Perma-Seal Basement Systems

They did a good job for us and everything was on time and done professionally.

We decided to waterproof our basement before tackling a total basement remodeling project. Historically, we didn't get a lot of water in our basement. No flooding problems. We only had a couple of minor cracks where water would trickle in and one area, near our outside basement door, where water would come in underneath the door and go toward a center floor drain during heavy storms. However, we wanted to ensure that we had a totally dry basement before we refinished it. The sales person came out and provided an estimate for our project. He made it sound like a simple job. NOTE: There is a lot of prep work to be done before a project like this. Because the basement drainage system is created by jack hammering concrete inside your house, this project is VERY messy. All of your possessions must be covered with plastic before before the project is started. Our initial job was completed in May. After it was done, it seemed like it was okay -- but you can't really tell if the system works until it rains. The crew did their best to clean up after the work was done but there was still concrete dust every where. Since May, Perma Seal has been back two times to attempt to fix the trench drain that was installed by our back basement door. This is the one area where we actually HAD water coming in regularly. The trench drain does not stop the water from coming across our basement floor. When it was initially installed, the crew installed the wrong size drain. So they came our to fix that. Then, after the correct drain size was installed, and it still didn't stop the water, a crew came back again to try another fix. That repair still didn't fix the issue and Perma Seal needs to come out once again to address this issue. Keep in mind that every time they come out and work, another dusty mess is created. The last time their crew came out to repair the drain, the work area was left dusty and there were chunks of concrete across our floor. When I contacted customer service about the mess, and requested a cleaning certificate, I was told that Perma Seal doesn't provide cleaning vouchers anymore and "sorry". We have been very disappointed with this process and with the company overall. After spending the amount of money that we did on this project, we expected better customer service. After the initial job was completed, there was no follow up phone call inquiring about our satisfaction with the job. Once we started having issues with their work, I had to make repeated contact with customer service to secure a repair date to resolve the issue. When it was discovered that the crew had initially installed the wrong drain type per our work order, I asked customer service if anything could be done for us for our trouble. My request was ignored. After this experience, I would not recommend Perma Seal to anyone, nor would I use them again. I just wish they would fix our problem so we could move on with refinishing our basement. It is aggravating to still have water coming inside our basement after the money and time we've spent with this company. For a company that is endorsed by Lou Manfredini, and has the advertising campaign that they do, I expected more, especially on the customer service end. UPDATE 12/2010: After submitting my initial report with a grade of "F", customer service became more responsive to the issues with our project. We were offered a $400 refund. Our trench drain has been repaired. We are waiting for substantial rainfall to see if the newest repair corrects the problem. I have upgraded my final grade to "C".

1. Foundation crack: As far as we can see, this was done correctly, professionally, and on time. 2. Sump pit cover: The installer was timely and courteous. However, initially he informed my wife that the only way he could install the cover was in an orientation that left the viewing window inaccessible. My wife probed that a bit, and with some further thought, the installer determined how to install the cover so that the window was in a viewable position. 3. Window well cover: PermaSeal subcontracts this work to a 3rd party. The installer arrived on the scheduled day and installed the cover, but noted to my wife that he usually has a metal edge to attach to on the well, whereas in the case of this well the metal doesn't extend above the concrete. When I arrived in the evening I tested the cover and found that it's made of a thin plastic that flexes significantly. There are two steel reinforcing strips that stiffen the cover in two specific spots, but the well is large and putting a foot on the cover leaves no confidence that you won't go through it. We called PermaSeal and left a message indicating we weren't satisfied with the installation. On 9/1 we received a return message from Amanda, stating that PermaSeal would not come out to see the cover, because in their experience these covers have never broken, and we have a lifetime warranty on the cover so if it breaks we can call for a replacement. I've since spoken to another PermaSeal rep who reiterated what Amanda's message said, but after speaking with me she indicated that she would discuss this and have someone get back to me. Prior to getting further feedback from the customer service department, we received a phone message from the billing department at PermaSeal on 9/11, asking whether they can charge my credit card for the balance due; from where I sit, the internal business process involving both customer service and billing needs work. Brian, a manager from Permaseal, called on 9/16 and wanted to go over with me the details of our dissatisfaction again, so we did that. He said that he was going to speak to the owner of the 3rd-party that did the work, as soon as their office opened. I got a phone message from Brian later the same day, indicating that he was trying to reach the 3rd-party installer but so far without success. We have received no further communication from anyone at Permaseal. However, today, 10/1, we've received an invoice for the balance due on the window well cover. Again, billing and customer service are disconnected at this company. At this point we're just going to pay it, as we're too busy with other things to deal with fighting this. However I simply can't recommend Permaseal to anyone based on the experience we've had. 10/6 addendum: on 10/4, after we'd posted the Angie's List report on Permaseal, a representative from the subcontractor who had installed the cover telephoned us to say he'd be over the next day. He did arrive, and he applied two additional steel strips to the cover, which stiffens it significantly. The subcontractor / installer showed my wife that even without the extra strips, the cover would hold a significant amount of weight, and now with the additional strips of steel installed, it seems sufficiently rigid and sound.

