EverDry Waterproofing of Columbus, Inc.

When the sales representatives came out to give us estimates they were very high pressure trying to get us to sign a contract for $21,000 of work immediately without giving us time to think about it. They refused to come out and do the estimate unless both my wife and I were present. I found out why when the tried to get us to sign the contract on their very first visit. After refusing to commit to the work on the first visit they did follow up with in a timely manner. After discussing various aspects of the job my wife and I felt some of the steps outlined for our particular job were not necessary. After discussing the items we felt were unnecessary and how that would reduce the pricing by telephone we were told us that Everdry could work with us in order to be in the price range we were comfortable with since they had materials purchased and they wanted to keep their crews busy. The salesman insisted on coming out to discuss the pricing and would not give us numbers over the phone. Once again they insisted that my wife and I both be present in order for them to come out and show us the revised figures. When they did come out, their idea of working out a deal was to just to reduce the price by eliminating items that we did want included in the work. It was also a high pressure sales pitch in which they told us that the price quoted was only temporary and that we should act now in order to get this great pricing. Once again we sent them away to think about the large investment were considering. After a few more phone calls and a third appointment with a salesman, we agreed on a price and decided to have the work performed. Everdry called us a couple weeks later to schedule the work. They showed up on schedule and the crew that did the work was punctual every day and cleaned up well inside and out. The problem my wife and have with the job in general is that it was not performed as stated by the salesman. In the sales presentation we were told how Everdry was the only company to use a jackhammer with a vacuum system that was attached to the jackhammer itself which would greatly reduce the amount of dust released into our home during concrete removal. This was total BS. When the work began and I asked about the vacuum system I was told that the jackhammer unit with the vacuum was on another truck and they would have it on the job later. The concrete removal was completed with a standard jackhammer, NO VACUUM, lots of dust throughout the house. The next things I noticed that were not as stated in the sales presentation were the depth and back fill of the exterior drainage system. In the sales we were told that the exterior drain tile would be buried 24" to 36" inches below grade and that it would be back filled with pea gravel and just a small amount of dirt over the top. When I went out to see how the job was progressing outside I saw that the ditch dug around the foundation was only about 12" deep, if that, at the high point. I pointed this out to the foreman and he did have the crew dig it a bit deeper but it was not nearly 24" deep at the high point. After installing the exterior drainage system the crew did put a little bit of gravel over the drain tile and then they finished back filling with more dirt than gravel. Another lie we were told during the sales presentation was that Everdry used a special patented "J" channel on the exterior under the drain tile in order to funnel the water into the tile. During the sales presentation I specifically asked if the patented "J" channel was a thin plastic like visquin or if it was something more rigid. I was told that it was not thin plastic like visquin and that they use a more rigid plastic and I was lead to believe that it was something other than the thin plastic or visquin I could buy at any home improvement store. Once again, total BS. By looking at the plastic Everdry used to form this patented "J" channel I would guess that it was something like 6 mil. plastic sheeting. We also ran into a couple of other things that we feel were done incorrectly. The first issue we ran into was during the interior installation. When the crew got to the area where the water heater was located, close to the wall, they just pulled out the bricks under one side of the water heater without supporting it any other way. The weight of the water heater which was full, was resting on bricks under one side and pulling on our plumbing on the other side. Due to the removal of the bricks on the other side it was putting so much pressure on the copper water lines coming out of the top that the water lines were actually pulled from their original clamping point in the direction that the water heater was leaning about an inch. After the crew left and I saw the water heater leaning and how the lines had actually been moved I was concerned about the pressure being put on the lines. When I tried to straighten the water heater so my wife could slide a brick under the middle of it, one of the water lines cracked and began to spray water out. I shut the water off and put tape and a hose clamp around the cracked water line which stop the leak. The next day I told the foreman what had happened and he called the office. They did send someone out to repair the line. When the gentleman came to repair the line he asked me if I had a piece of bread and informed me that it was stuffed in the pipe in order to keep the line dry during the repair and that it would dissolve once the water was turned on. I gave him a piece of bread and he completed the repair. The next time I used the water the spray pattern was very erratic and then almost stopped completely. I tried another faucet, same thing. I pulled the screen off of the kitchen faucet and it was filled with particles from the whole grain bread that was stuffed in the water line. I had to go around the house and clean out every faucet and shower head to remove the bread particles, several more than one time. Maybe I should have left the water heater alone and let the work crew handle it but I don't like the thought of hundreds of pounds of water pulling on the water lines of my home and I don't think this problem should have occurred in the first place. They could have supported the center of the water heater somehow and still had room to work along the wall. The other issue I noticed after the work was completed was that when the exterior drainage tiles and the tiles for the downspout drains were installed, all of the plumbing from two sides of the house was tied into one 3" pipe. I am not a plumber but from my experience I would think that the the water flow from two 3" perforated drain tiles and two 3" downspout tiles which handle four downspouts would overwhelm a single 3" pipe during a heavy rain. All in all we feel the sales practices of Everdry are very deceptive and very high pressure. The work performed was not done according to what we were told during the sales presentations. We must admit that we have not had water in our basement since the work was performed so we are happy about that. We think it is still a bit humid even with Everdry's patented systems and their Easybreath system. If we had to have this work performed again we would NOT use Everdry of Columbus.

