Olshan Foundation Repair

So far so good. Waiting to see what the hot and humid summer will bring as far as condensation.

They did GREAT.

I will never recommend them.

I was satisfied with the field workers and supervisor, they worked hard and were very polite. However, the manager was difficult to deal with and tried to add additional work after the engineer developed the repair plan. Also that manager brought 6 extra people in and they sat around all day doing nothing all day. If there was that much fluff in the project cost I would have rather had a discount . I knew I was paying for those people so there is a problem with management. That same manager wanted me to tear out the staircase going from the basement to the 1st floor. That would have been a huge job. The field engineer did not see the need so we did not do it and the work was completed. Finally that same manager tried to revise the cost estimate which would have charged us twice for the same work for 3 supports. I contacted the office but [they were not very interested in my issues.

Regardless of the price we felt that it had to be done. We have a lifetime warranty with them. They are very quick and have done two jobs for us so far. They were good about digging under the house so as not to disturb any plants. The only concern I have was that when we needed them for the second job, which was an bit of an emergency, it took us about a month to get on their schedule.

They were all very nice. It took them awhile to call me back for the first visit and nobody called me back this last time.

In early 2010, I was having foundation problems with my home.  In January 2010, I contracted with Olshan Foundation Solutions to perform leveling and stabilization processes to the structure of my home.  I did this to alleviate the doors, the front door specificially, from shifting to the point that they would not shut and latch properly and to alleviate cracks from appearing in my walls.  During the consultation, I asked two very specific questions regarding the solutions Olshan was suggesting.  The first question was, "Will this solution  PERMANENTLY correct the problem of my home shifting to where the doors do not shut and latch and to where the walls will no longer crack?"  The answer I received was an emphatic, "Yes!"  The second question I asked was, "Does the age of my home, since it's roughly 70 years old, prevent the solution you are suggesting from being a PERMANENT fix?"  The answer I received was an emphatic, "No!"  Olshan Foundation Solutions came to my house in February 2010 and performed the work. 

In July 2010, I began having problems with the work Olshan performed.  Among these problems, my front door was not shutting and latching again.  I had to remove the strike plates from the door frame so I could lock the front door.  The screen door was rubbing the frame and making a horrible sound when you opened it.  The doors in the back bedroom were not shutting properly, and last, but certainly not least, I started seeing new cracks forming in my walls.  In July 2010, when I called and reported these problems it was August, approximately one month, before anyone was available to come out and fix the problems.  When Olshan's crew did arrive in August, I had to schedule yet another appointment, which was another 30 days out, for them to come out and adjust the piers underneath my home.  I need to note that there was a year warranty with their services, so this just ate up rougly 60 days of my warranty time. 

In October 2010, I began having problems again.  I had to call Olshan  THREE times before even getting an appointment for service this time.  Olshan does not have these October phone calls documented, but I did make these calls and the calls do show up on my October 2010 cell phone bill.  And I need to note one other thing.  In October, I began asking for assistance from the general manager and/or the account representative who sold me the job and was told, in not so many words, it was doubtful that would take place, and if it did take place, it would take place on a day and at a time that was entirely convenient to them.   Absolutely unacceptable customer service if you ask me.  Olshan did return to my home in October 2010.  Once again their crew crawled underneath my home and gave these piers a turn or two and were on their way.  I need to make clear, I began asking specific questions at this time as to why the problems I had hired them to fix were coming back.  Especially when I was told these problems would be resolved with their products and services.  It was appearing to me that their $3500 solution was, infact, not a solution at all.  The response I received from the ladies in the office was absolutely no comment at all.  I posed this same question on multiple visits to the crew Olshan sent to my house.  On one ocassion I received a shrug of the shoulders.  On another ocassion I received a reason something to the extent of my house is light and the wind can cause it to shift.  My thoughts to this, huh?  What?  Seriously?  I don't think so!!     

In early March 2011, I once again began having problems with the front door not latching.  Also at this time, I have a closet door in the second bedroom that was not catching when it was shut.  Knowing the warranty period had expired by this time, I hesitated calling Olshan back and decided to simply adjust the strike plates on the front door frame to match up with the dead bolt and door knob. 

In May 2011 when I began having problems, yet again, I decided to call Olshan.  I was told they would pull my file and get back with me.  The return phone call never happened and a week later I was calling Olshan again.  They came out and adjusted the piers, again!  

