The Foundation Works

It's a short and sweet story, so I think it's explained well enough above.

I feel like I should just ditto the last review. I was a little concerned about the foundation of the older house I bought earlier this year. After reading the reviews, I called The Foundation Works. Brad came over and did a visual inspection of the interior, saw nothing amiss, and then went underneath the house. He obviously checked everything, from the time he spent. He told me that everything was fine, had drawn a diagram and pretty much introduced me to my foundation. This information was welcome, and greatly put my mind at ease. He's also a nice guy! I was extremely impressed with Brad and with the company. I hope to never need them, but if I do, they are the ones I will call.

I called this company because I was concerned about a potential foundation issue. When I called them, they were extremely nice and courteous and scheduled an inspection for a few days later. The inspector works on Saturdays which made it convenient. On the day of the inspection, Brad, the inspector, was running about 20 minutes late and he called me to advise me of this fact, which I appreciated. When he arrived, he inspected the area and didn't find any problems. I appreciated that he was honest enough to tell me that the things that I observed didn't signify a foundation problem and that he didn't try to sell services when they weren't needed. Having them come out and look at the issue really put my mind at ease.

Brad came right on time at 9am for a foundation inspection. Listened to my concerns and then went to work around and under the house. He did a very thorough job and gave me a report on what he found. He thought the foundation was overall in great shape and that no work was currently needed. He suggested we put our drainage farther away from the house to avoid excess moisture. They didn't charge us a dime. It's so unusual to hear that kind of honesty and not push for work. I would recommend Foundation Works to anyone needing an inspection done. Brad was courteous, honest and it was an overall great experience.

I purchased a 1936 home and had a home inspection. I had a home inspection and one crack was noted, but I was told it was not a big deal. I decided to have The Foundation Works come for a foundation inspection. They came out and provided a very detailed report that addressed the crack that the inspector found but also a more serious crack in the corner. Brad provided me with a detailed report for its fixing and also for retrofitting the house. I wanted to get the seller - they were a bottom feeder group of investors who purchased the home out of foreclosure - but they refused and called in their own "expert" who said it was not a big deal and to just cover it with some epoxy. Foundation Works said a similar but also actually addressed strengthening the foundation and not just covering the crack to prevent water penetration. The sale was a nightmare and when it was finally over and I had possession, I contacted The Foundation Works to do the repair. Obviously, my cash reserves were low, so I worked out a payment with them. They scheduled the time, they arrived on time, and performed all repairs. They really improved the foundation and strengthened it. I cannot recommend them enough. They are a wonderful company and I will be going back to them in the future for earthquake retrofitting.

It went very well. Work was completed quickly and exactly as detailed on the estimate. Brad Nestler provided the estimate and answered many questions both over the phone and by email.

I selected Foundation Works solely on the Angie's List reviews and frankly I was really disappointed in the quality. Tom the owner showed up early for the estimate and walked me through the house and explained all the cracks in the walls. When he was finished looking under the house he showed me what he found (by drawings). However it felt like a used car sales pitch. He gave me a rough estimate on what it would cost and said he could level the floors but it would be a considerable amount more. I put my skepticism aside and waited for the report. The report was delivered the next day and was 6 pages single spaced. There wasn't one picture included with his report. The report was 6 pages of the same sales pitch I heard the day before. There was zero substance to it. It felt like he was the savior who was coming to the damsel in foundation distress and he only reported on "the worst offenses" (verbatim from his report) and not the full scope of what should be done. What really irritated me, and I mean irritated, his report stated (again another quote) "In that spirit, we are offering to perform remedial repairs on those specific areas only. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of everything that could be corrected or improved, but rather is designed to select out those areas considered to be in need of correction at this time." I am paying you $150 for a foundation inspection and you are giving me a report that says you are going to give me half-assed repairs? Why not give me a report that shows everything like the other people I am calling. Anyway, the Foundation Works estimate for worst offense repair was 10% lower than the perfectionist company I hired who fixed EVERYTHING they found. Foundation Works also provided a range of what it would cost to level the floors -- not an exact amount. I was beyond underwhelmed and kept shopping for another foundation expert.

My husband and I decided to go with all of Brad's suggestions and within a day I was contacted by Myron who was able to fit in our relatively small job between some others they had going on. The next morning 5 young men appeared directly after finishing up another job, proceeded to coordinate my job with Myron (who explained everything to me extremely clearly) and commenced work immediately. I can't speak highly enough about the men who worked here. They were courteous, punctual, clean, didn't play the radio, didn't swear and were very considerate of my (many) pets and garden. In fact I would classify them all as pleasant and completely professional. The job was finished within the time frame specified by Brad in his bid. The inspector arrived the next day in the time frame specified by Myron who did all the permit work promptly and efficiently. The inspector was extremely impressed by the work he observed, which exceeded my expectations regarding the reinforcing of the rim joist, size of the bolt plates used to attach the house to the foundation, and the rebuilding of 2 piers in the southeast corner. My husband crawled under the house to take a look at what was being done and was extremely impressed with the quality, strength and craftsmanship. I have already begun recommending this company to anyone who asks me about the work being done (of course I always say I found them on Angie's List!) and I would use them again without question. The experience was one of my most positive in over 30 years of dealing with contractors.

