American Foundation Specialists

Jayme came for the initial quote and to measure for beams. The day of the install, I was told they'd be here morning to mid morning. They showed up about 3:oo pm and said their previous job ran long. They cam in through the back door, which was the shortest way into the basement. They laid down floor protection material from the back door all the way to the unfinished portion of the basement. They passes the beams thru a basement window. (2) bricks had shifted around a window. The dug out the soil around the window by hand, and reset those bricks. I can not tell that they even did any work outside as they did a great job of cleaning up. They stayed until the job was complete, about 7:30 pm. Joe and his crew worked very hard and I'm very happy with the result.

There's not enough room on this review to express my experience with Tony and Jamie. Our situation with our foundation was very unique and presented some challenges. American's quote was not the lowest nor the highest quote we received. Our decision to use American as our contractor was based on their confidence and reassurance that they can help us through this ugly situation. From the onset the project they ran into trouble. No fault of anyone but mother nature. Both Tony and Jamie reassured us that we will get through this. The processes took several months, again mother natures doing. Jamie made special trips for inspections and shoring to ensure no catastrophic failures would occur until mother nature loosened her grip. The weather and time was finally in our favor and the American Foundation Specialist went to work. They were prompt, hard working and extremely professional. They made the best out of a bad situation for us as they could. Tony was so concerned with the outcome of the project he spent several days just supervising and advising as Jamie and the crew put our house back together. There were unexpected consequences from the weather and Tony took the time to explain the how, why and how much. I use his saying in my everyday life, "It's got to be right, it's got to look good." It is and it does. Years of stress due to the foundation issues are now gone. My wife and I can't be happier with the results and would/have recommended American Foundation Specialist to others. They took a situation where we feared loosing the house to a place we can once again call home. The craftsmanship and attention to detail is phenomenal. Thanks Tony, Jamie and the crew.

I hired American Foundation Specialists in May for to repair my foundation in June; they seemed OK through the initial sales process but it turned out to be a terrible experience once they started the work. They did not call the Wisconsin diggers hotline to mark my incoming gas line and when I asked them about it two days before the job they said they didn't need to because they know what they are doing. I asked the crew chief when they got on site on 06/12/2018 and he was rude. I had to call them back 3 times to install my sump pump correctly, prior two employees they had do it installed it too high so my drain tile system and croc would have overflowed; Lyle (their sales guy had to do it himself on the third call). I also had ordered an egress cover for my window from them and had to keep following up for over 7 weeks (Lyle's standard answer was we're expecting a shipment in the next 5-10 days) so I finally gave up and ordered in on Lowe's at $75 cheaper than they were offering. They said they wouldn't install it if I didn't buy it through them but couldn't give me a reliable date if their lives depended on it. Today (08/17/2018) we got our first rainfall and the egress window is leaking pretty bad (see photos). I sent them the pictures and asked for someone to come out and assess the issue and they had Lyle call me; he said they were busy and he thought they may be able to come out next Friday 08/24/2018 but couldn't guarantee a time so I needed to be flexible. Thankfully I have not yet finished the room and saw the issue otherwise I would have noticed years down the line after mold would get through the wall. After paying $11,000 they can't confirm a time and I need to be flexible...terrible customer service experience. I would absolutely not recommend them to anyone, they want to get your business and once they have you they treat you like they are doing you a favor. I have no commitment from them on a timeline to fix my issue so will work with city inspectors and potentially another company to see what my options are.

