Select Choice Basement Systems

Contracted to do the entire job
foundation to roof. The excavator came to dig out the footings for the
foundation, during which they hit the footing drain for the house the garage
was being attached to. This led to the realization the sewer line was below the
future footing and the sewer line would have to be moved. Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute Basement / Capital District Electrical /
Tom Richardson said they didn?t want to be involved in moving the sewer
line and I would have to contract someone myself. So the excavator and I
contracted the work directly. This set us back approximately 3 days. After the
excavator completes the footing excavation as per Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute
Basement / Tom Richardson?s specifications the gentleman asked me if I was
building a retaining wall on the one side. I told him no we had plans of a
retaining wall. He then explained that we didn?t have proper frost protection
on the one side of the foundation. The specs Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute
Basement / Capital District Electrical / Tom Richardson gave him would not work.
I explained this to Tom Richardson
(Saratoga Craftsman/Absolute Basement/Capital District Electrical) and he
put together a quote of an additional $1800 to dig the footing deeper and the
additional concrete that would be needed.
 Why should I pay $1800 extra because Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute Basement /
Capital District Electrical / Tom Richardson didn?t plan and/or execute
correctly?
Eventually we agreed I would pay half the
amount $900. Truthfully only because winter was approaching and I needed the
foundation poured. After the excavating of the footing was corrected Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute Basement / Capital
District Electrical / Tom Richardson couldn?t get anyone to pour the
concrete for two weeks. Pushing us further into fall/winter which eventually
lead to difficulties having my driveway paved by another contractor. The rest
of the project seemed to go fairly smoothly. A few minor issues but nothing
worth mentioning.
One month after the completion of the
project a piece of siding came loose and wasn?t sitting properly. I called to
have them come out and fix it. They stopped by popped it back into place and
left. A few months later I noticed the same piece of siding had come loose and
was much worse this time, also a separate issue had arisen. The aluminum wrap
around the garage door frames had gotten buckled and wavy. I called and left
phone messages with no response. I also emailed pictures of the issues. After
about a month with no response I started to call about three times a day.
Eventually Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute
Basement / Capital District Electrical / Tom Richardson did call me back
and left a voice mail saying, he couldn?t find the email and asked that I please
send the pictures to him again. I did within 12hrs. No response for a few days
so I started to call again. After leaving a few voice mails with no return call
I called and left a message saying that I was going to have to hire someone to
do the work because they wouldn?t come out and fix the issues. I immediately
got a call back saying they would fix the problems but they couldn?t find the
pictures and asked I please send them a third time so they would know what they
have to do. I immediately did so. I?m now nearly a year after the first email
containing pictures of the issues and Saratoga
Craftsman / Absolute Basement / Capital District Electrical / Tom Richardson
has done nothing to resolve the issues.
I would not recommend working with this
contractor Saratoga Craftsman / Absolute
Basement / Capital District Electrical / Tom Richardson due to the lack of
follow up.

We hired Absolute Basement Solutions to create a finished space in our basement to serve as a playroom / recreation room. As a little background, my wife and I have invested about $150,000 in upgrading our house over the past 6 years, so we have a good amount of experience working with different contractors. From day one of the project, it was very clear we had made a good choice. This company might not be the cheapest option, but there is a clear commitment to customer satisfaction that is difficult to find amongst contractors. Here are some of the main things we liked about this company:
Excellent communication - Tom (the owner) was easy to get in touch with via mobile phone, text messages, and email. He is one of the more tech savvy contractors we have worked with, which really helped move things along. Tom was able to send me pictures of various finishes (ceiling tile, lighting, etc.) and I could make decisions during the day from work.
Punctuality - The workers showed up when they said they would. Tom was available for meetings any time we needed him. Also, Tom's team coordinated with all sub-contractors, and even with the flooring company we used, to make sure that everyone had access to the job site as needed. This was a huge help and relief. At the end of each day, we would come home and see progress.
Quality workmanship - All work was completed to high standards. I'm not a builder, but it was pretty easy to tell by the way the work was completed that the guys were very precise and detailed. The job site was cleaned up every day. Trash was removed promptly. These may seem like obvious things, but they are often taken for granted until you work with a builder who doesn't do them.
Quality materials - Some builders might choose materials simply because they are the cheapest. Not the case here - the materials used were high quality and made the new space feel like a true extension of our house. Some examples: Benjamin Moore paint, digital dimmer switches, brushed nickel hinges and door knobs. Some of these items were special request, but all included within the project cost.
Expert guidance - my wife and I are not experts at basement remodeling - this was our first time going through the process. Tom was able to give us excellent advice. For example, on where to place doors, access panels, etc. He also did things that we didn't think to ask for, like putting in an extra wide door to the storage space. Made a lot of sense, but we never brought it up - he just took care of it. Tom really made the whole project pretty much stress-free for us.
Responsiveness to issues - we ran into one issue with one of the sub-contractors related to plumbing. However, the way Tom handled it could not have been any better. He took it very seriously and made sure the problem was resolved 100% to our satisfaction. He also just handled any change requests that we made along the way - no hassles, no push back.
In the end, we were extremely happy with how the project turned out. The new space looks fantastic and fits in perfectly with the rest of our house. There we no hidden fees or costs - any special requests we made were taken care of... even when we specifically asked if there would be an additional charge for the requests we made. Tom is, in my opinion, a very trustworthy contractor, and I would definitely recommend him to friends and family.

Initially we were very pleased with the professionalism of the representative who came. He was punctual, dressed nicely and very friendly. He explained everything clearly and seemed to have our best interests in mind. His was the third company we had received a visit/estimate from. The others were appalling; when we told them NO they wouldn't stop calling. The whole presentation by this company was different. Communication was fine during contract signing and during the actual job. The workmen were careful and appeared to do a good job. Our problem started when, weeks after the job, our basement was not dry. I called and discussed the settings on the very fancy dehumidifier they had installed and waited another week. I called again when the basement was not yet dry and the same representative who had been working with us from the beginning said he was concerned and would have to come and look at the situation. He told me he'd get back to me with a time he could come. He never called back. I left him two messages - at the office number and on his mobile phone - after waiting several weeks and he still did not return my calls. I asked my husband to call him from work, so the caller ID wouldn't have our names come up and he answered the phone. He told my husband he hadn't had a chance to come yet and would let us know when he could get to our house. I called back the same day and left another message, this time a little testy, stating that I was shocked that after appearing to be such a professional businessman, he would not even return my calls.
We put the cost of this dry basement service on our home equity and will be paying interest on it for years. We were told it was guaranteed indefinitely - even if we sell the house; but what good is that when you can't even get a call back?