Armored Basement Waterproofing

Gary arrived on time , inspected the basement and the perimeter of the house and told me that what I need is to work on the gutters and downspouts. If that doesn’t solve the issue then I should consider a French Drain and sump pump on one side of the house and that would cost me around $3500. JES tried to make me sign a contract for 32k a couple of days ago and they wanted me to basically destroy the entire finished basement on top of it. I appreciate Gary’s honesty, it’s so hard to find someone like that nowadays. I will definitely called Armored Basement Waterproofing if still needed after fixing the gutters. 100% recommended!

We are so happy that we got an estimate from Armored Basement Waterproofing. Prior estimates from other supposedly reputable companies wanted to sell us a sump pump drainage system. After his inspection, Gary found the leak to be from around our basement window. He recommended we repair the mortar of the window well, along with resealing the caulk around the window. A much easier fix that we could do, essentially talking us out of hiring him. His solution fixed the problem, unlike his competitors' desire to sell us something we did not need. It is refreshing to find someone as knowledgeable and with integrity as Gary. We will definitely call him in the future if the need arises.

I was very pleased with the service that I received today. I called Armored Basement Waterproofing to look at my basement, since I had some mineral deposits on the floor & wall. Jay came out to the house within the timeframe that I was told when making the appointment & looked at my basement. I really appreciated his honesty- he could have tried to tell me that I needed to spend a lot of money to take care of the basement, instead he said that the mineral deposits were not harmful & I didn’t need to worry about them. It’s really refreshing to find an honest company these days, that is not trying to take advantage of the customer. I would definitely recommend them to anyone with basement water issues. Thank you Armored

We hired Armored two years ago to eliminate water leaking into our basement due to the lack of a drain at the bottom of an exterior stairwell. Although the source of the problem was pointed out to Jay during his initial visit, he insisted that replacing the drainage system running along the perimeter of our foundation would eliminate the problem. Based on Jay's assurance, we agreed to have Armored install a new system at a cost of $9500. Unfortunately, this did not resolve our problem as we continue to have water leaking into the basement from the exterior stairwell. After the new system was installed (and with water on our basement floor from a hard rainfall), we called Armored and Jay returned to look things over. Rather than agreeing to install a drain to stop the leaking, he told us the source of the water was from outside the stairwell and would require work not performed or required by Armored. I advised Jay that I was not concerned with where the water was coming from, but simply wanted something done to drain it away and not leak into the basement. Later, I reviewed Armored's website (along with numerous reviews on Angie's List) and found noted that Armored has previously installed numerous stairwell drains. Hence, I again called Armored in an attempt to have them address our problem. I met resistance from Tara when discussing the problem as she, like Jay, maintained that Armored did not perform the needed work. However, she agreed to discuss the matter with Jay and have him contact us. Well, we never did get a call back as it seems Armored has no intention of revisiting and correcting the problem that we accurately described to them on at least three occasions. As things currently stand, we paid Armored $9500 for a drainage system that may not have been needed. We also can now look forward to spending an additional tidy sum to resolve a problem that should have been resolved by Armored two years ago.

I requested an estimate through an email. I never heard back from anyone via phone. All I got was an email stating the name and number of an structural engineering that would cost me $250 or $350 to look at my basement. I did have 2 other companies come and tell me I didn’t even need waterproofing. Saved me in a lot of money, no thanks to this company.

They came out to determine the cause & fix for my watery finished basement & for an estimate for repair. I had three plumbing group and four foundation groups who told me it was a foundation issue & repair would cost quite a bit. Armored Basement Waterproofing inspected my basement & cut into my drywall under the sink. He found a broken connecting joint where one pipe entered another pipe for drainage. The pipe was not enough connected due to the break. When our well neutralizer automatically back-washed q 5-7 days, the volume and pressure broke the pipe & was flooding the basement. I was a little doubtful that this would cause the flooding, but that night my experienced the backwash; he said it lasted for 30 minutes, with the water dislodging the pipe & dumping about 40 gallons of water. He tried to hold the pipe inside the connecting drain but water still poured out. Although Armored Basement was here for about 30 minutes inspecting, we were not charged any fee. He saved us an expense foundation repair job ($ 8,000-10,000) that would not have helped in this case. The plumbing repair job was only $400 . Really appreciate their evaluation and honesty. If we have a foundation issue in the future, we call them first! And recommend them to friends.