I called the Foundation Works and (incredibly personable and effective) Marie in their office sent one of their people out who inspected my foundation, explained what was necessary, what was possible, and gave me, though a staggering estimate, the lowest estimate. The work was everything Angie’s List reviewers said – every member of their crew was knowledgeable, articulate, and, as friends at the house commented, uniformly attractive. Be that as it may, the job was done in ½ the time I anticipated, and was not unpleasant (even with the jackhammers). I feel so confident in the steadiness and longevity of my house and the safety of those inside now that I have a sturdy foundation strapped to my wonderful house. You can’t go wrong with The Foundation Works, call them, and their office staff will charm you, as well.

I'll add to the chorus of great reviews. My house had some *creative* foundation work done prior to my purchase of it, including its mashup of stonework from 1924 and poured concrete from a recent renovation. Seeing obvious problems, I finally decided to have it checked out for seismic reasons. Brad came to do the estimate and spent almost an hour under my house. His report was by far the most detailed of the three I got, and he spent the most time explaining the situation to me. While both of the other companies advised me to completely replace much of what remained of the 1924 foundation, Brad came up with a much more flexible approach. Though there was no way around completely replacing one stem wall that was in terrible shape, it turns out that portions of the others only needed sister walls as reinforcement instead of full replacement, and the fourth would be fine with no work at all. I learned that what looked like a stone foundation was actually just a stone facade covering poured concrete. The other two reports said that the walls were all stone and needed to be replaced instead of reinforced. Brad explained that the sistering approach would work very well - all they would need to do is jackhammer & remove the stone facade in order to pour the new sister wall up against the old concrete. His estimate came to less than half of the others. He responded to questions at all hours and on weekends, and you can even pay the installments online. The extremely friendly crew started within a few days, removing tons of rock, concrete and dirt from under the house. I'm on a hillside with no access for a Bobcat, so they must have removed some 500 bucketfuls of material by hand. They were always prompt and kept me informed of their progress. Everything about their work was clean and professional. They even moved electrical outlets and lights in the basement as needed. All other praises aside, I'll just say that this was a fantastic experience, and I have a lot of peace of mind knowing this job was done so well. Can't recommend them enough.

Tom is highly professional, very personable, on time, pleasant to deal with, and easy to communicate with. We would call him again in a heartbeat.

They were fabulous, their pricing was wonderful, and they did great work. They left the place clean, and I would recommend them highly to anyone. I cannot praise them enough.

we called Brad and he showed up in the SAME DAY as our request. he was friendly and professional. he was thorough and very knowledgeable.

Tom performed the most detailed inspection of any contractor who came out. He also seemed to be the most knowledgeable. He explained why he wanted to look throughout the inside of the house as well as the outside, and even drew a detailed plot plan of the house, our yard, and the foundation layout, to better explain his analysis. After finishing, he gave me the great news: I didn't need to do anything structural to the house! Then he took me outside to prove it. Tom clearly has a lot of experience with different foundation types, because he recognized that my house had a unique (1 in maybe 300), extremely over-built foundation. My house sits on a near flat parcel, yet the foundation had been built for a house that would hang on the side of a hill. After digging a bit of dirt away from one of the corners of the house, he revealed that what appears to be the footing of the foundation is actually over-spill from one of several deep "caissons" (think pillar) sunk at critical points around the walls. What appears to be a simple stem-wall foundation is actually a perimeter of what are essentially concrete "beams" supported by these massive caissons. Also, these "beams" themselves are twice as wide as would be poured for a new house in this area. Yes, there is minor cracking on the wall above one of the caissons, but that is because of poor drainage that settled the soil beneath this extremely heaving piece of concrete. The solution here is to deflect the water run-off, and fill the cracks, because, even though I let some water settle under this one corner, this house isn't going anywhere for a very long time. Tom was great! It was heartening to meet such a straightforward contractor who actually seems to have a customers best interest at in mind. I almost wish something would go wrong with my foundation, so that I could give him some work ;D !!

THEY WERE THERE EVERYDAY UNTIL THE JOB WAS COMPLETED..CAN'T ASK FOR MORE THAN THAT !

