Connecticut Basement Systems, Inc.

My overall experience with them has been positive. We had no problems with them at all, they gave us a good estimate. I would consider them if we decided to go with the project.

Great. They did it while we were on holiday. We had a wet basement. Always pools of water. Never bothered me much, but I realized it might not be helpful when it came time to sell. I asked the realtor who'd sold us the house for a recommendation, and he came up with these guys (and no competitors). Our basement used always to be wet. After CBS did their stuff, there was never *any* water in the basement, right up to when we old the place a couple of years ago.

They did not have anyone to answer the phone when service was needed (during this big storm but also during the previous one several months ago). They are only available during weekday daytime hours to answer the calls but the big storms seem to hit at night on the weekend. During the March storm their vmail didn't work because it was already full. We had a "backup" battery that claimed to last for 48 hours if the power went out but it only actually lasts about 4 hours and then our basement began to fill with water. So much for a "waterproofing system". The system works if you have power, so just make sure to have a generator to backup your "backup" battery.

It was great. Chuck Propheter came out and gave the job a thorough review and discussed the alternatives and recommendations based on his significant experience and engineering background. I think that CBS has great products and recommendations -- and found it a pleasure to work with Chuck. When I had more questions or requests -- he was responsive and informative. While we ended up going with a local contractor who has done work for my neighbors and friends -- CBS provided a competitive well thought out solution and I wanted people to know that they might be expensive but based on their recommendations and experience I have no doubt they are helping people all around CT with wet basement issues.

I "interviewed" 5 contractors. CT Basement Systems was not the least expensive, but because I saw the work that they did at a friend's house, and because they were very professional, I hired them for the project. Now my basement is as dry as a bone. My only criticism is that since the job was supposedly finished, I'm having a hard time getting hold of them to review the sump drainage (the work was performed on a very cold day in February and they were not able to dig the drainage system that they usually dig). However, I would recommend them to anyone looking for effective waterproofing in their basement or crawlspace.

Excellent. They came when they said they would, worked incredibly hard. I asked them to route the pump output to a specific location on my property (different from where they had planned on putting it) and they did it without a problem.

Two months ago I asked this company to come and give me an estimate to install some window wells. I was remodeling the basement and installing larger windows to replace the existing ones. A guy came out and told me that what I really needed was to take a jack hammer to the floor and dig a channel around the interior perimeter and install a sump pump. Total cost about $15,000. All I was asking for was two window wells. He gave me an estimate of $750 to dig the holes and install the wells. I told him that my contractor was going to be digging the holes anyway to waterproof the exterior and asked if we could get a price break and he said no. He said that in his experience, the contractors didn't dig the holes right and they usually needed to dig them again. I didn't see the point in paying for someone to dig a hole that was already dug, so I insisted on getting a price break. He spoke to his manager who knocked $50 off the price. Then took a 30% deposit. On the contract, he did not bother to specify the dimensions of the window or the well to be installed, but he did take the time to note that "customer will dig window wells for us". Weeks go by and we get to the phase of construction where I'm ready to dig the holes and install the window wells and the guy tells me that they are too busy because of all the rain and that they can't come for another two weeks becuse they are helping other customers. I tell him this is a problem because two weeks from now is the last day that my contractor will be onsite. He asks me to call the dispatcher and see if they can do any better. They can't. Today is two weeks later and the team finally shows up to install the wells. They take one look at the window and the well and they say it is too big for the well. Then they say that the well that is that size will cost about a thousand dollars. If this guy had taken as much time to measure the windows or ask about the job at hand rather than trying to pitch the job he wanted, we could have avoided the problem.

