Paul Salvo Masonry Contractors

update as of 6/1/2019: The waterproofing contractor via phone and a letter to express his apologizes for not following up on my issues from the install. He came out immediately to assess the situation and within a week sent a crew out to make the necessary repairs. I believe they went above and beyond in fixing all areas of the waterproofing system that may have caused the failure and flooding. Despite the very delayed response (almost a year later). Paul Salvo Jr. did stand behind his work and make it right. Given my interaction with him, I believe the lack of follow up was an anomaly and I would at this time be comfortable recommending him for service. I purchased my home in July of 2018 from a general contractor who performed a complete rehab of the entire home. As part of the project, Paul Salvo Jr was hired to complete the basement waterproofing. The very day we moved in, there was a heavy rain and the "system" failed as we had water in multiple areas throughout the basement. I contacted the seller and he provided me with Paul Salvo Jr's cell number. I spoke with Paul and he recalled the install and asked that I send him my address and he would schedule a time to come out and assess. That was the last I spoke with him, after multiple texts and phone calls it appears, contrary to what he states on his website, they do not "believe in the time honored tradition of standing behind their work". I much prefer to write positive reviews, however it is also important to share my experience. If you are looking for a waterproofing contractor and you come across Paul Salvo Jr, I suggest you keep looking as assurance of a dry basement is too important to not have someone who is committed to the work they perform. I will also provide an update with pictures.

Went perfect- just as expected

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Mr. Salvo is young! But he is knowledgeable as it is a family business and he is next in line after his father who was also a mason. His prices are fair and the work was done promptly. Paul's crew were hard workers and very kind guys. I feel like hiring Paul Salvo was one of my best decisions with all the work that I have done on the house. He was available at all time with texts and e-mail so whenever I had a question or wanted to tag on some extra work, he was easy to reach and quick to respond. Paul is a good guy who seems dedicated to providing honest service. I like that as I have dealt with contractors who don't have the skills of service, and that makes for a frustrating transaction.  My neighbors said you could hardly notice someone had dug up the side of the house as they worked quickly and always cleaned up each evening.

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The crew arrived at 8:00 am on a Monday as promised.  A crew of at least 6 were on hand.  Jack-hammering the concrete basement floor around the entire perimeter of our basement started immediately.  The jack-hammering lasted about 5 or 6 hours one day 1, but we had made prior arrangements to have our pets removed and we were mostly not home during  that part of the process.  They excavated an approximate 1 ft wide trench around the entire perimeter of the basement.  They also dug a second sump pump pit at an opposite corner to the existing sump pump.  The excavated pit sloped toward both sump pump pits.  There was some minor structural demolition of some paneling and interior walls plus the removal of a built in set of wooden shelves that was necessary to dig and install the french drain.  They did this and removed all the demolition debris from the premises.  A crushed stone base was laid down and a 3" perforated drain pipe was installed in the trench.  The excavation was back-filled with more crushed stone. An aluminum drip edge was placed about 1/2" from the walls and when the floor was re-cemented, it was cemented up to the drip edge.  The basement walls were washed with bleach to remove existing mold, all cracks were cemented or calked and then the walls were painted with 2 coats of white Dry-Lock paint.  2 new submersible sump pumps were installed.  New PVC pump outlet piping with check valves were installed.  The Basement window wells were cleaned out and crushed stone was placed in all window wells.  The floors were swept and washed down.  The basement was cleaner after they were done then when they started.  The work was completed by 12:00 pm on Wednesday.
Now here's the interesting part.  A torrential rainstorm started on Wednesday morning.  We received approximately 3-4 inches of rain during Wednesday and Thursday.  Just as they finished the job and powered up the sump pumps, the water level in the sumps was starting to rise to the top.  The pumps ran the entire night, 21 seconds on, 21 seconds off.  By morning  the off time had increased to about 90 seconds.  By the end of Friday, the pumps were off entirely.  Our basement was completely dry.  We noticed several of our neighbors having their basements pumped out over that weekend.  One neighbor lost everything in  their basement.  That's how bad this freak storm was, but we were in good shape.  Perfect timing for a severe test of Salvo's work.

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There were no problems with scheduling and there were no difficulties communicating with him. He was really nice. We wanted to know if there was any foundation problem because of the visible cracks. He explained that the foundation was fine and the cement slab on top only had cracks which cause no issues. I think that the price was good for the service that we received. It was a really good experience and I would hire him if we moved forward with our basement remodel.

