project started on time and they did a great job keeping the work area clean. The works also provided my family with ear plugs while they performed the jack hammering. The works were very professional and very friendly. The perma seal office did a great job with managing the schedule of my work, since there was so much the schedule did have to be broken into smaller parts to ensure the different teams did not get in each others way. After the work was complete I noticed there was an issue with the settlement pit covers. the covers were not what the salesman had told me I would receive. the covers installed were cheap, flimsy and unsafe. I called the original salesman (Mike) that I worked with, left him a VM that I needed the covers replaced with more sturdy covers that I was told I would receive. The salesman returned my initial call and said he would look into the issue. I never heard from Mike again (although I did leave additional VMs that were not returned). Later, as the city inspectors came to inspect my basement framing, for a different permit, the inspector said the egress window installed by perma seal did not meet minimum code. the window only opened 18" when code required an opening of 20". I again called the salesman (Mike) to inform him that the window did not pass the city inspection. Mike returned my initial call, while on the call I reminded him I had not received a follow-up call from him on the pit covers. Mike indicated he would look into the issue but that the windows had passed inspection during their project (the city did not have proof of that). After the initial call Mike never called me back, again I left additional VMs that were unanswered. At this point I felt like the sales team only cares about the customer until payment is made. I now called the perma seal office customer service, explained what my issues were. The customer service rep. was very friendly and helpful, she took my information down and said she needed to escalate the information and would call me back. Later that day the sales rep did call me back and kept me informed of the status of my issue, that she had escalated the issue internally. The next day I received a call from the customer relations manager, he was very helpful and was very interested in making things right. The customer relations manager worked with their suppliers to have my window replaced with one that met the building code and had the pit covers replaced with very high quality covers. I was very impressed with the office staff at perma seal, they care about the customer and did what it took to make things right. In summary my overall experience with perma seal was positive, I would recommend them to others and use again for any of my own future needs. Their office staff and installers are top notch and a true asset to their company. The sales team needs to work on their customer skills, post the sale date. If it wasn't for the issues I had with the sales team I would have given perma seal all A's.

We bought a house a year and half ago, it was a total rehab job. We finally moved on to the basement about 3 months ago, needless to say after the sub-floor was removed we realized there was major water damage. Perma-seal came out twice to a**** the damage, the first gentleman that came out said he wanted one of their structurally certified employees to come and evaluate the exterior concrete wall to make sure the house was sound. Robert came out and spent a good amount of time on the inside and outside of the house. He said the house was sound, however the concrete was poured incorrectly, and they would need to patch some of the cracks before installing the drain tile on the inside of the basement. 2 weeks later, the crew was here and began working at 7am until 4:30pm. I've never seen a group of professionals work so hard, and so quickly to get the job done in one day. Our basement is completely dry now, and we can move on to our remodeling projects with a sound mind. My only gripe if I had to make one, which truthfully wasn't that big of an issue, was the crew had placed one of their large machines on our front lawn. Rather than placing it on the driveway, which was empty, I asked them to move it because we had just gotten new sod & I was afraid the grass would be damamged. They politely moved the equiptment and apologized. Overall the work and the crew are A+ in my book!

They were really quick to get out here. They came and helped me with the issue and discovered the sump pump was actually on but not leaking and that it was actually our water heater that was leaking. This is what led to the work they did for us.

Dick, the estimator, came out and took all the time necessary to LISTEN and then explain the procedures he was recommending I have done to stop the water. The price paid at the end includes an extra $400 (8% over the price quoted) due to some bad cast iron drain pipes encountered inside the wall. No biggie- just be prepared because not everything always goes perfectly as planned, especially on a 90 yr old house. The crew came on time, and began work. The work area was well sealed off with tarps to keep the dust to a minimum. OMG! these guys work HARD! The excavation I thought would take days took them just 3 hours to dig out. They have a very organized system of getting materials in and out of the work space quickly. The materials used (pipes, pump, etc) are decent quality, nothing cheap or flimsy. I felt that for the most part, my modest home was respected as if it were a mansion; the crew was well-mannered and professional the entire time. The plumber on duty was able to deal with my city's tough building department and made sure the inspector was pleased with the work. It was apparent that Perma-Seal has made a good reputation with my city or there would have probably been issues encountered in getting the final inspection approval. 3 weeks after the work and no rain. I think I caused a drought! We finally get a little rain and lo and behold, the sump ran a few times. No water on the floor yet, but Time will tell how well it handles the next torrential downpour whenever it finally happens.

I have not had any problems with their work so far.

The price included a sump pump and everything. He gave me an estimate to the penny and he gave me options for upgrading or backups I could get now or later. I liked the fact that I had options. After we decided what I wanted, it was to the penny. The crew was very nice, very efficient and they even brought their own microwave to heat their own food. They said they bring their own things so they don't bother anyone, I thought that was very nice. We've had a lot of rain and not a drop in my basement. Across the board I was very happy. I have recommended them.