I met Jayme and Lyle at the Milwaukee home show. These two guys seemed more of a working type people in appearance (no suite and tie salesmen) so I stopped at their booth and chatted. They explained who they were and a family owned business I found was very appealing for a first impression vs. a corporate company or franchise type business. We set up an appointment they came out on time and told me exactly what I needed done. After hearing what they had to say explaining how they would do the repair they gave me the estimate and explained everything. I was very satisfied with how they operated so I hired them. Boy, I am glad I did! I had four other contractors give me estimates and all had "sketchy" business practices compared to these guys. No hidden costs or surprises! They gave me specific instructions on what I needed to do as a homeowner as far as preparing for the work to be done. I had to relocate plumbing and remove drywall in several places. I did exactly what they told me to do and it allowed them to be in and out in just one day! On construction day, they were at my home a few minutes early and ready to go. They removed concrete from my floor and installed drain tile on half of my basement wall area (house was built into a hill with the hill side having the leaking). They installed beams on two walls to stop the bowing and repaired all of the cracks in the affected walls. They dug out and replaced my old sump. They had coordinated with the local building inspector and had everything ready for him to look at with no issues of any kind. They came absolutely prepared for everything! Their crew worked non-stop and were very courteous. Overall experience was EXCELLENT! I would hire these guys again in a heartbeat!

Owner Tony, himself, came to the house. He agreed with the engineer as to the number or braces. He answered all of our questions. He also gave advice on related issues. He explained everything that would be done and why. When the team came, they worked efficiently and professionally. It looked good.

Fantastic People, Fantastic Company. I called American Foundation Specialists to give me an estimate to fix my basement foundation per the recommendation of a foundation engineer. The first company quoted me approximately $13,000.00. When Jamie and Lyle, with American Foundation Specialists, came out and started to take measurements, he determined that the corner of my basement in question was actually only 1/8" low and not over 1" low like the engineer stated. He then reached out to an engineer that he usually works with who was highly experienced in evaluating these types of issues. The next day they came back out and met me and the engineer to look at the foundation issue. The new engineer agreed with American Foundation Specialists and reported that there was no continuing movement in the foundation and that it was likely caused from initial settling when the house was built. Since I was doing this in order to sell my house I was being forced to make this repair. This was a $13,000 project that they could have gotten from me and made good money on. Instead, they volunteered 2 different 1+ hour trips to my house to help me get a correct report and avoid wasting money on an unnecessary repair. They were not even going to charge me for their visits but I insisted that I had to give them something in return for their time. After my experience with American Foundation Specialists, I cannot imagine that there is another company around with their honesty, character, and expertise. I'm still blown away that they took a job that would have been theirs and money out of their pocket and instead invest time to help me SAVE $13,000 and get the right answers.

Very smooth and courteous professional workmanship. Crew worked very harmoniously together.

Jayme did the initial inspection and explained what was happening with our basement walls. He described in detail how it would be corrected and gave us a quote that we accepted. The entire crew worked nonstop and got the job done like a well oiled machine. Each one had their specific job and got down to business. It was fascinating to observe them working. They had respect for our home inside and out and put down tarps on the basement stairs. They covered the items in our basement with big sheets of plastic for protection which was great. Sheets of plywood covered our lawn where they had to drive their equipment. All of the crew were pleasant and considerate. The crew cleaned the basement when they finished inside. They even washed the floor. Outside they raked and power washed the driveway and street. You wouldn't have known where all the dirt, stone and heavy equipment had been. It is now 3 months post job completion and the basement is totally dry and odor free. We have already recommended your company to several other home owners. GREAT JOB BY A GREAT CREW! WELL DONE AMERICAN FOUNDATION SPECIALISTS!

They were very professional, prompt, good communication throughout the process, cleaned up the outside without leaving any ruts in the lawn, and inside was like almost "new".

I feel that they did a pretty good job with installing the beams. Where they drilled holes into the floor for the beams, the cement is not even and looks really sloppy. I feel that I could have done better myself. It bothers me because the job was great other than how that part looks. I wished the owner had come back throughout the job to inspect things, rather than never returning after the estimate. The crew were all very nice and I would gladly upgrade my rating if the quality issue is addressed.

It went Excellent, the Crew that worked on my property did a Great Job, they Explained everything that they were doing and done, when I had questions, they were all Answered, & they Cleaned up everything from the Basement, Kitchen Nook, to my Porch & even my Driveway! I would Recommend them to my Friends & Family!

