Advanced Restoration & Waterproofing

We had a huge labor intensive job. Our house was built in 1932, so the head room in the basement was 6 feet below the duct work. The water table is very high and the basement would get 1-2 inches of water with heavy rain. I had researched this type of foundation for many years and started to do the excavation myself. Working Monday through Friday and raising four children, progress was slow. When researching and consulting foundation/waterproofing companies, the job was too overwhelming for many. The one company that I felt had a good understanding and knowledge of what I wanted was ARW. Throughout the quoting phase, I would call or email the owner (Mike Bird) and he was always accommodating to my questions and concerns. The only downside of this whole experience was waiting for them to start on the basement. They are busy, which is a good thing. Once I decided to go with ARW, I was put on the schedule in about a month. This gave me time to completely empty the basement and relocate the water heater and softener outside. Then, I had to support the furnace from the floor joist so underneath could be excavated. The crew was very respectful towards my family and animals. My dogs loved having them around and would hang out in the basement with them. My kids enjoyed their company and would want to help. We had ARW excavate the entire basement about 2 feet in depth. This was done with 5 gallon buckets, 2 at a time up the basement stairs and out to a dumpster. At the end of the day, any mess that was made in or outside the house was cleaned up. During the excavation, they removed a cinder block wall, replaced two steel support columns and dug the sump and sewage basin pits. Next, they installed the first interior drainage system and laid 2-3 inches of pea gravel leveled over the basement. A vapor barrier was installed over the entire basement floor. Next, it was time to set up the concrete. Concrete was pumped in at a depth of 4 inches and leveled and smoothed. After a week of concrete curing time, a mason came in and built a pony wall 2 cinder blocks high and 4 inches from the foundation wall. This is to ensure the stability of the foundation wall and keep the undisturbed dirt in place. After the block was set, a waterproofing rubber coat was applied to the backside of the block as an extra safe guard. Then, another drainage system was placed behind the pony wall and the foundation which runs to the sump pit. This was then filled with more pea gravel and capped with vapor barrier and concrete. This type of foundation is called a Michigan ledge due to the popularity of this in Michigan. Overall, we are very pleased with their work and would recommend ARW to friends and family. We enjoyed their company and interacting with the crew. The crew was very knowledgeable, polite and kept a positive attitude. This job was brutal and thank them very much for not turning away. Thanks again guys!! Great work!!

We purchased a home and quickly discovered that the floor joists on the main floor needed additional support. Our home also had poor drainage, and it was apparent that a more robust drainage system was needed. We contacted numerous contractors and received varied opinions about the severity of the problems - and the amount of work that would be needed to address the issues. This contradicting information created many more questions, and Mike and Marty at ARW were by far the most patient and most willing to listen to my concerns of all the contractors that we contacted. They were willing to make multiple trips to my home for the estimate to address all my questions and ensure that the prescribed fix will not only address our home's issues, but would not include work that wasn't needed. Mike took the time to explain why he thought the recommended work was needed - and why more robust work recommended by others would not be needed to fix our issues. When it came time to complete our work, Matt came to our home and led a team of three considerate and clean contractors. I've always had (and expected with this job) to clean up after contractors when the job is completed. With Matt and his team, every area they worked on was cleaner than when they arrived. In line with Marty and Mike, Matt was patient with all questions and was happy to show me their progress as the work was being completed (the job ultimately spread over three days). This sort of work on our home as new to me, and as I'm sure can be inferred from my comments above, I was nervous about getting the right work done - and not over-paying for unnecessary fixes. The entire ARW team understood my concern, took the time to answer all questions, and completed the work in a timely and professional manner. In short, I'm very glad I chose ARW for our drainage and floor joist work - and I'd happily, and without reservations, recommend them to my friends.

We're extremely pleased with the work completed by the Advanced Restoration crew. The salesman who came out to look at our job was very polite, friendly, and knowledgeable. He was attentive and took the time to answer all of our questions. They have a great deal that allowed us to get 10% off of our job for signing up as an 'on call' client, meaning we'd allow them to call us with 1 day notice to do the job. They ended up coming out less than 1 week after we signed the contract. The crew that came out--2 guys total as our basement is fairly small--were also friendly and polite, and clearly were experienced and knew what they were doing. They took care to cover our floors wherever they walked, cleaned up at the end of each day, and patiently answered any questions that came up during the job. They needed to remove the bottom few basement steps for the trench, which they built back up upon completion, and even moved/trenched our condensation line upon my request. They finished in 3 days, even staying a little bit late on the last day to ensure everything was done on time. We were pleasantly surprised at how little we paid for the amount and quality of work that was done, and would definitely recommend them to friends and neighbors.

The job was completed on a timely basis with no problems. Soon after the project was completed I was in the crawl space during a thunderstorm and I was amazed at the amount of water that was running into the the sump pits. In the past I had times when water would come up into my crawl space and on one occasion my well pressure switch was destroyed. I have significant drainage from neighbor's properties, but this system solved my problems in my crawl space. I was very pleased with the job and their staff were courteous & professional. I would recommend them to my family & friends.