I am very happy with my experience with The Foundation Works. I got multiple bids and found their proposal very reasonable for retrofitting the foundation on my newly purchased 1902 house. They were recommended to me by another architect who had used them. It took a good deal of time to close our escrow and I had to delay starting the work, but owner Tom Pelletier was very flexible (and offered considerable moral support) during that time. The crew was exceptional. Once they got started they worked efficiently and foreman, Mike, kept me abreast of any issues before or as they occurred. I felt that they worked with care and were eager to address any issues I found along the way. ("Issues" meaning, here is a problematic condition, here are options for resolving it. How do you want to proceed?) One day I happened to be at the house after the crew left. About a half hour or so later one crew member (Danny) returned to check that a window he thought might have been left open was closed and locked. I appreciated the effort he made to return check it out of caution. Marie did a great job handling billing. The process for drawing from my construction loan was a bit sticky in the beginning so I appreciated that everyone kept their cool and gave me the space to get the gears rolling with my funding mechanism. So all around, The Foundation Works met and exceeded my expectations and I am happy to recommend them to anyone doing a foundation retrofit.

I've worked with Tom in the past. He remains punctual, available, informative, and an overall professional. Truly, I'm not going to crawl on my belly, under my buildings to inspect the workmanship. With Tom and his capable professionals I don't have to either. I received foundation repair and retrofitting 101 as an explanation to the scope of the estimate, and felt very comfortable that the remedial work to be performed would address my needs. As with past experience Tom delivered on ALL of his promises to complete the job. The first time I contracted with The Foundation Works was several years back to do foundation repair on a SFR. Most recently I had foundation repair and seismic retrofitting on a multi unit building. I will continue to use and recommend The Foundation Works to anyone in need of foundation repair and seismic retrofitting.

The quote was lower than another i've received a while back, so decided to go with them. When the crew was running later than scheduled, brad called to offer me a discount! This may be the first time I've received one without trying or haggling. Immediately I knew that Brad was all about customer satisfaction & service, which is hard to find in any home repairs. Kent arrived with his help & they were thorough, respectful, and professional. When i noticed another crack behind the staircase to the basement, he was all game to address that area as much as he could. They finished the job in about 5 hours. Overall, I trust their expertise & commitment to do the job right. I'll recommend & use them again in the future for sure!

After all the rain I started noticing cracks in the outdoor walls and pooling of water. I was really worried that our foundation had been compromised and was moving. Brad came out and spent over an hour under my house and then sat with me for 15 minutes to let me know everything was OK and that my foundation was "beautiful." This was the best news I could have heard. He sent me a three page write up and charge me nothing. What? Yep, I just said it, nothing. I would have gladly paid $500 for the peace of mind.

They were prompt and good. They did not give me an estimate because it was not the kind of job that they did. They referred me to somebody else. I liked the person that they sent out. He did look at my foundation and underneath the house. He told me that they wouldn?t be able to do the work. They didn?t charge me or anything.

We had several companies come out to give us a quote and we found Foundation Works to be the best value for us. Brad was very professional, and took the time to explain what would happen and the amount of time. Myron and his crew did a great job and the city inspector said that the job done exceeded the requirements for a one story house! Thanks

This was a great experience. The guys were punctual and quick with their initial inspection, and presented their findings in an easy-to-understand way that didn't make us, as first-time homeowners, feel frightened or overwhelmed. They emailed me their report promptly. They even emailed me the diagram they'd drawn of areas that were vulnerable to cracking because of drainage issues, and recommended a guy to do the drain work. When they returned to do the repairs, they were again quick and thorough. I didn't even have to stay while they were there. I hope I don't need their services again, but if I ever do, they're my go-to company.

They were very professional. They would call me every day to tell me what they did and what was going to happen the following day. I was well informed of what was going on with their work and schedule. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company.

We called them in to do a foundation report. They only reported on the property - I didn’t purchase it. They didn’t do any work beyond it. The report helped us reach a realistic cost and also with negotiations. It definitely impacted the “non purchase”. They were patient in explaining the concepts of it. They took the time to answer the follow-up questions about the report. The price seemed to be comparable with everybody else. I would consider using them in the future.

I called The Foundation Works to come and give me an estimate. Brad came out on a Saturday to give us an estimate. He explained everything he was doing very thoroughly. He even told us we should have someone look at the drainage under the house but that wasn't something Foundation Works does. The crew (Myron, Christian, Thomas and Kent) did a fantastic job. They were professional, courteous and super nice. They had to come in and out of the house in order to check the leveling of the floor. They took great care not to let the cats out as they came and went. They took their time so as not to cause any cracking of the walls. It wasn't the biggest job but they treated it as if it was. I would, and will, recommend this company to everyone I know. Thanks guys.