BASEMENT RX WATERPROOFING

They threw away items that were not damaged and cannot be replaced such as 40 years worth of family photos, albums, expensive silverware and stainless steel pieces that could just have been cleaned, and original artwork with out my permission. I had given them the keys so they could get in the house and they ended up breaking a window to get in. They used the cheapest material they could find and the drain and pump were a joke. The next time it rained, there was 8" of water in the basement. The whole experience lasted a year and I ended up taking them to court and having to hire another contractor to come in and fix all of their mistakes.

They did a good job, removing the mold and making basement waterproof. My only complaint is that wouldn't wait until I cleared my credit card. Instead, cashed my check, which I gave to them to show in good faith that my credit card was good. Also, they never even offered to pay me back for the fine for overdrawing in my checking account.

The estimator who came out to take a look used all sorts of high-pressure tactics to try to get me to book right away, telling me that it was an emergency situation, telling me that they had an opening for the next day and would give me a lower price if I had them come out then (their "lower price" was higher than the reputable company I ended up booking). The worst was that I told him that I had just bought the house, and might be submitting the receipt to the previous homeowners for reimbursement because they'd failed to disclose the water problem at settlement; he told me that because it might be a legal case, they required a deposit of $250 to do the estimate, and told me that was an industry standard. I learned my lesson afterwards that it was NOT an industry standard and that they ripped me off of $250 as an easy way of making some money in case I didn't use them. Never, EVER use this company, they're completely shady.

Their work was ineffective. We continued to get water seeping through the foundation, especially the foundation adjacent to the exterior basement door. They returned under the lifetime guarantee, but their efforts never significantly improved the problems. They eventually returned three separate times but never improved the problem and each time they completely ignored the problem around the door where the most water was coming in. They often did not return phone calls and on three additional appointments failed to show up at all. Ultimately I hired another contractor to address the problem as I could not count on them to show up or complete the work correctly. In the end, I took them to small claims court and was awarded the maximum amount, but have not been paid by them.

Steve was supposed to show up between 2 and 4 on Saturday afternoon. He called around 1-ish and said that he was probably going to be closer to 4. I greatly appreciated the call and was able to run some errands before 4. I ended up having to rush back to the house to get back around 3:45 to be sure I wasn't late for his arrival. 4:00...4:05...4:10, the phone rings...It's Steve, he's about 10 miles away and should be there shortly. 5:00, he pulls up. He apologizes when he gets there and we move on...Okay, so that started my frustration. He certainly is nice enough, however the scare tactics (he's surprised our walls haven't caved in yet) and price gouging - started at $16,000 - then lowered the price three times within three days - calling frequently to say how much they need the work. My opinion - if you need the work that bad, give an accurate price, don't try to get the most then lower it - be honest with your prices. I chose another firm to do a similar job.

He was about to lay out his papers and describe his system and give an estimate when he asked if my husband was ready to join us. I told him my husband wasn't home. He said for a free estimate, both parties needed to be present (something that was not communicated earlier). When I said I would notify Angie's List, he asked if I would like him to go over the information with me since he was already here.

The work was harder than the contractor had anticipated, since the concrete floor was extremely thick in many areas. There were several delays, but overall the job went about as fast as we expected. They also cleaned up after themselves very thoroughly. There are no more wet spots on the floor, no efflorescent on the cinderblock walls, an unbroken and usable storage space where there had been a hole, and generally, a better crawlspace and reinforced underpinnings. We think we have a better, stronger house as a result.

THEIR WORK WAS BEAUTIFUL. THE BASEMENT USED TO SMELL, BUT NOW I LOVE TO WALK THROUGH THAT PART. I AM THRILLED. MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS WITH THEIR FAILURE TO RETURN PHONE CALLS, OR TO FOLLOW UP WITH ME ABOUT SOME QUESTIONS I HAD.