Paul came out quickly and provided us with a written estimate.  He talked through the process and was up-front about when the job could be scheduled, and provided us with a written estimate, including cost of each option.  He scheduled and completed the job within the timeframe quoted, and within budget.  Our basement smelled wet and had significant rotted areas.  Paul's team arrived on time, were extremely polite and accommodating, answered our questions and worked quickly.  All rotted wood, walls, ceiling etc. were removed and discarded.  They cleaned the stone walls of all debris, and treated them with a mold inhibitor before cement patching, then full finish with two coats of cement.  They look great, smell is gone and we are ready to install shelving and create a workshop.  The experience was positive from all aspects.

We had purchased a big deal for the service. We chose not to go with his solution. He was knowledgeable, he was a great guy. You could tell he knew what he was talking about, I just wasn't ready to spend what they said the solution would be. The house is 80 years old, and he wanted to go with the jack hammer and the sump pump, and it was just more than we could spend. I am glad that I didn't do it, because now I am here, and can get the gutter straightened out. He was professional, friendly and helpful. He also told us that he knew somebody who could do custom made windows for the basement. I just went for the advise, and so we spent no more than on the big deal. The guy was great, they were prompt and polite. The guy was knowledgeable, and it was like talking to a real tradesmen. If I had serious work to be done, and it was imperative to be done, I would certainly use them.

Paul quickly responded to my request for a quote and wrote up a quote on the spot.  His quote was lower than others and we was able to do the job the following week.. They showed up on time with a large crew and were able to complete the job in two days.  They left the basement in good shape and the work was high quality.  I would highly recommend this contractor.

(2/6/2013 - Update to previous review): After providing the input below Paul contacted me. It sounded like he simply forgot to provide the estimate and was apologetic and more than willing to provide it if I still was interested in the work. I am considering revisiting a portion of the work that remains to be done.

(original input): Paul came out to assess the job and arrived 30 minutes after our scheduled time. He spent time discussing the exterior work and freely gave me helpful advice even though I was up front that I had already selected a contractor for that portion. He spent considerable time in our large 4' crawl space and in my opinion gave us an honest evaluation of the issue. His input was helpful. However, he never provided an estimate and I never heard back from him.

My mom's basement has been leaking water for as long as I can remember.  It got so bad that not only is water penetrating the walls, but also dirt.  One exterior wall had a large vertical crack through the cinder blocks due to the water pressure outside the wall.  I decided it was time something had to be done before the wall collapsed.
We got estimates from 3 different companies and Paul Salvo was not only the cheapest, but they would perform the most work.  They proposed to reconstruct the failing wall, instead of just supporting it like the other 2 companies. 
They did a very professional job and kept my mom informed throughout the process.  They demolished and rebuilt a portion of the exterior wall, installed french drains around the exterior walls, installed a new sump pump and painted all walls.  Upon completion the basement was much cleaner then when the started.  However, after the first large rain storm some water was found around an interior wall in the basement.  They were out at mom's house the next day installing a french drain on the interior wall.  They performed this work at no additional charge. 
Since then the basement has been dry.  Overall they did a very good job and were very responsive when problems did arise.  They went above and beyond what I expected.  They even fixed some of the electrical sockets in the basement at no charge!!   I would definitely recommend them for anyone with a water problem in their basement.

No work done

NO RETURN CALL - NO SERVICE PERFORMED

Paul responded to my email via Angie's List, setup and appointment, arrived on time, provided an email estimate, set up a repair date (very quickly) and delivered as promised.

From intial call to services performed in 1 day I had a good experience overall.

They did exactly what they promised--came in and excavated concrete foundation around interior perimeter, dug down through dirt, installed crushed stone and French drain, graded pipe to drain into storm sewer system, installed overflow pit with dual sump pump and accompanying electrical work. Cleaned up afterwards like new. 
They were efficient, showed up on time, were very competent, neat, efficient, thorough. Covered our outer room with plastic to protect from dust, and when they left, the crawl space was actually cleaner than before they had showed up! 
They finished on time. Charged us exactly what they agreed to charge.

I'm a big fan of Paul Salvo.  He's honest and trustworthy.   An overall nice guy to do business with.

Overall, we were very pleased with Paul.  We are happy that we did not need any work at all in our basement.  Our concern was based on hearing about homes that were flooded.  We did not have any issues to begin with and just wanted a professional opinion.

Everything went smoothly.

Mr. Salvo came out the same day I purchased the deal in March; although I have not heard from him after I sent the email two later on April 3 asking for the quotes/solutions that we talked about.  He did however reply that he was working on it but as of today May 1 I still have not received anything.  Not real sure about this contractor, he did seem very honest and willing to give me solutions to the dampness issues I have in the basement I just have not received anything to date.

It went very well. I would use them again.