I didn't use them. We were looking for foundation repair, and he ended up giving me a quote for replacing insulation under my basement floor, and it didn't match up, he didn't address the issue, which turned out to be something else. I resolved the issue by having a patio replaced, because it was slopping water into the house, so we had it done away from it, so it was resolved by a different company. I did not spend more than the $49 of the big deal. They were fairly prompt and came out within a couple or 3 weeks.

The service went really well. In addition to the inspection he found some problems with our outside drainage. He made recommendations that we followed up on. He made a very accurate diagnosis and was helpful in making recommendations towards a solution.

It was an Angie's List Big Deal that I purchased. At $50 it was cheap enough to answer my questions. They were thorough. They did some measurements around the house and conferred with the owner. I showed the tech, that came out, the points that I was concerned about. Come to find out it was just a quirk on the way my house was built in the 80's. That was fine and all I needed to know. There are a couple of things I could do in the future if I choose to. He was there for about an hour. They called and they were right on time.

It went great, exactly what I expected and friendly and would use them again.

They proposed putting in a french drain around all exterior walls in the basement with weep holes in the bottom row of blocks in the foundation. They will install the drain, remove all mold and install a 1-hp pump with battery backup upgrade to the sump pump. This work has not yet been scheduled, but we have signed a contract for the work along with a down payment.

UPDATED REVIEW: Both Mike and his crew were a pleasure to be around and work with as I knew right off the bat these guys were dedicated to their trade as I watched them proceed with the projects. Matt, Cory, and Jay, all contributed a lot of hard work to every job and I truly enjoyed chatting with them as they were friendly and cordial. They were always punctual on arriving each day and Matt (project manager) kept me updated each step along the way. Any questions I had regarding the details of the interior drain and materials being used were quickly responded to by Mike as there was an initial mistake regarding the drain that had been selected for the installation which was corrected promptly and all in just one day! I also appreciate the extra time Cory and Matt took when digging out the gutter downspout trenches by hand as all of the grass and soil was very nicely cut into small blocks (like sod) so they could refill the trenches in nearly seamless fashion which shows a lot of attention to detail. The attention that was given to every aspect of every job is what really made the difference for me as I happen to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to detail and there is no doubt that everyone did a little more than what was expected. In the end, it is good to know that an excellent waterproofing system is in place and I no longer need to worry about it. To the crew and Mike - many thanks!

I can't say enough good things about Mike and his crew. First, Mike Bird came out himself and explained their service, procedure, and answered my many questions. Although I obtained estimates from several companies and received other somewhat lower estimates (as well as a few more invasive and expensive ones), I selected ARW for the value of their service and their guarantee verses other competitors. Also, I originally obtained my estimate in August, I was unable to get my funding gathered until November. Mike was not only courteous and professional but extremely patient as well. They installed 7 gorilla braces inside my basement against the wall to straighten it over time ( homeowners turn a screw every month). These braces are against the wall and do not interfere with the area usage or storage space. ARW also installed a french drain along the exterior of my basement wall to help carry the water away from my house. The crew (lead by Mike's son) was extremely neat, caring and professional. They arrived on time and cleaned up afterward. The amount of disruption and was minimal. They also encapsulated my partial crawl space. I not only highly recommend Mike Bird and ARW but plan to use them again in the future to replace my sump pump **NOTE **6-8 months later I had a question regarding where my sewage line exits the basement along the wall he repaired. I was concerned about my guarantee (not the work they did). I left Mike a message and he called back promptly. He asked me to photograph the area in question and send it to him. I did and he replied courteously and promptly even though the question did not involve his specific work. So as you can see Mike not only cares about the job when he is estimating it but long afterward as well. He is a first rate person and ARW is great to do business with I highly recommend them!

He was responsive and arrived on time. We had some wet carpet in the basement. He couldn’t quite figure out what was causing the wetness so there was not a full inspection.

I cannot say enough about the outstanding job ARW did on our waterproofing job. I had done a lot of research on the various methods and advantages of different systems and I was apprehensive about how invasive the process would be on our beautiful 111 year old home and foundation, but there was no need to fear. Our basement never had a standing water issue, but because of our home's age and brick foundation, we wanted to be sure the basement was bone dry before finishing it off and I have no qualms now about moving forward with that project. The basement even smells solid and dry. That damp, musty scent is gone. A couple of side issues came up along the way that we did not anticipate. ARW went the extra mile and added some enhancements at no additional cost to us because they knew it would benefit us in the long run. After completion of the work, ARW hired a service to haul away all the debris from the job. In the course of the pick up of the debris bag, a small slab of limestone at the base of our neighbor's steps was broken. ARW replaced it with no hassle. All in all, the work was done with care, precision, and great attention to detail. The workers were punctual, hard-working, and polite. They cleaned up after themselves every day. They were respectful of our home and property, trustworthy, and courteous. From the estimator keeping his appointment on time, to the crew reporting daily progress to the owner, to the hauling away of the last pebble, I think the thing that may have sold me most on ARW in the whole five day experience was how the crew members talked to and treated each other when I could hear them working in the basement and they may not have been aware. They joked and teased each other, all in good nature, not an angry or frustrating word and never profanity. They worked great as a team, took pride in their work, and cared about the outcome. We could not have asked for more. I highly recommend ARW.