We have lived in our home for 26 years and never flooded. The entire finished area of our basement flooded 10 days after Perma-Seal completed their work in our home because their installation crew did not turn the back up system on. The whole job was inconsistent with their advertising and promotional literature which makes the point (over and over) of how well trained and professional their employees are. The first crew that came out, left the job unfinished and a second crew had to come out to finish and correct the first crew's work. The most irritating thing is that now that we have a problem the Company will not stand behind their employees and take responsibility for them. Any one that is considering using Perma-Seal for basement waterproofing services should be aware that they do not stand behind their employees work and are not responsible for damage caused to your home or possessions because of flooding even if their own employees do not turn on the system that they have just installed. Update 10/25/10: Perma-Seal has refunded the amount that we paid for this work to be done.

We had experienced water in the basement 3-4 times over the last year during very heavy rains. Without seeing it coming in, it was impossible to determine where the water was coming from. Perma-seal conducted a thorough investigation, but found no obvious cracking in the foundation. The sump pump was at least 7-10+ year old, (installed before we moved into this house), and one possible solution was to replace the unit. Permaseal told us there were no guarantees that this would solve the problem, but we agreed that it could not hurt either. The work was scheduled, and completed in about three hours. The workers were on time, friendly, and carefull to cover floors,and basement stairs to protected them from the fair amount of dust and dirt from the reshaping of the pump pit. If there was one hang-up it was in getting back a $150 fee for a permit from my village, which was not needed to do the work. It took be a couple of phone calls to confirm that I would be reimbursed, but I did receive the adjustment on my credit card. We also got a quote from US Waterproofing. Their investigation results and pricing was comparable with Permaseal's. My folks used Permaseal years ago in their home, which is the reason we selected them to correct this problem and do the work.

My interaction with them went fine. It was a messy job. They came in through garage window valve. So they made an effort not to mess the main part of the house. They showed up on time and did everything that they said they were going to do. The one thing that wasn?t communicated well to me was the way they had to install the secondary pump. I got the impression that it was going to be a sealed system with a lid on it. However, because of the secondary pump, they had to cut a big hole in the middle of it. It was not a big deal, but it was not 100% what I expected.

Very well. I would use again. While the technician was there, he looked at another area in our foundation near an area of damp carpet....and determined that there was no issue with the foundation.

Everything went great. They were there when they said they would be and they were very friendly.

Great! They did all the work in one day. So far system is working well. Financing 18 months same as cash was utilized i.e. We don't have to pay anything until just before the 18 months is up.

OK except that the leaf guards were installed at the wrong height and they did not do a good job of putting the sod back on the area that was dug out. I sent an email to them about the problem and they never responded.

They gave me an estimate on two cracks. I asked them a few times what the best price was. Even after two tries, the price was $568. That was after a discount. When I compared with another company, Perma Seal's quote was still much higher. They have also done waterproofing in my basement. This work was all unnecessary. The cracks should have just been sealed. The concrete was broken. They added stone and sacrete over it and that cracked. I feel like basement floor isn't that sturdy and my house is ruined.