I called to get help on a specific water/leak problem in my basement. I should have been suspicious form the start, as they asked if both husband and wife would be home when the inspector arrived. I said probably, adn when he came, he was ready to give a pitch to fix the whole basment, rather than just address my problem. I think they only deal with fixing/waterproofing an enitre basement with some type of system, and if so, they should say so in the first place.

First estimate was rediculous and type of work recommended was way over what we wanted/needed. Told them thanks but no thanks. A month or so later we were contacted again with an explanation of over stock and can greatly reduce price etc... I voiced my concern since we will NEVER use this area as a living space (outside entrance only)... Bill Barrett came out, listened to our concerns abd worked out a very agreeable solution with a lifetime guarentee.

Ever-Dry waterproofed my basement ten years ago and it went from being wet to bone dry. I buy the annual warranty which means that if any problems arise, they cover them free. This summer Columbus had colossal flooding, and I got some water for the first time in ten years. They scheduled me for installation of new sump pump, a far more deluxe model, and installed it free. They have always been professional and they know what they are doing in basements! I give them a glowing review.

Eric came back the next week to fix the leak, I instructed Eric not to use ANY of our stuff w/out asking first. After Eric left this time, we discovered that he had used our extension cord as it had been moved and now one of the prongs had been broken off (we had purposely unplugged the cord that morning and put it away in the corner to make sure that he would not use it). Called Eric's boss, Steve Short, explained all the concerns about Eric and the poor quality of work and the broken extension cord. Steve agreed to replace our extension cord. Took Steve 3wks to get us a new ext cord, and only after I called him to remind him. The work was completed, we have not had a leak...yet. We also have not had any rain since so we don't really know if it is really fixed yet or not. This was the worst experience I have ever had w/ a company. We live in an older home and have had lots of work w/ various companies done but I have never dealt w/ such unprofessional and low quality people! I would strongly warn any consumer from using this company. We are still waiting on a copy of the contract from the company that they were supposed to mail to us 1 month ago! They were extremely unprofessional, made promises that they did not keep, did not take any measures to protect our home, left our house in a mess, complained when we asked them to come back to clean, and used and broke our stuff. It was a major hassle to get them do to the right thing. I will never allow Eric or his crew back in my house. You cannot trust them to be alone in your house w/out them using and ruining your stuff and leaving the place a mess. If they do work in your home I would strongly recommend being there w/ them the entire time to keep an eye on their work. You also have to ask them directly to take measure to protect your home such as putting plastic down otherwise they will not do it. One of the workers informed me that it was company policy to put protective plastic down. Clearly the employees do not care about people's home, they do not follow their own companies policies, they make a mess, and fail to clean it. The only reason we had this company do the work is b/c of the warranty. If it were up to us we would stay as far away from this company as possible. In the future, if we continue to have water leaks I will only allow the owner to handle the work.

I think they did a good job. Since the work was done we have not had any problems. I would recommend them to anyone and at this point am pleased with what they have done.

They did not try to sell us anything we did not need. They cleaned up well after themselves. They called before they came and also explained exactly what they were going to be doing.

THEY DID BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE WORK. ON THE OUTSIDE THEY DUG DOWN AND SEALED AT THE FOUNDATION IN ADDITION TO DIGGING THE TRENCH AND LAYING THE DRAINAGE PIPE ON THE INSIDE.

I wasn't totally happy but I didn't complain to them, my basement just flooded again last week but they did come right out and replace a sump pump.

A huge waste of time. Despite demonstrating that a significant leak in one corner of our basement was caused by a downspout problem, the salesman was interested only in selling us a multi-thousand dollar waterproofing system that he could not say, after inspecting our basement, was even really needed.

