Matrix Basement Finishing

Great I love how this app works

Very well.

Incredibly Well!

Went extremely well. Project completed from design to finish with no big surprises. Very clean every evening. Minimal disruption to routine. Extremely satisfied.

The finished product is beautiful! My 1970's outdated basement is now gorgeous! Oscar, our main installer was wonderful to work with;he is a great craftsman, personable,hardworking, and very conscientious. He cleaned up the work space nightly and took care of minor imperfections promptly. Having that said, there are some things to keep in mind. First off, please allow more than the advertised 1 1/2 hours for your initial consultation and note that if you sign on the spot, Matrix offers a slightly discounted price. If you prefer to have several estimates before starting a project,you might want to save Matrix for last to take advantage of the discount. Secondly, allow for some extra time for the project itself. The timing (and communication about it) of subcontracted work was sometimes delayed...windows didn't come in, flooring guy didn't show, etc. If you have had construction on your house before, I am sure you have experienced this. In the end though, Matrix did a wonderful job and I am EXTREMELY pleased.

Matrix brings along their computer with a neat powerpoint presentation to show you more about their services, facts about basements, shows you their materials and examples of basements they have finished. Initially you discuss what you want to do with the basement, then look at the basement together and share your ideas, then they take their measurements and need some time to populate the information in their system. After they have everything populated there is some more presentation materials, you guess what the estimate will be and then you see what the the estimate actually is. While there is a financing option they offer, the monthly fee was still too much for us to take on. The project manager tried giving us some different options like increasing/decreasing the down payment and what the financing would look like from there but we simply couldn't afford their services. At some points I felt pressured. From start to beginning the meeting took about 3.5 to 4 hours. This was the highest quote we received to finish our basement. It is almost two times the cost of our house.

The experience was not good except for the workers who actually did the job and the quality of the end product. The project did not start when they had promised, actually didn't even start the permit process until two months after the contract was signed. the project manager did not understand the permit process in Chicago and I was initially told that they would do all the work to get the permit but I ended up doing it all. The company did not have complete or accurate information on the permit application which I had to deal with whch was frustrating because they told me that the permit process was something that they would take care of. The installation went well only because their carpenters assigned to our project paid great attention to detail and communicated well with us throughout. Several mistakes were made in ordering a window and door but were corrected quickly. The frustration with communication with our project manager over details and the complete lack of knowledge of the permit process in Chicago was very disappointing and I would not recommend them to others in our area. They are very expensive but we thought it was worth it to protect against mold and mildew as well as the insulation that this system provides..

They were very nice and professional. I would recommend them to anybody. We had a little bit of confusion with our homeowners association but it all worked out. They're very good. They cleaned up every night before they left. The left their tools down in the basement, but all the dust and everything else was cleaned up every night. I could go down and do my laundry at night and not worry about falling all over their equipment.

We actually went to an open house for this product and were very impressed. I didn't look at Angie's List until after we set up a consultation and was slightly dismayed to find that there were some people who were treated to a high pressure sales pitch. Not so with Joshua. He arrived and we began to tell him that the basement used to be finished until we had had a sump pump go out some years ago and got a couple of inches of water in the basement. Also we have some seepage issues. He immediately stopped the presentation and went to look at the basement. He started looking at the basement and said that 1st we needed to get a company out to look at the water issues, but once that was fixed, for them to demo what was left of the finished basement and rebuild with their materials was probably way more than we could ever get back from the sale of our home in just two years. He then spent the next thirty minutes advising us on what to look for in a good contractor and what he thought would be the best way to tackle the problem quickly. His honesty about our situation was admirable. He obviously put himself in our shoes and realized there were better ways for us to accomplish our goal. Thanks, Joshua!

The crew that did the work were awesome and I gotta tell you I love their product. It has already been put to the test with banging ladders, some minor flooding and general use and there is not a mark or dent to be seen. The install was quick and clean and done on time.

The project was completed in about 5 weeks.

