Accurate Basement Repair

Excellent from start to finish. Worked with Bob Vorbau who explained each step of the work. Foreman and crew were on time, very professional, and left the house spotless.

Chris Mancuso came to our house promptly and did a thorough review of our foundation and drainage system. He determined the water was not due to a foundation issue rather due to a missing downspout. In addition, the inspector raised issues regarding a plumber valve of which Chris' experience provided insight and closure to a non-issue. His report was pivotal to the sale of our home. The buyer was comfortable with his findings and professional opinion. Chris Mancuso was very professional, courteous and knowledgeable.

The person who did it was prompt, professional in demeanor and seemed knowledgeable and  honest.

They did a great job. I think they're very professional. I think they really know what their business is. I don't think they overestimate.

Bob came out and took a look at the basement and let me know everything that needed to be done. He advised that nothing could be done at this time due to the weather. Bob was a very nice guy and polite in the way he did things. He did things in a way that gave me the respect I wanted and gave me the information that I thought was actually going on which turned out to be accurate. On top of all this, he gave me a free estimate and printed it up and mailed it out to me.

I was contacted by Tim White of Accurate Basement Repair. Tim contacted me via email after he called and didn't hear back from me. I immediately called Tim and he had me explain what the problem was and he was able to assess the issues over the phone and confirmed when he arrived at my home a few days later. Tim was flexible with my schedule which was great.
Tim was fantastic, and he explained the entire process to me regarding how the repair would be handled. Tim made me feel comfortable with the entire process and I didn't feel like I was having unnecessary work done like other basement repair specialist that I've talked to in the past who wanted to charge thousands of dollars.
Tim was confident in his work and confident in Accurate as a company. Tim's experience shined through as I watched him repair the area that was in dire need of fixing. The other point I want to make is that Tim was completely professional at all times, he never "bashed" other companies that do the same work. I never liked when I've hired companies to come and do work on my home and then they start bashing other companies, as there is no need for that.
I would recommend Tim White and Accurate Basement Repair to anyone.
Thank you Tim!!!

We determined that no repairs were necessary that would resolve my minor problems w/o major rework that wasn't financially feasible given the age and value of the property. Very honest assessment, and I appreciate it when a business won't just do things because you think you need them if you really do not.

Accurate Basement Repair was very efficient and provided work of great quality.  Paul was very good at explaining the work that needed to be performed.  All the workers were friendly, pleasant and respectful.  Because of the manpower of their crews they were able to finish the project in 2 1/2 days that other Contractors estimated would take 8 to 10 days.
When a couple issues arose that needed to be addressed (damage to an electrical fixture and damage to some flooring in the basement), they understood our point of view and worked with us to resolve the issues to both of our satisfaction.
We are very pleased with their services and we have already recommended them to two neighbors and friend.

Initially, this started out great.  Bob, the estimator was a really nice guy and the estimate was virtually identical to the other two that I received.  The job started on 11/18 and I was told it would be done on Friday.  On Wednesday 11/20 I was again told it would be done by Friday.  As of today, 12/8/13, the job is still not done.  I am still waiting on some plumbing work to be completed and in the mean time water is leaking all over my basement floor.  This is the second plumbing mistake made during the course of the job, both of which resulted in a very wet basement.  Overall the foundation repair itself seems to be of excellent quality. Its in the other areas that I find this company lacking.  In addition to the plumbing issues, I have found customer service to be weak.  I have been told multiple times that person X would be contacting me regarding certain issues only to never be contacted.  Also, I was promised temporary fencing and I never received this.  When I called to request that this situation be resolved the person that was supposed to correct this situation never showed up.  I was promised that the current plumbing issue would be resolved by the end of last week (12/6/13).  I continue to wait and have heard nothing from the company.  Unfortunately, I can not recommend this company.