I had four separate estimates for my basement waterproofing project that I needed to have done before I had my basement finished. This was the cheapest; the other in range, B-Dry Systems, was about $5500 (the $6000 project cost for the above included an additional option, which was a vinyl flooring system that installs above the concrete and allowed us to eventually have a rug installed. The other two estimates: one was $8000, and one, Mid-Atlantic Waterproofing, was an insane $21,000 (and the guy wanted me to sign on the dotted line right there. Good lord.) The consultant, Tom Gibson, didn't sell the sizzle. He sold the steak. He sold his product. Explained why they use the system they use, and advised strongly against spending extra money to waterproof the garage (as that area already drains outside) and against putting in their new basement wall system because of the need to cut those walls to size, which would not fit in our basement. (Who needs cloth walls anyway). We agreed to put the sump pump in the garage, and install about 65' of drain in the trench, along with a covering on the walls (ClearTrack or something) and the super-hydro crazy battery backup. This was a bit pricier than I expected, but I went with it because I don't want it to stop working in case of loss of power, which is entirely possible in our area. The guys showed up to jackhammer the basement after I emptied it out. One note to anyone considering this: find a way to put up plastic at the nearest egress from the basement to the rest of your house, and then also consider maybe putting damp dropcloths up too. It creates a LOT of dust; this is unavoidable, and modest efforts may help. During demolition the workers - who were prompt, btw - discovered that a pipe in my garage, long buried, meant that the sump pump had to be located in another location. We decided on an area adjacent to the boiler and the water heater; they originally wanted to put it in another corner, which would have made finishing the basement all-but-impossible. The sump pump still exited to the outside through the walls after running PVC in the joists above the ceiling, which was a relief as we were unable to have the pipes run to the other side of the house (a patio is there, no grass to allow for removal). Note: The sump pump NEEDS a dedicated outlet - a 20 amp outlet - and it ideally needs a backup outlet on another circuit. If you can't do this yourself, you'll need to get an electrician to do this. Ours is the "Triple" system, so it has the main outlet (1), the backup (2), and the battery (3). From there everything went smoothly. The trench was excavated, the drainage system laid in, concrete applied, and the vinyl track, which is smooth, pulls apart easily (they're like tiles). A few months after the project was completed and we put up walls using metal studs screwed through the vinyl trak into the concrete floors and we put a rug down, we did get a bit of water in the basement at one spot, right near where one of the screws went through into the floor. The water sort of "wicked" its way up and soaked a 1' x 2' area of the rug. We had Basement Systems come back - they determined that some extra water was coming in at the walls and helped solve the problem by putting in a window well that allowed us to keep water from coming in via the window, which it still was doing. This was an additional $350, but it was also necessary - and they were prompt with a response and understood the matter very well. Since then - that was June 2009 - we have had an entirely dry basement. I check behind my walls once in a wihle to see about wet spots and I occassionally run my hands on the floor to do the same, but I have seen no other problems. We have been able to enjoy our basement ever since. UPDATE: It's now August 2011. We have had 2 problems with the basement since. 1) A small water puddle developed in the back of the room that was handled by installing a window well - another $350. Thought it had done the trick. And since it was about a 1' square space, didn't worry about it too much. 2) More water again in August of this year -- which the technician said was probably because they had installed a certain "CleanSpace" product on the walls in a way that was not allowing the water to go directly into the waterguard track in the floor, but getting around that to get under our vinyl flooring - and then wicking its way up onto the rug. This was pretty upsetting, to be honest. It made an approx 3' x 5' area of the rug pretty wet and forced vacuuming and now I have a smell to get rid of. They did replace this Cleanspace product with something else called BrightWall, which *should* handle the problem. They did not charge for this - it's part of the warranty, which is good. The good news? The power went out during Hurricane Irene and the floor stayed dry (yay), the water didn't seep out from behind the Brightwall (yay), and the backup battery worked for at least 12 hours (yaaay) and continued to pump water, sometimes at a rate of about every 10 seconds (Yaaaay). So after Irene, we lost power for 1 1/2 days and the basement stayed bone-dry. This was perhaps the ultimate test and it passed. So that part is great. Amid this, somehow one of the two pumps developed some kind of short -- when I plug it in again, it trips the circuit breaker. So currently, I have one pump and the battery - the other has to be fixed.

The team arrived promptly when scheduled, got the job done, and cleaned up thoroughly. I was amazed at how little dust there was. They were also very accomodating in placing the discharge line outside where I wanted it. Since the initial installation, they have been back to correct (under warranty, no charge!) two leaks that the original installation missed. Again they were very accomodating and were good to their word. I wuld definitely recommend them to anyone with a basement dampness problem. They are not the cheapest, but they work with you and give you your money's worth!

I would say they are a little expensive, but I think I would probably use them again in the future.

My basement has been dry since they waterproofed my basement. We will be using them in the future.