My bad experience started with the project managers. I hired Matrix in June of 2012 to start my project in Sept.2012. I gave them a large down payment at that time. This was my first mistake. The Salesman took down my scope of work that was to be done. Within a short time I received a detailed copy of my scope of work along with a diagram of this. It was incorrect. My bathroom did not have a hole for the shower that was being put in. Yet the scope of work said I did. I contacted the person in the office and let him know this was incorrect. He said he would note this and then send me a new scope of work. Two copies of this later still did not have this correct info. Additionally, there was some question on the layout of the bathroom. They came out twice to help me get this decided. They did not agree with my wishes. This went on thru July and August of 2012. Finally I had to go to there office to have them sign the paperwork re the bathroom and the lack of the hole. In the mean time I had tried to cancel this whole job as I was very disgusted with the attitude of everyone in the office but was told they would then keep one third of my down payment whether they did this job or not. That would have been 8K. I certainly did not want that. So after having the details signed off on and noted it was decided they would start in mid Oct. I explained to them that I would be leaving town in Nov for Thanksgiving so hoped they would be done by then. Due to them sending only one worker most of the time, or just not showing up, this did not occur. When I returned from my trip it took me at least another week to get them back on the job. Again, one person at a time. They were not even close to being finished when Christmas finally arrived. In the mean time I called the office regularly or emailed them to let them know that I was not happy with all the delays and the sloppy work. I even let them know that they had ruined my Christmas as I would not be able to host it due to the mess that was constantly around me. They left several garbage bags in the basement and told me they would take them out when the job was completed. They sub contacted for the Electrical and the Plumbing. The Matrix workers left all this mess for these contactors to get around and move so they could complete their work. I called the office several times to ask if this garbage could be removed, finally they did take care of it but not befor telling me that they needed to be informed about this so it could be taken care of. This constant back and forth was something I did not want to have to do and that was one of the reasons that I hired a contractor. The Project manager changed as did other office assistance more then once througout this ordeal. They were never nice, they called me a liar once when I told them I had contacted the site supervisor in Sept of 2013 when I had returned from another trip, to let him know that I was back and they could again proceed. Please note, started in Oct.2012 and still here in Sept of 2013, still in my house in 2014. The new treads and risers for my stairs were not done correctly and one stair had to be replaced as it was cracked. They finished working on the stairs and the walls that were damaged in Feb of 2014. During this time I have had cracks in the walls that they have had to repair. I still have the stickers on my new windows that they never took off. They have had to redo the pocket door to the bathroom as it would not open. The stairs are just okay. They did not put an access panel in the bath to get to the pipes. Additionally they never discussed the cosmetics of these panels when they put one on my crawl space opening and my electric box opening. They just did them. When I questioned them they did not speak English so did not understand. Truthfully this was my worst nightmare. I paid a lot of money to this company and I did check them out before hiring them. In fact I looked them up on Angies list. I also knew someone who had used their services. For the most part he was happy with them. It took them two weeks to do his basement which was three times as big as my little space. The odd thing with this company was in Dec of 2012 the project manager in the office called me and wanted to come out and see the work and have me sign a release that the work was done. I told him it was not done and I would not sign anything until it was. Nevertheless he contacted the bank that was financing the remainder of the money I would owe to them and told them it was done and that I should start being billed. When I called the bank to let them know it was not done they in essence told me too bad, need to pay. Honestly I have never encounted people like this. I now know that the horror stories one hears from people regarding their contractors are true. I would never recommend them. The people in the office had the poorest customer service I have ever encountered. They were rude and indifferent. They just did not care that they had not completed my basement in even a timely manner. Frankly they acted like it was my fault in my eyes.

Salesman came over and provided quote for approximately 400-500 sq ft unfinished basement. The Salesman (was like a pushy used cars Salesman) did the usual start for cost around $28,000 then after several exchanges we settled on 17,500. The reason we picked this company because of the wall system that seems perfect for basements and the 0% -60mths financing that was offered. So after we went over everything we wanted we were contacted by the Project Manager. There were some changes that needed to be made to the original floor plans completed by the Salesman. It took about 2 weeks to complete the job. The workers that actual did the basement did a good job and the basement looks good. Some issues I had with the Matrix Company. After we were approved for the special financing I wanted a commitment letter stating we will receive the financing. I had to call and email them several times. After 3-4 weeks I finally recieved the letter I wanted. After the job was completed no one did a final walk through. The workers finished and we waited 3-4 weeks for someone to contact for a walk through and no one called us. They also left the lock box on the door. We had to call them and advise them about the lock box and if someone is going to do a walk through. Well they got the lock box but the walk through never happened. It would be nice when you spend that much money someone would do a follow up. I would not recommend this company until they work on their customer service.