Fred and his crew arrived at 6 am.  They worked for 13 hours straight with no breaks/lunch (that's not including their travel time 1+ hours to and from Milwaukee).  They brought a double crew in to do the job because of the distance we are from Milwaukee. We interviewed 6 foundation repair companies...  We chose Accurate Basement Repair because of their plan of attack, warrantee, price and positive feedback from people.  I would do it again in a heartbeat! 
They brought in enough people and equipment to do the job and they did it well!  Fred even had his workers install a biomesh that we purchased to deter tree roots.   There is a 70' tree about 8' from the house which we didn't want to lose.  They maneuvered in between the house and tree wonderfully. 
They ended up rebuilding the south basement wall which was totally unexpected.  Fred did say they'd have to charge a little bit more for that... They supplied the top row of cinder blocks that they had to put in because someone had used a very thin block and turned it up on it's side which was totally wrong -- Fred and his crew made sure it was done right!  They charged an additional $500 to do that which was absolutely understandable considering the extra time and materials it took them to make sure it was done right!  Fred also told us that the house sill plate was rotted and said we would need to get a carpenter in to repair that.  Again, because of the long hours they put in, the fact that it wasn't included in the bid, I was ok with that...(see problem with that below)
The only thing I was a little disappointed about was that the estimator said that they would tuckpoint the north and east walls as well as the south wall which needed to be straightened.   The north wall had one vertical crack from settling, the rest were hairline cracks and cosmetic only.   They tuckpointed the south wall beautifully.   When I mentioned to Fred about the north and east walls, he apologized and said he didn't realize that was included in the bid.  He did make sure the vertical crack was filled and I was ok with him not doing the hairline cracks because they had worked 13 hours w/ no breaks and it was cosmetic only.  Had I insisted, I have no doubt they would have honored the estimators word...  
Now - on to getting the sill plate repaired....  we tried and tried to get someone out to repair the house sill...  I probably called 10+ carpenters - either they were too busy or weren't quite sure how to fix it... this is a very old house.. there was a box beam that was rotted that had electric lines running through it.. pretty much a nightmare...   so after trying to find someone to repair in the winter during hunting season w/ absolutely no luck... I called Fred pretty much in tears and said the had to come back out and fix the sill.....  Fred told me they didn't do that kind of work that we'd need to find a carpenter to do it.. I told him I tried and couldn't find anyone... Fred said 'let me make a few calls'....  his secretary called me back shortly and said that Kip Kolich would be calling me w/ in the hour and he could do the job.  Kip called and had someone out that night.. long story short, they jacked up the house that weekend and replaced the sill... was a 2 day job (like I said, it was a nightmare - and colder than h***!)
In my opinion - not only did Fred (Accurate Basement Repair) do the basement job well, but he went above and beyond in finding us someone who could replace the sill!  Would I recommend Fred, Junior and the rest of the crew from Accurate Basement Repair - ABSOLUTELY!!!!

They were competitive on price, and comported themselves with the utmost professionalism.

    Bob came to do the initial evaluation. He provided us with options, explaining what he could do to solve the problem. We had a basement wall shift 3/8 " and he explained the consequences of leaving it as is. He inspected the other basement walls and found no issues. He proposed his solution and provided an estimate without charge. Once we decided to do the repair, Fred measured the walls. This appointment and all other appointments were made to fit our schedule. The work crew arrived punctually, were polite, efficient and finished the job quickly.They cleaned up the area and took all materials they had removed with them.
We would recommend Accurate Basement Repair to others.

The person who came out was very good. He walked around and did an inspection and basically told me I didn’t need to do the work that I thought I was going to have to do. He gave me some pointers on how to correct the wall moisture problems I was having without having to do any waterproofing. They were very helpful. He took some moisture readings around the outside. He said that we had gutter and downspout issues. They didn’t do something I didn’t needed done so I appreciated that.

Paul was great -- thorough, knowledgable -- totally not selling, but consulting to the problem.  He recommended getting data from a structural engineer, whom he proceeded to call on the spot to broker an introduction.  Result was no action needed so I did not have to use Accurate but I would go back to them first if I ever did.

Very knowledgable and told us everything that needed to be done to repair problems with two crawl spaces in a home we were thinking of purchasing.

They unfortunatley were not able to do the work but they kindly gave me some other service providers to call, which was very kind of them.

