Perma-Seal Basement Systems

It went very well. They explained process. It was done efficiently and neatly.

My complaint about Permaseal, which is not specific to the company or the industry, is that homeowners rely on the salesman to identify and understand the problem and come up with the best solution. The problem is that these salesmen never actually do any of the manual labor, which was happily pointed out to me by the Permaseal employee that came to my house, and their involvement in your basement stops with the estimate. So if he thinks you need drain tiles, you're going to get drain tiles. Which are ridiculously expensive. No one is going to recheck your basement again and say "oh hey, you don't ACTUALLY need drain tiles. ". So it's really important that the salesman is very very knowledgeable about what he's looking at. Which is hard when the salesman doesn't actually crawl into the crawl space, but recommends drain tiles and an encapsulation system. And it certainly doesn't come across when he spends the last half hour showing videos explaining how basements work. But, as was pointed out, I'm a woman, what would I know about explaining such complicated matters to my husband? Or at least that's what was clearly stated to me during the appointment, when my husband had the gall to leave an hour and forty five minutes into the appointment to go to the dentist. If I was getting drain tiles, which my salesman informed me was a "100% fix" for any possible water problems in the future, I may go with Permaseal, who has a fairly good reputation and guarantee for their work. But since my salesman failed to spot several problems in my basement that I pointed out to him (a huge hole in the wall of my crawl space and a hole in the wall in my basement) as well as several I did not (the other side of the basement is leaking water, and was leaking on the day that he came to do the estimate), I'm going with another company who took the time to identify the problems and explain to me, even though I'm a woman, the intricacies of basements. Without a video. Perhaps Permaseal should train their employees to actually understand what's going on in people's basements, not tell them to push drain tiles and show the homeowner movies.

The workers were great and cannot say anything bad about them, they were short handed and did an excellent job. The problem we had was the communication with the sales rep. The man talked a good game when he was presenting the services that the company provided but was beyond terrible communicating with us after we signed the contract for the services to be performed. I called the man, emailed him and we were just ignored. I then called his boss and magically the man called us back. If it wasn't for the idiot sales rep ignoring us, I would not have anything bad to say at all. I do think the company needs to regroup as it seems they sell more jobs than they have workers to perform the work, why else would we have a 2 month wait after signing the contract. I am curious if we do have any problems how it will be handled but hopefully I never have to deal with them again because if we had water in the basement this morning, it scares me that it would take months to come out to fix.

He came for the quote and seemed very nice but was very expensive. When I told him how much more expensive he was than my other quotes, he just said they guarantee their work. When I said the other companies do as well, he really did not have any other reason as to the expense. Needless to say, I went with the other company and have been very happy with the results for more than half the cost! i'm sure they would have done a good job as well, I just could not justify the cost difference.

The work was hard since I don't have a basement door and they had to both take out the old cement, gravel and pipe through a small window that pulls in. They also had to put the new material through the same window. They cleaned up all the mess. The only problem I had was that they used a white foam on the cracks that leaked after the first rain. I called them and they immediately sent out somebody who took off the white foam, jackhammered the cracks, cemented the crack, inserting that black epoxy in the crack from the bottom to the top. Even though the first crew didn't do a great job on the cracks, the fact that they sent somebody out made me feel better.

Found a large crack in the foundation during a bathroom remodel. This crack was not actively leaking but it was large enough that it took more time and material to fix. The person that performed the work was courteous and cleaned up after himself.

They responded very quickly for my request to get a quote and came the next day. The gentlemen was VERY good at what he did and was a pleasure to work with. They left me with detailed information of the job and with flyers and other information. I will definitely consider these guys again when I decide to move forward on the job, but the timing wasn't right for the cost at the time. Thanks so much!!

Permaseal installed interior drain tile in our crawl space. The crew did a great job. They kept the house very clean in the midst of a very messy job. Good price.

All was done well. Haven't had rain to see how seals hold up, but I have used before for other issues and work in great

They were extremely professional and did excellent work. The workers kept everything very clean considering they were digging up our basement floor which can cause quite a mess. They worked quickly and there were no issues throughout the entire process. I would certainly recommend them to a friend. They are probably not the cheapest service out there, but when you're dealing with your foundation I would not want to be going with the cheapest, but the ones who do the job well.

The service worked out great. They were great, they were in and out quickly, and they cleaned up.