Nothing. They did a great job. The work took two days. The area was very clean.

GREAT. Fast and efficient. Called on a Saturday morning for an appointment for what I thought would be weeks out. The representative told me Kyle would be calling me within an hour. Not only did he call he stoped over to the house in less than 2 hours after I made the initial call. Explained the process in great detail so I had a complete understanding of what needed to be done. The work needed was MUCH less than I thought and was scheduled for the coming week. Nate was the Forman on the job, He was not only polite, he explained every detail of the job and dealt with the City Inspectors. I HIGHLY recommend American Foundation

Excellent work

They did the work, however, they didn't do a professional job. Our basement now floods and the window installation looks bad. When they installed a Scape-well window well and didn't attach it properly, so it's collapsing on one side. When I began to have problems, he told me that he installed it as a favor and it wasn't covered under any warranty. He never came out to look at the problem, he was just rude on the phone.

Tony and a co-worker came. They did the checking and found out we didn't have a problem in our basement. He figured that we may need to check the tubes of a furnace. He was a little disappointed but he was honest! He didn't push for sales like another company did.

I called American Foundation Specialists when I realized that some new cracks were forming in my basement wall. Tony came and helped me determine what the cause was. He identified a leaky sewer pipe and recommended ways to resolve my issues. Being a new homeowner I really appreciate the guidance he provided. While we are not yet at the point where we would need foundation work, I will use American Foundation Specialists if/when that time comes!

From the time Tony and Kyle explained the detailed  steps to be taken to complete the job, I was confident the job would be done right.
Not only was the process timely but the crew displayed extreme professionalism making the relationship a joy. The cleanup both inside and out after the initial work was complete was more than expected. For anyone having this type of work done, you probably will get several estimates but will ultimately settle on American Foundation Specialists.     

American Foundation was friendly and helpful from the first phone call. I called for the consultation and they had someone come out in a few days. The specialist was very friendly and honest about was going on with our basement. He gave us 2 different options to get the matter fixed. We were not pressure to make a decision on the spot or  into signing a contract that day. After calling, signing the contract, and paying the down payment, we had the crack fixed and beams installed in a week. 

Since having our beams installed, I found myself in a situation at 10pm at night where we had water in our basement, I called the specialists cell phone and he answered! He talked me through a few options from where the water was coming from and gave me a few ideas. There are not many companies that would answer that late at night! Their customer service is amazing and I will continue to call American Foundation if any more issues arise!

This went very well. I would recommend them to anybody. After they proofed the services they even cleaned everything up. They were very friendly, sociable and agreeable to anything.

The job was perfect from start to finish!! They showed up exactly when they said they would down to second!!! Tony is a great guy!! He takes his job very serious but keeps the mood lite. He explained every detail and every cost. They had to dig up our north basement wall to be able to push the wall back. They dug it up pretty quick and the guy doing the digging was like a surgeon on the machine!!! Even know we were adding a 2nd story to the house and the landscaping was gonna be trashed due to that they still put down mats for the equipment to drive on. They took the time while the work was going on to answer all my questions and even walked me thru every step of the job that I wanted to know. They even let me help with some stuff so I had a better understanding of how it all worked. The crew was great and up beat the entire time. They had to have custom fabricated steel supports made to brace all 4 walls and tony took the time with his engineer to make sure they were an exact fit. The house is a steel framed craftsman house with steel floor joists and his welder took extra time to weld all the beams in and also welded some bracing in for around the house at no charge!! They totally cleaned up my basement to a fine clean even know I was in the middle of demoing walls. They totally cleaned up everything outside as well. Even did the neighbors driveway cuz they got a tiny amount of dirt on it!!! Tony was the only guy who said the walls could be fixed. All the other bids I got wanted to tear out the bad wall and even the other walls that hadn't moved very much. He explained why he could fix it and showed me other jobs where the walls were worse that he was able to push back. All in all they did exactly what they said they would do and then some!! I hope I never have to use them again but if I do they really stand behind their work 100%. They are great guys and do great work and I'd recommend them to anyone who needs basement work done.