Accurate was professional and efficent from start to finish.  Paul Vaccaro came to my Mom's home to give us our
estimate.   Since our basement was a finished basement with paneling and other decorations, on Paul's initial visit, he gave us good information on how to improve drainage around our house.  However, he gave us instructions to prep the basement for a second inspection, so he could properly assess the condition of the walls behind the paneling, and thus work that needed to be done.  As it turned out, we discovered more cracks and bowing of the walls behind the paneling, so we were glad we were not going to get unexpected costs after we signed the contract.  After Paul's second inspection we promptly received his detailed estimate of work.
Our plan was to get estimates from 3 high quality contractors, and pick the best one.  One dropped themselves out of the process.  Paul and the other contractor gave us estimates that we felt were very close in scope of work and price.  However, the reasons we chose Accurate were quality reputation, word of mouth experience from a friend and also from a neighbor, time needed to complete the job, and warranty of the work.  We took our time to make our decision (5 days) but once we had all the information we felt very comfortable with Accurate.
The drain tile test was performed professionally, however we discovered unexpected issues.  Paul had been very clear that this could happen, so we added the drain tile replacement to the scope of the work.  My recommendation is to ensure that the timing of the drain tile test & basement work be well enough apart so that any additional prep work can be completed before the Accurate crew starts the job.  We were able to do the prep work very quickly, but it was a rush job!!
The crew arrived promptly & ready to work.  Fred and Junior led the crew, and kept us informed of work to be done and progress.  All the men working had Accurate T-shirts on, so we knew the guys belonged in our house!  The guys were never loafing around - they were constantly moving & constantly doing the next tasks in the process.  They even worked through lunch & dinner, sneaking in meals & hydration.  The crew covered in plastic the items we had moved to the middle of the basement in our prep work.  That covering protected the items & minimized the dust that needed to be cleaned up after the work.  The crew members were also very informative & friendly - towards the end of the day we all had to resist chatting with each other so they stayed on task!!  My Mom was very impressed with the work ethic of the entire crew, and their professional demeanor..  They worked until dark on the first day, and promptly arrived on the second day to complete all the work.  There were a few follow ups like the city inspection & concrete pour during the following week, but Junior let us know the schedule so we had no issues.  Also, they took care of a few tasks to make sure the basement and yard was in good order after the work was complete.
Excavation and drain tile replacement will be create alot of noise & dust....so follow Paul's suggestions.  My Mom left to her cousins' house a few hours to get away from the noise.  I stayed because it did not bother me.  But follow Paul's suggestions!!
Also, the office staff and Paul were very responsive throughout the entire process.  The bill was true to the quotes and contract, without any surprises. 
Overall my Mom & I can recommend Accurate without hesitation. 

The conclusion was I could solve the problems with another source that would be less costly and very effective. I appreciated his honesty and willingness to honestly help us out. If the first approach doesn't completely solve our problem we will most definitely call this company back to do the job.

Accurate carefully reviewed the possible causes and determined a simple fix.  We  appreciated his skills and honesty.

Arrived when they said they would, performed the work and arranged for all necessary inspections for their work.  Came back when inspector had questions on some points.

From start to finish, they were reliable, professional, competent, communicative, and responsive.  Their price was very fair and we felt confident and reassured throughout the complicated process.

See above paragraph.

the crew were hard working guys,and the foreman (I think it was Ryan) took great  effort  in getting the job done on time

The guy was absolutely wonderful through the quotation.  I didn’t end up going with him because I went with a different plan, but I was just really impressed with the time he took in explaining everything.  I guess I went to and have spoken to a lot of different contractors.  This guy’s personality is just real straight forward and there’s no hype to it.  I was really impressed with his demeanor.  I’m not ready to do the work yet that I got a quote for but I will have that done later.  He was definitely the guy to go with though.  His quote price was very good.  As far as the price goes, he is completely even with other people.  From my personal experience, he did a great job but I didn’t actually have the work done.  His responsiveness was excellent.  I will absolutely use him again in the future.

The representative arrived at my home early on a Monday morning with the distinct smell of alcohol on his breath.  He said he could not propose repairs to my foundation without an evaluation from a professional engineer.  I have since obtained and provided that engineering report to Accurate, but they have not responded to my communications seeking an estimate..

8/30/13 - UPDATE:  After posting this review last night, I received a call this morning from the owner of the company.  However, instead of providing the estimate I requested, or attempting to resolve my concerns, he focused repeatedly in a 14 minute phone call on challenging my review, and complaining about the impact my review might have on his company.  I repeatedly told him that I was interested in seeing him change my opinion of his company based on performance.

In a subsequent call to a specialist at Angie's List, that person told me they have a clear policy against "harassment" (her word) by firms reviewed on the site, and she offered to call this man to explain the policy of Angie's List.  I declined her offer; I will wait to see how this firm performs in the future.

I'm disappointed to learn that the reviews I read here on Angie's List are subject to this kind of challenge by the business being reviewed.  I am making a good faith effort to simply describe events and facts that I observed (or in this case, smelled) without making interpretations about the meanings of those pieces of data.