They have a guarantee that you can pay for every year and that is what I do. They did a good job and I would recommend them.

They were courteous and arrived when they said they would. They did a good job keeping the work area clean. They worked hard and did a good job.

They didn't do a good job with the concrete. It looks nothing like the original concrete pad. I'm still waiting on them to resolve the problem.

I got a phone call in March. A girl called to ask if I'd had the work done, and if a field representative could come out to see the job. I told her what had happened, and she apologized all over the place. She said she would report them. I don't know if she did, but I told her that I was uncomfortable with the way the reps did business. When I refused to be pressured into signing, they turned into who they really were.

The good news is that the basement *is* dry. But the experience was very frustrating. 1. Application of Stabil-Wall required that existing paint be sanded off. EverDry did not take necessary steps to contain dust; there was dust *everywhere*. It took weeks to clean the basement; I had to sweep every inch, including the ceiling and joists. 2. Stabil-Wall application was sloppy; I had to make them re-do it. 3. They called me at work to ask me to buy new window wells. IMO, this should have been included in the cost of the project. In any case, they should have bought them; they shouldn't ask customers to run their errands. 4. IMO, they didn't do a very good job sealing existing cracks on the interior of the walls. I was expecting them to fix broken mortar with new mortar; they used silicon. 5. A leak developed within weeks; they had to come back out and reseal one wall. 6. Concrete over interior tile was very sloppy, w/many cracks. Overall: polite but not too competent.

THEIR SALES WERE VERY HIGH PRESSURE, AND UNPROFESSIONAL. THEY USED SCARE TACTICS TO BRING US TO A DECISION BEFORE WE WERE READY.

I HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THEIR THOROUGHNESS AND THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE; FROM THE PERSON WHO ANSWERS THE PHONE, TO THE PERSON THAT COMES OUT AND DOES THE WORK.

WE ENCOUNTERED EVERDRY WHILE TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE TO INSTALL AN INTERNAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM, AND STEEL SUPPORT FOR A BOWING WALL. THE SALESMAN USED SCARE TACTICS TO TRY TO COAX US INTO DOING ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WAS UNNECESSARY. HE CLAIMED THAT WE WOULD NEED BOTH INTERNAL, AND EXTERNAL DRAINAGE RESULTING IN HIS ESTIMATE BEING $7,000 HIGHER THAN OTHERS WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE EXTERNAL WORK. IN ADDITION, AFTER I HAD TO LEAVE FOR AN APPOINTMENT, HE TRIED TO CONVINCE MY HUSBAND TO COMMIT ON THE SPOT FOR ABOUT $1,500 DISCOUNT. OBVIOUSLY, THIS COMPANY, OR AT LEAST THIS INDIVIDUAL, PARTAKES IN LESS THAN DESIRABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES. ADDITIONALLY, BEWARE OF THE CALL THAT WILL COME A WEEK AFTER THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATE. THEY WILL CLAIM THAT MIRACULOUSLY, THEY HAVE COME UP WITH A WAY TO SAVE YOU A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY. THE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS WOULD HAVE TO BE ABOUT 30% TO 50% TO COMPETE WITH THE OTHER 6 ESTIMATES WE OBTAINED.

THEIR SALES PRACTICES ARE DISREPUTABLE. THEY WANTED BOTH MY WIFE AND I TO BE THERE. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS A MALICIOUS SALES TECHNIQUE. THEY SPENT 2 HORS AT MY HOME TELLING ME I NEEDED OVER $12,000 WORTH OF WORK. THEY LIED ABOUT A FEW THINGS REGARDING THE CONDITION OF MY BASEMENT. I HAD TO ASK THEM TO PLEASE LEAVE MY HOME (AFTER BEING POLITE FOR 2 HOURS). I TOLD THEM I'D REVIEW THE ESTIMATE, AND IF I WAS INTERESTED I'D CONTACT THEM. THE NEXT DAY THEY CALLED ME AT 8:00 AM ON MY WORK CELL PHONE TO TELL ME THEY HAD REVIEWED THE ESTIMATE, AND THOUGHT THEY COULD ESTIMATE IT AGAIN AT A LOWER COST, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME OUT AGAIN. I TOLD THEM I DID NOT WANT TO SPEAK TO THEM AGAIN, AND NOT TO CALL. THEY CALLED ME 3 TIMES AFTER THIS BECAUSE THEY DID NOT REMOVE ME FROM THEIR TELEMARKETING LIST. AREN'T THERE ANY HONEST BASEMENT COMPANIES OUT THERE?

