WESTERN CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS

Western Construction Systems came out and did exceptional work at my house! They went above and beyond my expectations! They were friendly, professional, and hard-working! They took care of all the issues that I had concerns with and then some! Their prices were fair, especially for the high quality of work that they did! I know I pestered them with questions, but they were patient every single time. Before I contacted them to have the work done, I had high anxiety about the drainage issues. When they were finished, I felt confident that there were no more issues. Peace of mind is priceless!

I can't speak highly enough of Justin and his team at Western. Just after our home flooded our son was in a serious accident and we were in the hospital for weeks. Though they were really booked up, they worked with folks from our Church who did much of the physical labor in order to help our family get through the multiple challenges we were facing. Later in the spring they came back and made some foundation repairs, so hopefully we won't have any further basement flooding issues.

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They showed up as scheduled for a 2-day job. It took a another .5 day to complete it. They were courteous, professional and did a fine job. I felt their price was reasonable andI would definitely go to them again with any foundation issues.

They were incredibly responsive during a very hard time. In the space of 4 days our home flooded (during a week when there were lots of homes flooding -- they had a foreman on site to take a look within 24 hours, when a competitor wouldn't have been able to even look at the problem for a month). In addition to our home flooding, our son was in a terrible accident and was in ICU for several days, and the hospital for 5+ weeks (he's still there as I write this). Some folks from our church called Justin at Western and asked if they could provide the labor and they could install the sump system to take care of the immediate flooding project. My wife and I weren't even there and between our awesome Church family and western they dug the trenches and installed a sump system to take care of the flooding issue. Western was super busy with the unprecedented flooding, but they worked with us. The second part of the project in preparing the foundation in a stairway to the basement hasn't been completed yet, but is scheduled, and I'm confident they'll do a great job with that too. I'll repost more info if I feel it is needed.

Tyler and his crew at Western Construction Systems arrived on time and professionally delivered excellent level of service in retrofitting my foundation to qualify me for lower cost earthquake insurance. The team exhibited the highest degree of mechanical skill and problem solving, as well as great customer service. They came highly recommended by a neighbor who emphasized that they are local, lower cost, professional and reliable. I will trust all future foundation repairs to Western.

Tyler showed up on time and delivered a detail proposal of work needs to be performed a week after the meeting. The price was a bit higher than he original quoted but I can't complaint much when there is a chronic flood problem that needs to be taken care of before the Oregon winter hits. The communication was seamless throughout the process and they delivered what they promised. The crew was professional and they cleaned up the site after the job finished nice and shine. With 2 year warranty, now I am waiting for the rain comes to see how the drain performs. Good experience overall and great workmanship.

The crew was promp, courteous, professional. The office was great with communication. The project came in on budget. Very happy with our experience.

unknown

I had a different contractor put in an egress window and window well 2 1/2 years ago to convert a finished basement room to a legal bedroom. The contractor at the time did not build the window well to meet egress as defined by code (I just found out after the room flooded last December). The contractor at the time also built the window well like a swimming pool with a solid concrete bottom. The drain hole the contractor had put in at the bottom of the window well was tiny and went inside the ground right next to the outside of the window well in a tiny amount of gravel (Western Construction's crew found maybe 1/3 of a Homer bucket's worth of gravel when they dug the window well out). As a result, when it rained really hard last December the ground water inside the ground next to the window well would come in through the window well's drain hole and fill up the window well with water. So when enough water would build up inside the window well (due to the concrete bottom that made the well act as a swimming pool) the water would reach over the window's glass and leak into the finished basement, flooding the house.

I called Western Construction Systems and I like that they have an office with someone live that answers the phone (instead of another contractor I contacted that had a full voicemail and did not answer the phone). They were very responsive and always on time (for the bid and for the work). They completed the project before they thought they would and even managed to bump me up in their busy schedule. They did their best to keep the yard in decent shape despite all the digging they had to do. It's a shame it started to rain right before they were done as that created a muddy mess but that's the weather for you and you can't do anything about that. The work appears to be well done and they cleaned as best as they could based on the weather.

When Justin came to bid the job he listened to what had happened with the window well and addressed all my concerns, including the fact that I had discovered that the downspouts on that side of the house went nowhere inside the ground and that there was a crack in the foundation. I thought I might need some yard drainage, an exterior foundation drainage/waterproofing system and a drain pipe in the window well to go downhill into the yard. Justin did not try to up sell me services though (like another contractor did). He explained why I did not need extra bells and whistles like a French drain and really seemed to understand the problem I was having. He also pointed out that the window well did not meet egress as I thought it did and that it should not have a solid bottom. He explained exterior drain pipes at the bottom of the foundation could be done but would be cost prohibitive and unnecessary since the water had come inside from the window well window, not from the foundation bottom. The one thing that really needed addressing was removing the solid bottom off of the window well and making sure it met egress. We also both agreed it was safer to fill the foundation crack now before it actually leaked.