After calling Connecticut Basement Systems, they schedule an appointment for someone to come out, look over the situation and provide an estimate. The individual arrived on time, took a look at the situation, answered a number of questions that I had and provided an estimate. When we decided to move forward with the repair, Connecticut Basement Systems scheduled a time that was convenient for us to have their repair person come out and do the work. The individual arrived on time, completed the work and left the work site clean .

They knew what they were talking about, very knowledgeable, and competant. Rick and Al were both very good. They answered all of our questions.

Estimated job. Signed contract and paid deposit. Scheduled date for work. Showed up on time and completed work within schedule. Did excellent clean up. Very satisfied.

I really liked the representative that came out to give us an estimate. He was really professional and didn't use any high pressure tactics to try to scare us into having more work done or signing on the spot. We got a few other estimates but found Connecticut Basement Systems to be the best price for the quality of service. They came to install our sump pump and arrived right on time (during an ice storm no less). They took extra care to loay down tarps and clean up after themselves when they were done. They did the job quickly and everything looked great. My only complaint is that I don't feel they really explained how the system works to me. Keep in mind, there is nothing I need to do to operate the system, but I still like to know how things work so I can be aware if they aren't working properly. That is the only reason I gave them a B on professionalism. Other than that we have been very happy with our system.

They came over to give me an estimate, and they did not go over it. I did not have any problems with them. They are very clean and fast with their work, and their price is competitive.

They did a good job. It is working, but they did make some mistakes due to lack of communication, and we had to get them fixed. We have a rock wall going up our staircase and they thought we wanted it waterproofed, and it was not in the original plan. They covered it and put staples in it, so we had to get that repaired. They did pay for it and the woman apologized for the mistake, but I really did not think that it was dealt with that well.

We had a problem with leaking basement wall on one side of the house. A different contractor proposed to dig up the exterior of the house(after I removed portions of the wood deck)in order to put in waterproofing. In contrast, CBS used a sealant for the cracks as well as the installation of a drain at the base of the wall that tied in to the existing sump pump. It works quite well.

They were quick and the workmanship was good. They did not do exactly as the salesman had described (supposed to take out an old furnace flue enclosure but instead went in front of it). Also, they didn't clean up some of their concrete mix that splashed on a panel wall and on fireplace hearth.

They were prompt and efficient. They did a clean and professional looking job. We had storm a couple of weeks ago and their hard work paid off. We had no leaks in our basement.

Part of the problem is that I didn't know what to look for and they didn't know what they were doing. They did what they told me they were going to do but they didn't tell me in advance that it wasn't going to work. They sold me an ineffective job. They do make good sump pumps and I use them for that only.

They have to come out more often for me because there is more iron in my soil and in our water, so it can clog up the pumps pretty easily. Everything is excellent and they always send me a reminder when it comes time to set up another appointment. They're always prompt and very courteous. I will continue to use them in the future. In the past when I've had an emergency issue, they showed up very quickly.

They came and did an estimate, and pretended to have a fixed pricing that was nearly double other estimates. However, several friends had used them and were quite pleased with the results (and reports of mediocre results from other contractors). Eventually, I browbeat them into a small discount, but their price was still several thousand higher than others for similar work. Work was done on time, exactly as promised, and they were flexible with a last minute change that I wanted to make. They also followed up and tested the system several weeks later as part of the fee.

They were fabulous! After checking 12 references through phone calls, their efficiency and professionalism were just as the previous customers had said. They came at about 8:20am and left just before 6pm. We got a complete rundown of how it works and how to maintain it. During the April '07 "Storm of the Century", we never saw a drop of water in our basement! We would have had MAJOR damage had we not just put this sump pump in! There are 3 motors, and if all three motors go out, it switches to a battery that will sound an alarm when it is about to give out. The design really covers the worst possible case scenario. Just in clean up alone, we saved thousands and thousands of dollars! The annual cleaning was done in less than an hour, cost $100, and was quick and easy! We couldn't be more pleased!

Their system is the best design, IMO, from an engineering point of view. That's why we waited 2 months for an estimator to give us a quote and then another 3 months before they could schedule the work. But we went into this with eyes open (i.e. we knew we would have to wait our turn) and contracted with CTBS anyway. The work began on schedule and finished on schedule. They performed exactly the work agreed to for the price agreed to.