THEY DID A GREAT JOB. IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE SEEN THE BASEMENT THIS DRY!! AND IT SMELLS SO MUCH BETTER! THEY WERE ON TIME AND I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM!

I HAVE A MESS. I WENT WITHOUT STEPS FOR A YEAR. THEY LEFT TRASH IN MY YARD AND BLEW UP LUNCHES IN MY MICROWAVE. IT IS JUST HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP. I WOULD LIKE A REFUND AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DO IT RIGHT. I HAVE TO TAKE OFF WORK EVERY TIME THEY ARE HERE.

THIS COMPANY WAS VERY PUSHY WITH ME. I HAD ORIGINALLY SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH THEM TO DO THE WORK ON MY BASEMENT, PLUS I PUT A SMALL DEPOSIT DOWN. THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT WAS TORN UP BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DONE CORRECTLY, PLUS, AFTER BEING DECLINED BY THE BANK, I JUST DECIDED, WELL, THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO HAVE THIS WORK DONE. BUT THEY RAN MY CREDIT AGAIN THROUGH ANOTHER BANK THAT ACCEPTED IT AT A HIGHER RATE, AND I HAD NOT GIVEN THEM THE O.K TO DO THAT. I TOLD THEM AGAIN, I DO NOT WANT THE WORK DONE AND TO SEND MY DEPOSIT BACK. THEY TOLD ME THEY HAD TO THINK ABOUT IT. I HAVE BEEN CALLING THE COMPANY AND THEY KEEP TELLING ME IT IS IN THE MAIL. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT YET.

DID GOOD WORK. SEEMS EFFECTIVE SO FAR. GOOD CLEAN UP. FORGOT TO TURN OFF THE BASEMENT LIGHTS WHEN THEY LEFT THOUGH.

THE WORKMANSHIP WAS MEDIOCRE, BUT THE BASEMENT SYSTEM WAS THE MOST COMPLETE OF THE SERVICES THAT I HAD LOOKED AT. I SAY THAT THE WORKMANSHIP WAS MEDIOCRE, BECAUSE THE CONCRETE, AFTER IT HAD BEEN LAID, HAD FORMED LITTLE CRACKS (WHICH THEY FIXED AT MY REQUEST) AND THE PLASTIC WALLBOARDS, THAT RUN ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE BASEMENT, ARE NOT VERY EVENLY INSTALLED (CROOKED IN SOME AREAS, AND NOT FLUSH WITH THE WALL IN OTHERS). THE WORKMEN WERE FRIENDLY, BUT NOT VERY PROFESSIONAL AS THERE WAS A LOT OF HORSEPLAY AT TIMES. THE SYSTEM HAS PERFORMED WELL, AND THE JOB WAS DONE ON TIME. OVERALL, I WOULD SAY THAT THEY DID A GOOD JOB.

I WAS CALLED BY THE COMPANY AFTER THE HOME AND GARDEN SHOW. I HAD QUESTIONS CONCERNING SEALING A CONCRETE WALL. THEIR CONTACT GIRL CALLED BY TELEPHONE. SHE WAS VERY PERSISTENT ON MAKING AN APPOINTMENT. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT. SHE INSISTED THAT I HAVE MY HUSBAND PRESENT. I SAID THERE WAS JUST ME AND SHE WOULD NEED TO SET UP THE APPOINTMENT WITH ME. THREE TIMES SHE INSISTED AND I EXPLAINED THREE TIMES BEFORE SHE HEARD MY WORDS. I RARELY GET IRRITATED BUT I WAS IRRITATED AT THIS POINT. I WAS SO UNSETTLED ABOUT HOW SHE HANDLED THE SITUATION I CALLED ANGIE'S LIST FOR MORE INFORMATION. ALL THAT WAS MENTIONED WAS THAT INFORMATION WAS NOT BEING GIVEN OUT ON THE COMPANY. I DECIDED TO CALL THE COMPANY BACK AND CANCEL. I DID THIS. SEVERAL DAYS LATER, TO MY SURPRISE, I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL FROM THE COMPANY TO TELL ME THEY WOULD BE OUT TO MY HOUSE THE NEXT DAY. ONCE AGAIN I SAID I HAD CANCELLED. SHE ASKED WHY AND I SAID I DID NOT THINK THEY WOULD PROVIDE THE SERVICE I NEEDED.