Justin's crew was very nice to deal with and took time to explain and show me what they were doing. When they rerouted the downspouts the crew leader involved me in where the downspouts should go and drain in the yard, which I really appreciated. The company as a whole seems very concerned at working well with their customers. I feel confident that if something needed addressing in the future they would be there for me. Based on seeing their work, I don't believe I'll have any issues though. If only I had realized that they install egress windows/window wells from scratch, I could have hired them back in 2013 and avoided the thousands of dollars of loss the other contractor ended up costing me.

unknown

They did a great job on our 1923 Portland home! Our foundation looked like h*** before they came: it had deep holes, loose skim coat and some minor cracks. The holes were so deep birds seemed interested in nesting in them. Western Construction scraped the bad skim coat and loose foundation off, applied foundation sealer and acrylic cement, smoothed it all out and painted it. Inside, they did the same to the exposed areas, plus sealed an area that was having some minor water damage. 
We got bids from Western Construction Systems, M Leon and Masonry/Waterproofing/Drainage Masters. From the three companies that came out, only David from Western Construction Systems gave us a realistic scenario of how they would fix it. He told us it was very bad in some spots (the big, deep holes), but all fixable. David came across as capable, professional and knowledgeable.
The other two companies weren't as professional, one relying heavily on doom and gloom-- "The corner of your house might to fall down while we repair it, then it will cost much more to fix." The other company told me, "We could fix this for $30K (up from a $4K bid!) but it's so bad you can't tell anyone you used our company." As a consumer, I don't respond well to the doom-and-gloom scenarios that some contractors rely on.
Western Construction scheduled us for three days, but they sent a large enough team the first day that they completed 75% of the work that first day. The second day, they sent two people who worked very hard and finished everything. Their crew was professional, respectful and responsive to any questions we had. 
We highly recommend Western Construction Systems.

From start to finish, the team at Western Construction did a great job installing a sump pump in my basement and then repainting the floor.  Justin and Juan made sure I was informed of the scope and progress of the work each day, and they were great about taking the time to answer my questions completely.  All crew members were professional and courteous.   I can highly recommend Western Construction!

unknown

Western Construction showed up when scheduled, were professional and informative, and completed work efficiently and effectively.  They subcontract some work; everyone they sent completed the required tasks as expected.
In addition, Western Construction has been fair and reasonable regarding financing and the scope of work.   We had three estimates done, and their offer was the one that addressed all our crawl space issues for a price that was within the expected parameters.

unknown

Big project which went well and on schedule.

Perfect experience. They were professional, thorough and efficient. My home was build in 1946 and the basement has had water issues for years. I was constantly battling to keep water out and temporarily bandaging the problem rather than fixing it. After the water proofing I had an egress window installed to create a legal bedroom and living area in my basement. If you are even considering the possibility of having this type of work done on your home I highly recommend doing so and using Western Construction Systems. Furthermore, the improvements that I had done added value to my home and provided for a good return on my investment.

They were amazing. They were prompt. They were honest and straightforward. They were clean and respectful. It is a very no-nonsense company.

The man who did the scoping was persistent despite a bend in the pipe that did not allow penetration in one direction. Getting the bill settled took more time (36 days) and phone calls than I expected. Eventually I did receive the bill and paid it promptly.

It's their busy season, so we started in May on the 13th and the project wasn't finished until June 13th. In their defense, we told them that we didn't need the project finished urgently and were flexible around their crews scheduling needs. During the bidding/scheduling phase--we played phone tag a lot. Their company is in Salem, but they do many projects in Portland and Washington. The crews usually arrived a little before 10am and were finished most days by 3:30 or 4. I think the whole project start to finish was less than 10 days, but as I mentioned above, my husband and I were flexible with our schedule and they worked on other projects (I think it was a river dam which is definitely an urgent/emergent situation) at the same time as ours.

It's a super dusty process and it's impossible to keep the dust to a minimum--the guys were pretty good at cleaning up, but plan on cleaning concrete dust up for several months after your project is finished (they tarped the stuff that we had down there and we still had a ton of dust). They applied a penetrating foundation sealer, then applied a thick layer (0.5 to 0.75 inches if I had to estimate) of reinforced acrylic cement and finished by painting it with a gray acrylic-latex foundation paint.

Our home was constructed in 1911 and the basement stairs will eventually need to be replaced. The stairs are right next to a outside basement wall and since we didn't pull the stairs away, the crew and quot;repairedand quot; around the stairs. This means that there will be gaps in the repaired wall when we eventually re-do the stairs. They aren't standard stair depth (they are more shallow), so this could pose a problem if we want to make the stairs and quot;standardand quot; when we re-do them as the gaps in the wall repair won't line up. If I had to do it over again, I'd hire a contractor to re-do the stairs at the same time.

They are going to return later this summer to trench one or more of the gutter downspouts away from our home to lessen any chance of water intrusion.