.We signed the contract with Perma-Seal to proceed with the work at the end of August 2013 and the earliest they could get the two-day job scheduled was December 4, due to incredibly high demand for Perma-Seal. The crew arrived at the appointed time, with the electrician arriving first (to do the outlets and circuits), immediately followed by the plumber (removal of old hot water heater) and then the remainder of the "demolition" crew. Tomas, the crew chief, explained that they would be removing 3' of concrete around the perimeter of the basement, pouring gravel in the new trench, installing drainage flange and laying the new PVC drain tile for the first day, along with setting the sump pump basin. My husband and I left for the day, wanting to avoid the *incredibly* loud noise from the jackhammering, but came back late in the day to check on the progress. Tomas walked us through the work that had been completed (see above) and explained that since we were due to get rain that night, he wanted to get at least one of the sump pumps in and running before he and his crew left for the day. They stayed late to get that done. The second day Tomas met with the village inspector to get approval to start laying gravel on top of the PVC drain tile and pouring the new concrete. The work went well with the only delay being the wait for the second round of inspections. Please note that this work is incredibly dirty and incredibly loud. While Tomas and his crew did what they could to keep the mess to a minimum, there is no way to haul tons of old concrete out and bring in tons of new gravel and concrete and not make a mess - be prepared for this! We were pleased with the work and attention to detail, as well as Tomas' common sense and calm demeanor in what was, to us, chaos, but was a regular day for Tomas. About two weeks after the drain tile installation we noticed that the sump pump was kicking on fairly regularly which was odd because we weren't getting any rain. On Saturday, Dec. 21 we heard the definite sound of water running below the inside water meter under the floor. We called Perma-Seal right away and they had a plumber out to our house in less than an hour. As soon as the plumber heard the noise he said that it was definitely a small break in the water main. After he made a few phone calls to Perma-Seal, he was able to arrange for a crew to come out on Monday, Dec. 23 to dig up a small section of the new concrete around where the water meter/water main entered the house. Perma-Seal got the permit pulled for the additional work and were on site by 8:30 a.m. on 12/23. Apparently when the drain tile was being installed, the old lead water main was moved just enough to crack the original weld, which led to the leak, which was feeding water in to the sump pump pit, just as the drain tile is supposed to do. By noon on the 23rd, the water main had been repaired, the proper inspections done, new concrete poured and the final inspection completed. What I really appreciated was that there was never any question that Perma-Seal should not be responsible for the repair caused by the drain tile installation. We were not charged any thing additional to do the needed repairs or obtain the additional permits. I was particularly impressed at how well Perma-Seal coordinated with the Village of Niles' permit department, inspectors and water department, especially since it was only a day away from the Christmas holiday.

They did not do the job properly. I now have someone finishing the job that they were supposed to do. They went and put some jax underneath a beam. Now this guy has to replace the beam, put in concrete footings and put in metals foundations that he has bolted to the concrete and the beam. They charge us over $500 and there were six of them. We keep on calling them and we never got any contact from them. We even took pictures and send it to them and they just totally cut us off. I would never use them again. So they cost us extra money.