Everything went well. They arrived on time, performed the work according to plan, and their personnel were very approachable.

They were efficient. They did it in two pieces. They were fine and efficient. They did a better job the first time than the second time.

Permaseal was very easy to work with. They were prompt and dependable and did the work as described. We have had no seepage issues since installation. We did need to change the battery backup on the sump pump once since installation as recommended.

I called to get an appointment for an estimate. The company stated that the soonest they could have someone out for an estimate would be 4 weeks. That might be a reasonable length of time to wait for the actual work to be done, in certain situations. However, it is definitely not a reasonable time to wait for an estimate.

We used Permaseal the year before to repair cracks in our basement (and they did a great job) and so we called them right away. They sent someone out within 2 days of my call to determine the issue with our sump pump. While the rep was there, he also inpsected the rest of our basement to make sure that the work they had done previously was still up to par. Our sump pump was replaced within 2-3 days of the visit. All the reps and technicians are professional and knowledgable.

They did a fine job and I have had no problem since they did the work.

Overall the job went well. The 2-man crew arrived within the expected two-hour window. The patches/repairs are promising. No sign of seepage in the last two weeks wherein several overnight isolated thunderstorms were experienced. I gave them a professionalism rating of "B" because we provided the men bottled water and I found an empty water bottle discarded right on the work site. It was disappointing. We thought we were being nice by providing them cold store-bought bottled water and he couldn't even throw out his used water bottle!

I had five different companies come out. They offer a warranty that transfers owner to owner. He gave great advice about how I could save money by contacting my gutter company instead of installing drain tile

They are professional, everything is going fine.

They gave me an estimate in July, and he said they would put piers in and dig some holes. I asked for a ball figure and he said around $3000. When I received the contract it was over $7000, and this is after he said he had been giving estimates for over 9 years. After getting an estimate and educating myself on the problem I found out that this was unnecessary. The other contractors said it was a very simple fix. I think he was trying to take advantage of me.

I was very impressed that they told me what the source of my problem were and that they couldn't do the job, and were honest with me.

They came out for an initial inspection and noticed two other cracks besided the one with the big leak problem, so we had all three repaired. They did a great job and didn't leave any mess. None of the three cracks has leaked since the repair.

This job was scheduled to take 2 days...the workers were done in one. And certainly not because they skimped on anything - they just worked their butts off. The concrete they poured was perfectly level to allow us to lay flooring tiles back down immediately without much sanding at all. We were sure they would have to break up part of our walkway to fix the crack in our foundation, but they must have a beanpole worker who was able to fix it without having to damage that, which we are SO grateful for! They installed 2 clean-out valves (one for the interior system, one for the exterior system), which should prevent the mess of having to do this again. They also cleaned out our existing sump pit to install the back-up. We were thrilled with everything...until we got seepage in June 2010. We cut out the drywall where the water came in so they could see where the problem was. But I had to wait 3 weeks before someone could come out, and then they sent someone from sales instead of service. Instead of immediately correcting their mistake, I had to wait another 3 weeks before someone from service could come out. He barely spoke English and couldn't figure out where the water was coming in, so he guessed that it must be coming in from two older pipes we have halfway up the utility wall. He didn't even use a scope in the clean-out valves to see if maybe their drain tiles were blocked, which should have been one of the first things he did. And since the pipes are not where we cut open the wall (and their service people won't cut drywall) I have to give up another day for them to come back out after we've cut that drywall out to see if that's even the problem. Then, to make matters even worse, the very next day, we got more water. Yet they couldn't send someone out to look really quick at where the water was coming in, because no one is available for another 3 weeks. Go figure. They've already got their money from us...why pay us any attention? Beware of this company. Their initial work seems great; but God help you if you have water problems after they've done the initial install. You'll have headache after headache trying to get them to fix it.

********Don't call this COMPANY when you really need some one..call them only when you don't need them and when you have all the time and money to throw away.******* I have never seen such bad service or disconnect with the subject matter and the company that she works for~~~~. Someone this bad should not be the image of the company or handling customer service.