My windows in the basement are original. I am having some deck work done to the back of our home which would have covered one of the windows. I asked them to concrete in that window. They did and it turned out very nice.

They used universal foundation plates and attached my home to the foundation to lessen the shifting that could potentially happen in an earthquake. The plates were attached with concrete screws, lags bolts, and epoxy and were placed about every 3-4 feet around the entire inner perimeter of our basement.

They warranty their work for 15 years--hopefully we will never have to make a and quot;warrantyand quot; claim. Earthquake voids the warranty, but I wouldn't expect them to repair damage that was caused by an earthquake.

We got a bid in April of 2013. Not realizing how expensive it was going to be, we weren't able to have the job done until we re-financed our home this spring. Their bids are good for a year, make sure you get the project done inside that year--the price of our project went up $4000 because we had to have it re-bid (we were outside of the bid window by a month). I did question the owner's I read other Angie's List reviews that talked about payment issues and that they pass on the 2% credit/debit card fee if you chose to pay that way. It does clearly state this in red print on their contract, but 2% of a $20-30k job is a pretty stiff fee, so plan on paying by check, cashier's check or money order. We paid by check so this wasn't an issue.

Overall I am happy with the outcome of the project. Instead of a crumbly concrete foundation that leaks and falls apart when you brush up against it, I have and quot;newand quot; smooth surface, waterproof walls. However, I am glad we won't have to do this ever again.

We had lifted old carpet to replace, and found cracks in the foundation slab floor underneath. The 2 crack lines were about 5ft long each, and maybe 1/8th inch to less than 1/4and quot; in width. The slab floor is separate from foundation walls - which were unaffected, strong and intact. Apparently it's incredibly common to find cracks in a slab, since everyone we spoke to reacted with total nonchalance. Still, we wanted the best fix we could manage, so a $10 bottle of crack-fill-goop from the hardware store might be okay for the garage, but not an interior room.
I'll point out that before fixing the crack, we had another foundation company - RamJack - over to measure and ensure the house and foundation were level - which they were.
Of various companies we spoke too, we thought Western Construction Systems had the best approach. They were the only company who wasn't just gonna drizzle goo atop the crack. They'd also drill 1and quot; HOLES every 8and quot; along the crack. The holes were filled with a dried and absorbant type of small pebble. I think they also chiseled the thinner crack lines to create a trough for the sealant to better hold and settle into. The drilling was a bit loud, but not intolerable. It didn't last long or create much dust. In fact, the whole process went much faster than I had anticipated.
Next, an expoxy type filler was injected into the crack. Actually, it's 2 large tubes (caulk gun size) simultaneously squeezed out to mix the expoxy and squirt into the crack lines. They used a few sets of the expoxy. The thin mixture settles into the crack very rapidly, so they were constantly applying more until it topped off - then smoothed the surface flat with a scraper.. The holes were repeatedly filled and the idea is that the sealant mixture will spread sideways down in the holes, filling the cracks underneath (not just a 'frosting coat' on top). I'm told the epoxy bonds incredibly well with the concrete.
When I made the appointment for the estimate visit, it was efficient and yes, I accepted the bid. However, it took the company 4 days to call me to set the appointment. When I finally heard from them the appointment was set 2 weeks out - which was disappointing but I grit my teeth. I just needed the floor fixed and done. That meant leaving the new carpet in warehouse and putting the installer on hold, and having furniture stacked in the hallways.
On the appointment day when they were due within the hour at 9am, the office called about a delay and did I want to reschedule? Seriously? At the last minute? Or...they could arrive later in the afternoon and work from there. A different day would have the domino affect on the carpet installer and subject me to the risk of his rejecting our job, so not an option. However, arriving later same day was going to subject me to great personal inconvenience, so I was quite stressed about this last minute change. I think a company should do their utmost to adhere to a schedule because it can greatly impact their customer.
Overall, I'm torn between giving this company a and quot;Band quot; or a and quot;C,and quot; and that's mostly due to the high price - which is incredibly expensive. The employees are perfectly nice and pleasant people, no fault there. But I just don't see how they can justify charging so much. We accepted this company and paid the fee because we felt we had no other option to affect the best repair.
But for what I saw done, it seems to me that factoring in travel time, employees, drilling, and (possibly costly) epoxy, a more realistic and reasonable price should range between $800 and $1,000.

They did an excellent job. They took time to show me what they were going to do, stopped in the middle to show me how it was going, and explained everything they had done at the end. I would definitely hire them again. I wasn't aware they had a 2% credit card fee when I had to work done and they waived the fee in the end which was very fair. Very happy with everything.

the work was excellent and the crew did an amazing job of cleaning up after themselves.

They are good. They tell you everything they're doing. They'd show you a good progress as it goes along. You're involve all the way. That's really a good company. They did the work in three days and they are wonderful to work with. They did a great job. Price was good.