The sales person came out three times to our house. The first time he came out, he took way too long and had to put together a printer and his laptop in order to give me a quote. I had to leave and couldn't wait so I asked him to come back the next day. He did and provided me the quote, again after having to put his laptop and printer together. He then came back a third time to sign the contract. Each time he looked at the crack (we had removed part of the drywall so he could see it) and he said that all I need to remove was the drywall and his team would be able to get to the crack and do their work. I waited over a month for the appointment and for them to fix the crack. They showed up on time but when the worker looked at it, he said we had to remove the studs as well in order for them to fix the crack. I told them that the sales person said I didn't have to and that the drywall was enough. The worker said that he couldn't get to everything and that he will only fix what he can reach. I called the sales person right away to express my disappointment with this. He admitted he made a mistake and that he would call me back to discuss. PermaSeal did call to reschedule but were unaware of the situation and what the sales person said. They said they were going to speak with him and call me back. I haven't heard from either since. This has caused a lot of headaches, because I had a contractor come in to remove the drywall. Now I've got to get him in to remove the studs as well and put everything back together. More costs on top of the high prices from PermaSeal. They were not the cheapest quote I had received. I decided to go with them given that they have been around for so long and I've heard good things (through AngiesList and others). I realize that mistakes happen, and am forgiving of that, if they own up to it and take care of the situation. The fact that they completely disappeared and have not even followed up on the service just goes to show what they really care about. I'm still waiting on them and have a corner of my basement torn up. I would never use them again nor would I recommend them to anyone else. Update 6/21/14 After posting my previous review, I did receive a call from my sales person about 2 weeks later. He came by the house and was apologetic. He said he would come back tomorrow and remove what needed to be removed for his workers to be able to work. I did express to him how disappointed I was with everything and how things have gone. Again he apologized. However, I didn't feel comfortable with him working in my house so I told him not to come and that I would have someone come in and remove what needed to be removed. But then again, the same thing happened. There was no response or follow up from PermaSeal to finish the work. I finally called them and spoke with someone in the customer complaint department. He was nice and I explained to him the situation and how its now been 2 months with no response from PermaSeal to finish the work and my basement has not been usable during this time because of it. I told them to either cancel my contract and I'll find someone else to do the work or to complete the work at 50% of what they were charging me. He came back the next day and said that they would do the work at 50% provided that I would remove my previous review on Angie's List. I said that would be fine, provided I was satisfied with the work. They came as scheduled to do the work. The next evening, my toilet on the first floor started to back up shooting sewage water at least 3 feet in the air. Water was also backing out of the shower drain in that bathroom and flooded our bathroom, hallway and living room. It went through the vents and into the basement as well. I went to look at the crack they sealed and it was leaking around the septic line. I called permaseal right away and asked them to send someone out and that this was an emergency. They argued with me that they didn't do anything to my septic line and that the first date they can get someone out to me was a week from now. I told them that wasn't acceptable and asked what I was to do in the mean time with no toilets or showers. They didn't have an answer. The next morning, my septic guy came out and opened up the septic tank. A foot of foam was sticking out of the line. He pulled it out and it was about six feet long. PermaSeal had filled up my septic with their foam. He checked the line from the out side and did not find any cracks. He then went to the inside and looked through the clear out line and could see where the foam was starting. There was still some left over. It was where PermaSeal were working and where they put their injection in. When they were chipping away and drilling at my foundation, they must have cracked it. PermaSeal, of course, is saying that it was cracked before. If that was the case, how come they didn't verify it before they started working and let me know about it? Even after they were finished, they didn't even check to see if they did everything correctly. The guy, before leaving, said that he had used a lot more foam than he expected to use. Obviously, because he filled up my septic line. That should have been an indication that something went wrong. The potential of filling up the septic line was something they knew about but never once did they discuss it me or take the necessary precautions to avoid that happening. I called PermaSeal to let them know and again they were defensive and argumentative, instead of trying to take care of the customer. My insurance company is taking this over now. They are covering the damages caused by PermaSeal and are now pursuing them to get the damages covered. I did let PermaSeal back in to look at it. They didn't seem to have a clue as to what's going on and were looking at everything but the septic line. They were getting ready to rip it open again and redo the work. I stopped them and told them I don't want that done until I hear from my insurance company. On top of that, they wanted to charge me $85 for coming out! I went with PermaSeal for the warranty and the name. Unfortunately, they aren't following up on the warranty and I have to find someone else now to fix their damage, not to mention the inconvenience they have caused me and my family and the damage done to my house. What makes it worse is that they don't care. They never once asked if we were ok or inconvenienced at all. I understand that mistakes can happen and am willing to overlook that if they do their best to correct it. But this is just too much.

Most of it went very well. Some snags as minor and not worth mentioning. I would use them again. BUT, be sure to ask a lot of questions on what you need to do before work begins and what they are going to do.

They are very professional and on time. Everything was what they said it would be. They did their own financing which was helpful. They also had the best price out of the bids we got.

Perma-Seal - read their contract. You have few or no rights. also read the conditions on back of contract. Section P: A service fee will be assessed for non-warranty related service request. Owner authorizes Perma-Seal to photograph and or videotape owner's property and to use such photographs and video for documentation and promotion without compensation to owner.( It does not even specify only the work they have done). Section Q: any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to, this contract shall be resolved by binding arbitration. Arbitration shall be conducted in the county of Perma-Seal then-current Corporate Headquarters.The arbitrator will have no authority to award any indirect, incidental,consequential,special or punitive damages, including, without limitation, lost profits, loss of goodwill or business interruption, with respect to any matter arising out of or related to this contract. You also pay cost and fees of arbitration. This means arbitrator's fees, attorney fees, administrative fees, travel expenses, out-of-pocket expenses such as copying and telephone cost. Cost for arbitration could be $ 500.00 to $ 1,000.00. This means you have no right to your own Attorney or the Court System. What is you chance of winning? They told me that arbitration was added to their contracts because of the cost of all their lawsuits. I signed the contract and removed Section A: and Section Q: Signed Rejection on Arbitration. The back of contract Section Q: Stated OWNER ACCEPTANCE OR OWNER REJECTION. I also refused to sign their pamphlet on consumer rights. This contract seems to be loaded with warning signs of a potential scam on the public. Perma-Seal has more complaints at the Better Business Bureau than most other waterproofing companies. ( their blue light special is sump pumps and back-up pumps). I did not find it to be a good deal. This contract is one sided. It states in the event actual construction is not commenced pursuant to this contract within forty-five (45) days of the date of this contract, Perma-Seal shall have the right to terminate this contract upon notice toowner and shall, upon such termination, return any sums of money received from the owner under this contract. Upon such termination, this contract shall be null and void and both Perma-Seal and the owner shall have waived any and all rights.I wrote refused to sign. There are many good waterproofing companies out there. DO YOU NEED THIS ONE?

