Pro Basement Finishers

It was an extremely difficult experience with this company. The work had to be redone at least 3 times, the project was delayed over two months. So much stress and frustration. Poor communication with the owner who is very unprofessional and didn't fulfill so many things in the contract like having a project manager who oversees the project. You have to really push and fight and have your blood pressure raised, before things got done. Save your sanity and try to find more professional companies.

I can honestly say that working with Pro Basement was the WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. We were initially told our project would take 3 days and 15 days later we were finally "finished". Workers were extremely inexperienced and unprofessional. They only worked 5-6 hours a day and by the end of the project (because of staffing issues) the only two workers on our project had less than 6 months experience combined! Our finished concrete was terrible and looked as if the installer had never done it before. I had to essentially teach and explain how to pour the concrete to have a good finish. After numerous times of having them come back because of bad work or forgotten items we paid for, I asked Larry to come out and look at the work to see if it was up to his standards (he never came to look at the job). He insulted my character and integrity immediately because I was unhappy with the project. He sent over the only reasonable worker to collect payment and wouldn't talk to me. We unfortunately ended up paying full price for a terrible job just to get Larry out of our lives. On top of everything, they never cleaned anything up or covered our furniture so we were left with a massive cleanup of concrete dust and left over tools/materials everywhere. I also ended up with a stained and ruined stamped concrete patio due to these workers. I hope that this project was a fluke, but I feel that Larry is the real problem. Run away!!!!!

Here is the bottom line:  I am pleased with the final product and the amount I paid for the egress window was significantly less than what I was quoted by other contractors.   So, it's not all bad and to be quite honest, I think Larry Otte, the owner, is a likeable guy.  I just think he knows he has you once he's contracted and in your home.  The guys he hires would show up late morning, rather than get started at a decent time, which led to the project running over.   When you're having an egress window installed, this means a huge muddy hole in your hard, which is just dangerous.  It also meant a small excavator parked in my driveway (which I share with my neighbor) over a weekend.  He left my yard in shambles, which perhaps can't be avoided; however, it certainly wasn't raked smooth as was advertised.   It took a significant amount of effort to get my yard back in shape.  

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His employees would often show up at the jobsite without the equipment required to do the job correctly. We personally spent hundreds of extra dollars to supply the workers with the proper tools their company apparently did not see fit to provide them with originally, including a Sawsall (~$200), an impact driver (~$400), a multitool (~$300), a right-angle drill (~$150), and a jigsaw (~$300). Frequently, products used during the job were not the products we specified were necessary to complete this specialty job--something we discussed with Larry ourselves at the beginning of the project. As an example, we requested that a very specific type of insulation be used in the walls for soundproofing; however, we discovered that only a small amount of that insulation type was purchased by the company. The rest was a subpar type that would have compromised the soundproofing of the theater. Luckily, a helpful contractor pointed the error out to us before the wrong insulation was used in our walls.



I keep saying 'employees' in plural, but the majority of the project was actually completed by the single worker Pro Basement dispatched to the jobsite. One of the homeowners frequently had to work with him because much of the job could not be completed alone.



Very little prep work was done before the project began, and as a result, we've had to deal with damaged walls and ruined carpets. Since no barriers were put up to prevent this, drywall dust (spread when a contractor cut drywall with a saw inside the house) coated every surface in the basement and much of the first floor--an almost physics-defying feat of incompetence. White paint was dumped into our landscape mulch. When painting several of the doors prior to installation, badly-handled overspray severely stained the floor of the garage and our driveway bright red.



Larry Otte (owner of Pro Basement) himself behaved in a gratingly unprofessional manner, both personally and from a business perspective. He rarely visited the jobsite himself, even when problems arose (as they did, with increasing frequency). On the rare occasions he did visit the jobsite, he brushed off our concerns, on top of making frequent sexual comments and off-color jokes--appropriate for friends, but not from a contractor we hired to do a specific job. When various complaints were brought to his attention, he failed to take responsibility for the work done by his company, instead foisting blame on his employees. He often threatened to withhold pay from these employees, something that came across to us as an incredibly manipulative guilt-tripping tactic. On top of all of that, he also requested payment in cash--payments that he specifically asked us to never mention via text, presumably for IRS-related reasons.



Overall, Pro Basement turned a straightforward job into a grueling odyssey riddled with poor communication and unprofessional handling. We broke with the company at the beginning of March--three months past the original project finishing date--to finish work ourselves. There is nothing 'pro' about Pro Basement (I would suggest the owner consult a Thesaurus for a more appropriate title, such as 'Amateur Basement'). I give it 0/10, would not recommend.



Please also watch our YouTube video review of Pro Basement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ipGM7v8VQ&feature=share&list=UUU_EzYoj9nO_2hv-fXP5-vQ

We scheduled for him to come and it seemed like it would go well. The estimate was fine, but then he showed up and wanted cash before any work was done. We said we would pay him when people showed up, there was conflict over payment. He wanted cash to buy the supplies which we thought was odd because usually it is built into the budget. He got very moody with me which I did not appreciate. I gave him gift cards to buy the supplies and said I would not pay him anymore until work was started, we paid him in full once it was finished. We got a lean waiver saying we had paid in full. He then decided that I owed him $50 and has been emailing and texting me telling me I owe him. The actual finished product seems fine but this harassment two months later is an issue. There was a hole in one of the screens and I told him that when he brings me one that is not broken I will be happy to pay him the $50.

Mr. Otte is certainly a great salesman and his design ideas are wonderful.  However, he abandoned our job and we had to complete the work ourselves in order to get the permits satisfied.  His workmen have no idea what to do because Larry micro manages everything.  He doesn't pay his subcontractors.  He never finished the second floor bath and we had to hire another contractor to complete that work.  We are still fixing things in the basement that are not right, which has cost us more money.  
We would never hire him again nor would we ever recommend him.

I made the appointment through Mary and all was well except we had a little trouble with Larry actually showing up for an estimate. After a couple of days I called Mary back very concerned but she assured me that Larry is a great guy who does great work and this was very unusual for him. (I just happened to call during a very, very busy time.)  She was sure if we made another appointment and he did the work that I would be very satisfied. I took a chance and made another appointment at which Ray showed up.  Well, I can't say enough about Ray because I was very impressed as he explained what he thought caused the problem and what he thought would be involved in fixing it.  He took pictures and measurements and even made sure he knew how the new lid worked before he left.  He even called to remind me to lock my back gate and that I had left my cellphone on the patio which I really appreciated.  Although this isn't the type of egress windows they sell or install themselves (see their website) Larry was familiar with it and how to fix it properly.  He emailed me a nice detailed estimate and really helpful when I called back for an explanation and then with questions my husband had.  We arranged a day for them to come out and Ray came out on the project which put my husband and me at ease since we were both at work.  When it took a little longer to fix than expected due to the nature of the situation they promptly came back the next day.  When the new lid didn't fit properly instead of bailing on it or sending me back to the manufacturer Larry asked Ray to fix the old lid.  He did came back out to install it and believe me it is better then ever.  In the end I was very happy with the work and the price and would highly recommend Larry's company and Ray to oversee the work.  We are thrilled with it and so glad that all ended up well for all involved.

*I wanted to add 2 comments:

First, I didn't note a price because I don't think that is fair to the contractor as they need to be able to bid each job separately.  We were very pleased with the price and how they figured it out especially this being an unusual situation. 

Second, I want to point out again that this was a specialized situation and not one they normally do.  As a result we really, really appreciated them taking on the job and doing such a great job with it, even figuring out how to fix the lid themselves.  Great job!!

I give them an A overall rating and I would use them again.