The Foundation Expert

The initial estimate was not consistent with the final scope of the project, which grew as it proceeded, in large part due to an initial misunderstanding of the type of foundation under an addition that replaced what was originally a carport on a concrete pad, and in small part due to some tangentially related follow-up work to a concrete patio that I wanted to have done. The end price seemed fairly good to me -- the owner claimed he was losing money on the project -- but I do not have enough information to evaluate this, so no letter rating on price. The quality of the end result has been very good. No problems for several years. However, I was not impressed by the professionalism of all of the people that I interacted with at The Foundation Expert. Over the course of this project, I encountered a wide range of memorable behavior -- memorable enough that I am writing this review more than four years after the project -- that, in my view, averaged out to fairly professional. I would consider hiring them again.

Exceeded expectations. Superb quality, service and price. Sam and his team are excellent.

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They were fabulous.

They talked about putting in tile, but we didn't want to spend that much money. Maybe we should have. I can't remember exactly, but I think they came out promptly. He was a good guy and gave us an estimate.   

It wasn’t as detailed as I had expected. As opposed to an independent assessment it was to sell new services if you decided to go with his recommendations. I thought it was going to be independent as opposed to him trying to remedy it. It seemed like he didn’t have the best of interests. He did find things but I thought it was more expensive than it was. I could have got the same assessment with somebody coming out and giving me an estimate so I didn’t have to pay a $100 to get what he gave me, so other water proofing companies would have given me the same thing and I wouldn’t have paid them anything and that was the difference. The bottom line is that I could have gotten the service for free because it wasn’t as detailed as I would have expected for $100. I wanted something beyond that I would normally get from a company. I actually ended up going with somebody else.

Sam was very easy to talk to and detailed and thorough.  He took his time with us to help us understand what the issues were and what needed to be done to fix them.  He was extremely receptive to questions.  I would highly recommend him, not just because he knows his stuff, but because he makes an effort to help his clients understand their homes and why the work is needed.  

The service turned out very well. He was very professional and he did a great job. He gave a very good report and it was done very well. I was completely satisfied with him.

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Our basement bedroom started to leak water after the August 2011 Northern Virginia earthquake, which may have had no relation.  Although it never leaked before the earthquake, this could have been an aging issue.  It leaked during each of our two major hurricanes in September 2011, then again in Superstorm Sandy October 2012.  At the first hurricane we thought it a fluke and went back to normal after cleanup.  We realized we had a problem with the foundation when the water under the carpet during Superstorm Sandy was actually muddy water suggesting earth was coming into the house somehow.  
The Foundation Experts were highly professional from start to finish.  They had clear expertise and gave us great confidence that they knew exactly what they were doing.  We also were pleased with their Angie's List reviews. They explained things to us quite clearly so that we could understand.  They offered two pricing options as part of their bid--one a lower bid that would attack a localized smaller area for around $3000 and the higher bid that would address the entire side of the house for around $10,500.  Based on the possible aging issues of the house and that we intend to own the own for our adult lives, we elected to repair the entire side of the house to avoid any future issues.
The team did a good job inside and out, including dealing with surprises.  They were thorough in how deep they excavated, finding drainage piping at the foundation of the house coming somehow out of the bottom of the house that was not draining to anywhere that they added piping to to drain out properly toward the rear of the property, including adding a screen to ensure no pests could use it as a house entry point.  After doing crack/hole repair, they resurfaced where necessary, added waterproofing materials, drainage piping, and then backfilling.  Although our existing landscaping was disrupted, The Foundation Experts advised that in advance and also suggested that moving forward we use grass in that area to help absorb water better at the top of the ground.  They suggested that the way that area was previously landscaped was actually retaining water in a negative way right against the house. 
They also repaired inside the house in the basement bedroom.  They did a treatment against for mold, cleaned and restored  the carpet, and repaired the water damage on the baseboard areas at point of water entry.  They even painted, matching the existing paint color to my pleasant surprise.  The basement bedroom was back in top-notch shape for our guests.
We were extremely satisfied, and we would recommend them to others facing foundation issues.

He came and looked at the foundation. He said he was going to sending us a report but he never did. We ended up finding the source of the problem separately. Overall, the service did not go very well.

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Work was done in a timely and professional manner. Since they had to drill into the foundation wall and floor quite a bit of dust and debris was created. They did a great job of minimizing the problem by putting up plastic sheeting to protect the furnace and the rest of the basement. The problem had been prevalent for years and it was nice to find a firm to do the work and feel like you are not getting ripped off. They were straight forward, honest and easy to deal with. We have since sold the house but had no problem after the work was performed.

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For the drainage system and sump pump, I am extremely happy I went with Foundation Expert.  I have not had any leaks or floods in my basement since the system was installed.  It took about only a day and a half to get everything done.  I would definitely recommend them out to family and friends.

They spent half an hour to evaluate my basement. It wasn't worth the time. I could have gotten that same service from just having an estimate for free. They were very professional. I would probably not use them in the future.

Overall I was very pleased with the experience.  The technician that did the inspection was obviously very experienced.  The house is about 70 years old and through the various remodels it has had over the decades, one of the previous owners made some modifications that caused us to be a tiny bit concerned.  The tech was kind enough to walk us through the inspection and his findings.  Turns out our area of concern was very easy to fix.  Had we let it go for a few years, repairs would have been a lot more extensive, expensive, industrious and time consuming. Because we got it checked out early, the fix was cheap, easy and fast.  the inspection was worth every penny.

he showed up on time and was very helpful.  However, he suggested he would provide a quote for replacing a back walk way, which never happened.

 It went fine and gave us the information we needed to make decisions moving forward.

Samuel Weisgal was professional and thorough, and I was pleased with the inspection.  In my rating I gave him all A's with only a B for responsiveness.  He was responsive in arranging the appointment, but some weeks after the inspection I had to follow up with him before receiving the written inspection report.  He attributed this to a new staff assistant who had let a few things slide.  Overall, I was pleased with the service provided.

We were very happy with his work and wished we could take advantage of the things he offered to deal with the water in our crawl space. We just can't afford it now. It is on our list of the things we want to get done it just has not gotten to the top yet.
He was very thorough and showed us where water was getting into our crawl space. My husband crawled around with him and he was great about showing him what he was seeing and answering questions.