We are trying to finish the basement and as part of the search for companies who could do it, Matrix Basement Systems had a flyer. I believe I filled their Contact Us form over a month back, got the call on 11/13, they scheduled it for Monday initially and called back to to see if we could make it the same day and I said yes , showed up at our door at 5:30PM. They told me it will be a 60-90min appointment but yikes..!! it lasted over 3.5hours and that's just the little of the whole problem. The guy did not have his write up material, he borrowed papers from us to write up the need analysis. He has no clue about the software he was using to create a 3D view of the basement. It took about 1.5hrs or even more to take measurements and draw it on paper. After all the wait at 8:00PM he comes up with a number of 50K and a presentation as to why we should choose Matrix Basement Systems. From 8:15PM onwards until the end it was only about pressurizing us to take a decision of Yes or No. It was really suffocating for us, we have been repeatedly telling him it was a big decision and we have to discuss among ourselves before we say yes or no. It really felt like a car dealer doing a construction estimate. He throws up a paper to sign that says I will be declining the savings, in fact I believe we are declining the estimate and the company as a whole as we will not choose Matrix Basement Solutions for our basement needs. I believe the first visit should be a pleaser not a frustrating one. Not sure what it would look like if we have accepted and what we have to go through.

They have kept in touch with me every time they are coming, I know exactly how long they're going to be here for the day, they clean up after themselves and they're not at all intrusive and they've been very professional to work with.

We did not have any services performed by them, and we may not. We just sat through a 4hr 20min consultation at our house, that ran until 1120pm!! When we were presented the final price of things, it was right in the neighborhood of what we expected. The price started at $53,000 and had come down to $48,000 in short order. However, the sales pitch is what was insulting. We were given the price finally after 4 hours (at 11pm), and then were given some discounts if we were to commit to the entire project at that moment. No time to think about it. Had to commit today to get the discounts, which included some 0% financing for 60 months. We were shown a hand drawing on graph paper, and verbally given a list of items that would be included. That was it. I was not going to commit to a hand drawing. I would gladly pay some money to move to the next step of a drawing and rendering. But not commit 100%. The real issue i have is the breakdown of those items, and the work that was going to be performed. There was not any itemized list of work that I was presented. There was not a single CAD drawing or rendering. Just a hand drawing and a spreadsheet he showed us on his laptop. In order to see a CAD drawing/rendering, we would have to commit to the entire project. We were going to put in a mini bar/sink area and although it was included in the price, we were never given any choice of colors/materials. What if i dont like the included options? Are there upgrades available and how much? The whole sales process was very unprofessional in my opinion. It was 11pm and I was being pressured to sign, or forego any discounts (I was even asked to sign a piece of paper saying i was declining the discounts). I had even referenced the time multiple times and said I have to get up at 6am. The sales consultant repeatedly said how they were regulated by Lisa Madigan and this is why they can give a discount. I didnt understand how that was. Maybe it's true....maybe it's not. But there were enough red flags to simply aggregate me. Either way, he didn't get the fact he had overstayed his welcome and I had stopped listening or caring. The whole process was like buying a used car from a shady dealer....or more comparable to the sales teams that try to sell you a condo in Hawaii/Mexico/etc. It was insulting. That's really too bad too....i thought their product was a great product. I saw an open house and thought they did excellent work. But, i was insulted with the and quot;sign now to get the good dealand quot; approach. Especially when it was 11pm!

It was a rather obnoxious experience overall. We went to their showroom in Arlington Heights to take a look at the product. Seemed like something worth investigating further so we had them come over to look at the basement and provide an estimate. Like the person who provided a review on 10/27/11, their high pressure sales tactics and exorbitant price were a major turn-off. The first estimate they gave was ridiculous, over $40,000. As they tried to get us to commit right then, the price came down about $15,000. Part of their overall estimate included an egress window which, because of the age of the home, we didn't have. They insisted that they absolutely had to put in an egress window to comply with building code. I was skeptical of that claim and later confirmed that it was BS. We were not going to commit without receiving more estimates and getting them to leave was difficult as they tried basically every sales trick in the book - eventually, we had to (almost) literally push them out of the door.

It was superb. They came in and they didn't bother me. They got their work done and they cleaned up every single night. I would definitely use them again.