In July 2011 I was having problems, again!  This time I finally did get the attention of the general manager.  The general manager came out to my house in late July 2011.  During this meeting he walked around my home taking pictures and putting a level to various parts of the house.  During this visit I pointed out to the general manager, specifically, how some cracks I had spackled had come back through the spackling.  His comment on this was, "You can't just spackle cracks, you have to cut the drywall out in these places and replace it with new drywall."  Excuse me?  Really?  I did not buy that for one single minute!  That meeting was left with the general manager saying he would have a proposal to me in a reasonable amount of time stating what Olshan was willing to do for me. 

I did receive that proposal.  Olshan offered me $200 to fix my front door or to use however I saw fit.  Not quite sure what $200 was going to fix if the $3500 I spent did nott do the job when they said it would.  That offer was absolutely, positively, without a doubt insulting and unacceptable on every level.  Needless to say, I did not accept that offer and am still in the process of fighting with Olshan over this. 

The bottom line for me is, I paid Olshan Foundation Solutions good money to resolve foundation problems I was having with my home.  They promised a PERMANENT solution to the foundation problems I was having with my home.  The PERMANENT foundation solutions they promised turned out not to be so permanent.  Now, I am out $3500 and still having the same problems I was having when I called them in January 2010.  Not to mention there are additional damages to the walls of my home, which I will have to fix.  All I can say is this.  I hope this report helps someone out there from being taken to the cleaners by Olshan like I was.  Research, research, research people!!!  I looked Olshan up on the BBB and I thought that was enough.  Olshan had only two complaints at the time and the complaints showed being resolved amicably.  The report also stated their rating was an A, I do believe.  If only I had put into a google search engine "Olshan complaints."  (I found something on YouTube as well.)  The wealth of information I would have received to their dealings and wheelings would have been priceless, and it would have saved me $3500 and a superior amount of aggravation and frustration. 

If you have water in your basement, or any kind of water problem, they will come out and fix it. They will go underneath the house and fix the crawl space problem. I don't have a water problem anymore. The only thing about that job was, they ran the water that came out of the gutters into my yard which was fine and I had no problem. But in order to do that, they had to dig up my yard, lay down the pipe and leave a hole in the yard. So I've got 4 holes in the yard and I really don't like that. I didn't anticipate that I was going to have holes in my yard. It's still like that because they were trees in the way. As far as leveling this house and putting that pump in and all of that, I felt so sorry for those guys. It was in February with the cold and snow, and they were here till after dark getting this house leveled up. The people who actually did the work didn't speak a word of English. The phone man, although he was Mexican, he did speak English. He understood and of course he had to deal with the workers. The work that they did for $11,000, is a lot of money, but the earned every dime of it. My mother died in February, and the day that they came out to talk to me about the job, to tell what they were going to do and how much it was going to cost and etc., was the week of her death. So family was coming in and they excused themselves because they realized and left and came back a week later after the funeral. The person who grades them came with them, so they were on target with their professionalism because they were being graded. The houses across the street are way above on the hill. The water runs down those hills and sits right underneath my house. I knew that I had a problem, I've been here 30 years but I didn't know that it was acute as it is. They also told me that the house was beginning to float off the foundation. I don't hear the pump but I know that its working because there is no water.

The crew showed up late on the scheduled date. Only the foreman spoke English, and his was very poor. The original crew tore up my vapor barrier with no intention of replacing it, and tore some of the insulation on the flexible ductwork under the house. After they installed the supports the foreman told me that when they adjusted them to level out the floor, some of our floor joists might buckle under the pressure. I don't think this actually happened, but I should have been warned of this possibility before I agreed to have the work done. The drainage system was a disaster. After the first heavy rain the soil over the pipes and around the drain tiles washed away, and my crawlspace was full of water. I didn't get a call back for about week, and then only after I emailed the corporate HQ with pictures. After that it took two visits for them to finally figure out what the first crew had done wrong. It took weeks for my crawlspace to dry. I'm worried we may have problems down the road.

I had good experience with Olshan. The work done was as good as it could be. I appreciated the speed and friendliness of the company. I am confident in their work, and would recommend them to others.

Olshan gave me an estimate that was the best price. I am very satisfied with the job that was done. The customer service people were excellent. I had a little trouble communicating with the workers as they did not speak English.