Awesome job, very respectful workers, very professional, no one used profanity, polite, kind, work done on time, considerate workers, helpful, 
I would definitely refer this company to everyone looking for basement repair.  Thanks for the great job!!!!!

This company truly stands behind what they say they will do!  From the time Tony stepped foot in our home he was understanding about how we were feeling about the unfortunate condition of our basement walls and extremely informative about the process.  We did check with other companies before going with Amercian Foundation Specialists but decided to use them because of their reputation, reviews on Angies List and their commitment to get it done right.  The morning they started it was like an army of trucks and equipment had invaded the neighborhood.  They went right to work by removing all my landscaping stone (something I never asked them to do) and placing it on tarp on our driveway.  I thought they would just excavate and the stone would be lost, but they saved about 4 yards of landscaping stone that I was able to use in my backyard.  What an unexpected pleasure that was!  Not only did they complete the project within the 3 day timeframe they told us they would, they even washed my basement floor before they left.  The steps were tarped going to and from the garage to create minimal wear and tare on our flooring, they took off their work shoes whenever they entered our home.  They were courteous, patient when answering questions, and very hardworking.  When they left, the driveway and street were hosed down and the grass raked.  Tony called the day after they completed the job to check on our satisfaction with the job that his crew did.  He also stopped by to check on the work himself.    All in all, I would highly recommend American Foundation Specialists for any work that you need done.  They are a family owned company that stands behind their work and shows they care.

I had to have things done by them and there weren’t many people that could do this stuff that they did.  If I had my choice to do it over again they would not have got the job.  The work was okay but I didn’t like their salesman at all and that would be the only thing.  The work they did worked out fine and it went the way it should have and they were quick and cleaned up the whole thing but only thing is it took them a long time to come back and finish filling in the hole and I had to wait quite a while like four or six months to put the gravel back in.  It was all done before I moved in and sold the house.  When they were there working they had to dig around the part of the garage and jack it up and they did that and they did a good job and they did quickly.  When they filled in the rock it sunk a little while later and then it took them a little long to come back on and I don’t know maybe they had to wait till they had the product.  It took them a long time to finish dropping that last stone.  I didn’t like the salesman as he was kind of pushy.  I couldn’t shop around at that time so I wasn’t overly enthused with the price but I guess for what they did that’s a kind of inexpensive job and I had no way to compare.  I thought the quality was good.  I called them a couple of times to put the gravel in there.  When they said they were going to show up they showed up so that was great.  They went out of their way to not wreck my grass and other things like that.  I would shop before using them because I was in a pinch and I didn’t have enough time to shop around, I don’t know if I would have got anybody better or not and I don’t have any idea.

We have had water in the basement for several years.  Not a lot, but enough to be annoying.  It always originated in the same spots, then drained toward an interior drain in the front of our basement.  
I saw a basement contractor at a home show and asked for an assessment and quote.  This person accurately described why the water was coming up in the basement (poor interior drainage system, resulting in water during heavy rains when the water table below the house rose).  This contractor, however, proposed the installation of a new drainage system around the entire perimeter of our basement, along with some exterior drainage, with a quote exceeding $30,000 (lowered significantly later in an effort to win our business).  They also offered a lifetime guarantee against further water (provided we continued to pay $50 per year).
At a friend's suggestion, I contacted American Foundation Specialists and met a couple of times with Jayme Zidar.  He also accurately assessed our basement problems, but suggested that a full perimeter system was not necessary.  His thought -- address the problem areas, and if more was needed in the future, then do additional work at that time.
We accepted his bid and had the work done.  His men were professional and courteous.  Importantly, they also cleaned the basement very well of dust and debris.  My only nit would be that the concrete covering the trenches may not be as smooth as I would like.  But, it's a 100+ year old basement.
.Since the work was completed, our basement has been completely dry.  Very pleased with the results.