I will never use Permaseal for anything ever again. I would advise only using them as a last resort. They blast all over their website and their hold music about a "Superior Customer Experience" - but I'll share how terrible mine was. I purchased a battery back-up sump pump for my recently rehabbed single family home. The "sale" experience was just fine and they did a great walk around of the foundation. After that - it was all downhill. You don't get your appointment time slot until 24 hours in advance of the day you are given. So in my case, I had a Monday appointment so I did not get the time slot until Saturday afternoon. I called Friday morning and said I cannot do first thing on Monday morning - so of course, on Saturday my time slot is "first thing Monday morning". No one can change the appointment on Saturdays so I had to go through phone tag Monday morning to get appointment changed to two weeks later. I blocked out my schedule for 4 hours on the afternoon they were coming. When they arrived to install, the area for the battery back up sump pump was too small - the Consultant never measured to make sure it would fit. A different pump would have to be ordered and I would have to clear my schedule with 24 hours notice again. Now here I am the morning of my "8-9" arrival window at 9:30 waiting for them to arrive. Pump was installed and I assume will work when needed. But something so simple - my goodness the amount of back and forth phone calls so unnecessary. Had they measured and got it right the first time I would have been fine. But to then not even show up on time on the make-up appointment was the nail in the coffin for me. Would not discount their service either for their own screw-up and waste of my time.

The team was very efficient and did a really good clean up job. A couple of scheduling problems popped up at the very beginning and end of installation day, but were handled by management IMMEDIATELY and PROFESSIONALLY. The drainage system was finished in one day. THANK YOU !!!!

My only complaint is that they did not clean up after themselves very well - leaving the basement unswept of old PVC pipe debris and snippets of electrical wiring - and they did not replace the ceiling tiles used for access.

I waited until after a heavy rain to check the work and they apparently a good job worked as I didn't have any issues. They solved the problem; however, the work isn't finished. The worker was very dismissive. He didn't want to speak about any details with my wife. The epoxy they used has bubbled. There has been several communication issues. I currently have a wall that is bare and unfinished work. When I called the company, the woman that answered stated that I received wrong information from the worker. I've since called them to have a worker come remove pipettes that are still in the wall. I haven't received any response. I will only use this company in the future with a written detailed contract and full communication...the communication needs to be better.

When they came out to give the estimate, there was a pipe of plain sight where I couldn't get the thread off because it was rusted. They didn't tell us so. Then, we were going to have to call in a plumber and get an additional $600. It was immediately apparent that the people came out to do it. The next thing was that they were coming on Thursday and Friday and supposed to be finished by Friday. The city inspectors were supposed to come in and inspect us. They didn't see the truck and the guys weren't here yet. They got delayed. The city inspectors not seeing the truck, didn't come to the door. That delayed until the following Tuesday to be finished. The work was done finally properly. So far, the repairs have been done properly. There was this annoyance that instead of being finished by Friday, they finished up past Tuesday. They did give us a discount for the city permit. The work was done properly by Perma-Seal Basement Systems. I think they should have been clear with the city inspector that the crew was delayed for some reason. We should have been contacted. We sat in the dining room waiting and nobody came to the door. The price was standard. They came when they said they would. The crew was fine. They were very professional. I would use them again but I would clarify things.

Perma-seal response was terrible. Initially said appointment would be 2 months, then said would call back to confirm, but never got a call back. Tried to make contact more than one occasion. If they don't have time to respond to customers, then would be hesitant to use them and face project delays.

We had seepage. They filled the hole.

Permaseal was successful in keeping part of our basement dry. The consultant neglected to address an area near the basement door. Here's what Permaseal did that works: - The basement crack is sealed up properly. - The drain tile and sump pump are working properly. Here's what's still broken: - Water is seeping in from our basement door. We gave Permaseal a chance to remedy the situation. The work was done on September 2013. I contacted them in March 2014 (only 6 months later) to let them know that water was still coming into our basement. We thought that since we'd already paid them $6,500 (a lot of money) that they would see there was fault in their design and fix the situation. Permaseal said they would install a small drain near the basement door for an additional $800. Why should I pay more when their original design only partially worked? I've already paid $6,500 and the solution hasn't kept the basement dry. I'm disappointed in Permaseal's design/consulting capabilities. I wouldn't recommend them to any friends or family going forward.