.Matrix Basements are a terrific group of people to deal with. The people I dealt with specifically, were respectful, patient and above all very professional. Matrix gets a bad rap (on Yelp especially), and I think it is because the company is going through some growing pains. There is significant demand in the product they are offering, which delivers high quality, mold-free basements. They don't come cheap, but quality rarely is. What you do get is professional and courteous treatment throughout the entire process. Where the growing pains come in is in their selection of some of their contractors. Because they need to partner with several contractors local to the area, they can't always control the quality of those contractors, many of whom are rushing to finish the job because there is such high demand for Matrix' product. However, no matter what happens, I can guarantee they will make good on their promise of a high quality finished product. In the instances where I noted a defect, it was almost always corrected promptly. The Matrix guys I dealt with, Josh and David P mostly, would even respond to calls at 8 or 9 PM. I have a busy work schedule during the day and can mostly only reach them easily in the evenings. I felt bad calling and figured I would leave voice mails, but they always answered. Matrix even went out of their way to have make a change at their expense for me when I realized one of their specs did not account for a projector I had wanted mounted. This was not a one-time event either. There were other instances where the company threw in items/favors just to ensure satisfaction. The one instance where I was unhappy had to do with a particular contractor they used. However, all it took in the end was a single phone call to Josh and everything got resolved to my satisfaction. The contractor that was so hard to get ahold of was suddenly at my doorstep the next day at 8 AM. Matrix is trying to get as many customers through word of mouth and sheer goodwill. Because their founder Nate understands that fundamentally, it is about pleasing the customer, they will do right by you all the time. You just need to make sure you are dealing directly with the company itself and not through their contractors who may not necessarily share their vision of what the customer experience needs to be like. Overall, this young company comes highly recommended. If they can continue to scale and maintain the high quality of customer service (their product speaks for itself and doesn't need to be sold), they will become very successful.

The whole process was very good from start to finish. Peter and his crew went above and beyond in making helpful suggestions such as getting a better basement window through Menards. They were receptive of my supervision and feedback. His crew always did a great job cleaning up when they were finished at the end of the day. They worked on the basement while we were out of town on vacation for 2 weeks, they were completly trustworthy. The whole project from start to finish was completed in under 4 weeks. They made sure the walls were completed smooth and ready for painting. They moved the fixtures, vanity toilet and cabinet down from the garage and installed them. I was very happy with the quality of thier work. Good job!

They were very accommodating, on time and did a great job. If we had another basement, we would use them again.

They are on Angie's List. They do basements. They were timely and cleaned up after themselves. I have a little door underneath my stair that they went above and beyond to make sure it looked really nice. What was there previously was kind of half done and they actually did a beautiful job with it to make it look really nice.

We decided not to go with Matrix because of their pricing policies and their overall business practices. We felt that they were very pushy. I am not a fan of high pressure sales practices. Upon arrival at our home, the salesman was informed that we are going to receive at least 3 bids before we will make a decision. Their estimate was ready within the first hour. After that, we felt that we then spent the next hour and a half trying to get them to leave. The salesmen would make calls to supervisors and then try strategy after strategy to get us to commit right there and then. He came up with two different prices that were over $10,000 different. The cheaper one was the commit now price, and the other one was the commit later price. This is in now way a reflection of the product they install.

The price was extremely high compared to the value that we would have gained to convert our basement area. The sales rep was very professional and the materials used appear to be of excellent quality. Everything beyond the "basic" is a la carte and they are willing to work with you to create the package that can fit your needs. The visit date listed in my response is estimated only since I do not have the documents any longer.

They were quick to come out a give a quote and after receiving quotes from other companies, it was competitive. We decided to go with them since they don't use drywall on the walls, it is a magnesium oxide board that doesn't mold and can dry out if it gets wet. It's very nice and looks just like drywall with no seams! Getting started was the one area that seemed to drag on. We decided to do it in February but they weren't able to start until mid May. Once it was submitted for permit it went pretty smooth. About two weeks to get permitted and the entire install was two weeks. Another week waiting for final inspection and it was done. The best part of the entire experience by far was Alex, the head guy on my project. He's the type of guy that really wants to do a good job, whether it means more work for him or not. He was extremely polite throughout the whole process and left the basment spic and span every day. I would definitely recommend them.