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We had small water problems during heavy storms and wanted to waterproof our basement prior to finishing it.  We had several companies out to give us estimates for a french drain and sump pump.  Quality 1st Basement System was the highest estimate of the three we received.  The estimates were all within a $1,000 of each other and I did like the idea of Quality 1st's flat drain systems as opposed to the other two who used the round corrugated tubing.

Our salesman, Kenny, seemed very knowledgeable about his product.  Aside from the drain system itself, I chose Quality 1st Basement Systems because of their warranty.  I didn't dig out my paperwork, but I believe it was 30 years or maybe even lifetime and it was also transferable if I ever decided to sell my house.  Our salesman did his best to try and sell us on every product Quality 1st has to offer (dehumidifiers, basement finishing products, etc) .  We were pretty adamant about just wanting the drain and sump pump.  After much discussion we did decide to add three window wells.  Our old wells were simply a sheet metal frame and filled with gravel/dirt.  I had purchased the thin plastic covers at Home Depot that needed to be replaced every couple of years due to cracking from the elements. Kenny sold us on these white plastic sealed window wells.  He informed us that the white color would reflect more light into our basement as opposed to the old gravel/metal ones. He also told us they are sealed at the top and no dirt, leaves, water or any other debris would get in them.  They too were "allegedly" warranted except for any physical damage caused by unforeseen events. We opted to include these with our French drain and sump pump. The approximate cost was about $10,000 for everything.

The crew that came to do the work were very pleasant.  I believe the foreman's name was Juan and they worked from the minute they arrived until the job was completed.  Juan explained what the process was and I was up and down the stairs several times to check there progress throughout the day.  All of the work was completed in one day.  They did a fabulous job keeping the dust to a minimum.  When they left, you would never have known they sawed and chipped out so much concrete.  When they were done I looked at the concrete that they finished off the drain with.  It looked cheap and a different color than the rest of the concrete floor.  I asked if it would harden to look like the rest of the basement floor when it dried.  Juan assured me it would.  I checked on it the next day after the concrete dried.  It still looked like a cheap concrete patch job.  I planned on finishing my basement in the future so I really didn't care what it looked like as long as it did the job.  Several weeks later I noticed small cracks in the concrete.  They were small hairline cracks, but they were all over the perimeter of the basement where they patched the floor after putting in the drain.  I called Quality 1st Basement to complain about the cracks and I was told that every basement is different and the cracks are common and they would not get any worse.  On a side not, my neighbor had her basement waterproofed approx. 8 years ago by a different company and has had no cracks and the concrete looks like it was never cut.  I wasn't happy about it, but knowing I planned on putting carpet over them in the future made it not seem so bad.  I was also instructed that if I decided to finish my basement, I was not under any circumstances to put nails in the new concrete.  I was told it would void my warranty.  When my contractor farmed out my basement he had to use liquid nails (which is less sturdy) as to not void my warranty.  When the basement was almost complete and I priced out carpet, I informed the carpet stores that I can't put tack strips down because it will void my warranty.  They said that was ridiculous and never heard of that before.  They agreed to used liquid nails when installing my carpet.  I've only had the carpet in for 2 months now, so I don't know how the tack strips will hold up in the long run.

My next contact with Quality 1st Basement, was two weeks ago.  I had had some friend over a couple weeks ago and one of my friends pointed out that one of my window wells was filled with several inches of water.  I called to request a service call because the wells were supposed to be sealed and debris/water proof.  The water has been in there approximately a month that I know of, maybe longer.  It has turned a greenish color.  I suppose the sunlight shining through the clear plastic top for several weeks has caused the water to form algae.  When I called and spoke to Quality 1st they told me they would go through their schedule and call me back to let me know when a technician could come look at my problem.  I requested a morning appointment because I work in the afternoons.  I received a call back several hours later and was told someone would be out in a 2 weeks.  They told me it will be between 1-4 pm.  I asked if they could find me an appointment in the morning because of my work schedule and they told me they could it would just be in 4 weeks instead of 2.  Right before I got off the phone I was told if the technician came to my house and there was no problem with the window well I would be charged $109 for a service call.  I explained the situation, the warranty and said there obviously is a problem with the product because there is water in it.  The woman I was speaking to put me on hold and I was transferred to another person.  This guy asked me if I had drains in my window wells.  I asked why would I need drains if they are water proof?  He said I should probably get drains installed in the wells to keep water out of them.  I told him I was told by my salesman that they are sealed and water/debris proof. I also said the whole system is supposed to have a full warranty.  He didn't offer any solution.  He told me that he would speak to my salesman and have him get back to me.  I gave these guys $10,000 for 1 days work.  The system has not let any water in my basement since it's been installed.  I am thankful for that.  I think their customer service is atrocious.  How much time would it take for a technician to come to my house look at the window well, see if it has a crack or some other defect that has let water get/stay inside of it.  Maybe an hour?? Yet they want to charge me $109?  I can only imagine what kind of problems I will have if I ever get water in my basement and I have to have it refinished.  I am sure they will not want to honor their warranty.  Its been over two weeks now and I still haven't heard back from anyone from the company. 

  

UPDATE: I received a phone call from the production manage, Juan.  He wanted to know more about my bad experience with Quality 1st basement.  I explained to him my disappointment with my experience.  We talked in depth about my problems and possible solutions to those problems.  Juan informed me that he would have a crew at my house 1st thing in the morning to look at my basement/window wells.  He suggested possibly installing drains that would alleviate the water problem with my "sun houses" window wells and possibly re-cementing any of the areas that may have cracks.  I accepted his offer and he assured me that the crew would be there no later than 9:30 am.  At approximately 9:15 am the next morning I received a text message from the crew foreman informing me that he would be at my house in 15 minutes.  The crew was right on time.  I spoke with the foreman, also named Juan, who wanted to know a little bit more about my problems with the window wells/basement.  I told Juan that I was offered free drains for the "sun houses" which would drain into my existing system/sump.  While I appreciated the offer, I explained to him that I didn't want to install the drains and introduce any water to my basement. Juan agreed.  He told me that these "sun houses" are a great product and while they are not 100% completely waterp"

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