Martin was on time and was very thorough in his assessment of the problem. He went into a lot of detail about what was contributing to the problem and what needs to be done on the outside of the house to get water away from the basement. He recommended a couple of options to manage water problem in the basement. He also suggested looking into may be bracing the bowing walls. It had rained quite a bit resulting in water pooling inside the crawl space - something that we missed during the inspection. I called him the following day to ask him some followup questions and he was nice enough and very patient in answering them. As a buyer I wanted to be sure that the basement of this house can be used as a living space.

They came out and looked at the job and immediately said they didn’t want the job. It was winter and I had water in my crawspace and they just didn’t want to handle it.

The work was done as contacted and expected. The actual work was done in Dec 2013. They did put drain pipes to pump the water our of the house and dug 2 trenches to discharge away from the house. By the spring the yard where the drainage was run (from house out to the street) was a bit of a mess, but that really is to be expected based on what they did. I got 2 contractors to evaluate/bid on the issue and both were highly rated and came back with the same solution/similar price. In the end - what separated ARW was service. Mike (owner) has been outstanding after the purchase. Our system has a text alert for power outage and overflow. Not only do we receive these alerts, but so does Mike. We were on spring break out of town and got an alert that our water levels were high. Within 15 min of getting the initial alert - I also got a message from Mike asking if everything was alright. I was able to get Mike access to the house and within a day he went by and checked everything out since we were out of town. I am sure that i could have saved a few hundred dollars on this system if I had shopped around aggressively, but in the end - support after the purchase has made it well worth the cost.

To start, the quote was written so as not to have to destroy my patio (custom built, raised, paver patio). They were going to set up all 8 piers from the inside. Other quotes required that I remove the patio as well as landscaping prior to arrival. I also had a structural engineer come out to inspect. He agreed completely with what Mike had proposed. It took a while for the work to begin. Think two months. But, I knew that was the case as I was told up front. The crew Matt, Justin and Cory along with Mike came on Tuesday. They reviewed the work to be performed then Mike left and the guys got to work. They spent 4 days in a cramped, damp, muggy crawlspace. They were a mess but did everything they could not to mess up our house as they traveled back and forth to our basement. During the entire process I was asking questions and they each took the time to answer and explain in detail everything that was going on. The whole piering process was an engineering marvel. I won't go into detail but I am an engineer and this was enlightening and educational. The attention to quality and focus on achieving a specific goal was apparent with this crew. Bottom line: I would hire these guys again without hesitation. Mike called and/or texted me throughout the job. Mostly though, what cannot be underestimated is the experience that the three crew members clearly had. They worked well together and it showed. Be forewarned: Cory sweats a lot and leaves his clothes in your yard to dry when he goes to lunch. ;)

Salesperson came out to our home. His name is Marty, nice guy. We told Marty what we wanted done. The crawlspace was done right. But we were not happy with the drainage. our yard is a mess. I called the company to have them come back out. It took me several days to get a hold of anybody. Janet and her crew came back out and fixed some of the problems. I would only use them for crawlspace issues. * By the way I had someone else come out to take a look at there work on the drainage system. It was not done right. I would think the owner would of come out to resolve any issues not the workers.

We were putting our home on the market and 1 week before this happened we developed a leak in the basement. We had had no problems for the 15 years we owned the house. ARW came quickly for an estimate and then repaired the problem shortly there after. Very pleased with the work. They damaged a part of the furnace and even had it fixed the next day. The house went on the market 2 days later and sold immediately. Thank you for such good service

I bought the deal, but then we sold the house and never used the deal.

We didn’t have the work done. They seemed professional and it was good. They told us how the house was different in height like the floor levels. I was happy with everything they provided but we didn’t want them to do it. They were courteous and they were here when they indicated they would be here. I had no complaints with the estimate they provided.

Ever since they originally did the work I have had water in my basement. They told me that if I ever got water they would be out to fix it at no charge. I have called them every time it rains since the day it was installed and no one has come out to take care of the water. They also told me I had a lifetime warranty.

Marty was very professional; made recomendations to check for water leaks at no charge before doing major costly inspection/repair. Very impressive, probably saved me $000's by suggesting I run hose in window well to see if leaks continue as opposed to hiring the company to dig into well to determine if there was a leak.

They came out to do the inspection and so far so good. We’d use them in the future if we ever had any issues.

The work was completed quickly and with a minimum of invasiveness. The worker checked with me before removing a large shrub that was in the way--that was highly appreciated. So far, the drain is working. We haven't had rain in the basement since the work was completed.