Contractor showed up on time and finished the job in four hours. They did everything the contract specified in a timely manner.

I had a basement flood in early July, Jay came by the house to do an assessment and was very honest and upfront. We discussed what he would do to alleviate the issue (exterior grading / exterior swale / Stairwell canopy), services which his company did not actually preform. He said it wouldn't make sense to install / modify the interior sump pump system, and that would not solve the issue. I enjoyed his honesty and him not trying to sell me a solution that wouldn't fix the issue (unlike a few other waterproofing companies I have dealt with).

The workman were nothing short than exceptional. Working with the owner however was nothing short of disastrous. Upon inquiring as to when the workers would show up for work I was met with a barrage of "what for and why nots" the owner has no idea as to the scope or requirements of the project and was looking to me to explain the contract that his sales staff had previously coordinated. He nearly caused me to cancel the work. His foremen Paul saved the day with his energy and willingness to accomplish a quality job. Way to go Paul!

Had to cancel due to larger problem with our roof.

Moved into a renovated 1924 Craftsman home in Baltimore with a lovely finished basement and, within a month, the basement flooded numerous times in May 2018. The wood floors cupped and the padding was drenched. Got 4 estimates and felt most comfortable with Jay at Armored Basement Waterproofing. He didn't give me the sales pitch, nor recommend the most expensive repair as the other companies did. Since the flooding came from one part of one wall, he recommended a targeted repair rather than trenching around the walls of the entire basement. Baltimore suffered more severe thunderstorms in July 2018 and so far so good. We are dry as a bone. A million thanks to Jay and his wonderful team of hard working folks who really know their stuff!

Terrific! Sorry I didn't have this job done sooner.

From calling to get an estimate, to the actual job everything was great. Nice people to deal with and did a great job.

The project went very well. All my many questions were answered. There was no pressure involved in this transaction, as I felt from at least one other vendor. As the land is sloped, we decided to place the interior drains in only in the areas both below grade and to be finished, rather than the entire basement. The salesman/inspector explained the needs and the proposal. and when we decided to go with this company, the scheduling and completion were without complication. There was one minor issue after finishing which was addressed and solved quickly.

We are really pleased with the work that Armored Basement performed. They were on time, efficient, and did a thorough job. I also appreciated the follow up letter and warranty they provided. The pricing was much more reasonable than other quotes we received. I highly recommend this company for your basement waterproofing.

The workers showed up 7:30 a. They worked efficiently. The work was done by 2 pm the afternoon.

These folks were wonderfully responsive, knowledgeable, and professional. I spoke with Tara by phone. She asked the right questions, had me send photos, and then conferred with her expert Jay. They got back to me quickly with word that this was likely a leak at the front stoop that could be cured by fixing loose areas in the stoop and front door, and not a problem with the interior wall. In other words, they diagnosed my problem for free and referred me to others to do the work. . They are great people who I will love to deal with if I do have a leaking wall..

After having a really bad experience and spending nearly 10,000 with another company who started the work on my basement, I had a second opinion from yet another company (not Armored) who said to finish the work would be nearly another 10,000 dollars. I saw amazing reviews on Armored on both Angies List and BBB, so I contacted them and was pleasantly surprised with how professional and responsive everyone I talked and met with was. It was nice to have office staff who would keep you updated and promptly respond to questions. I also appreciated the emails vs paper, text, or verbal contracts and communication, which was much more efficient and made the process easier to understand/follow. I would definitely recommend Armored and would call them back in a heartbeat if any more problems were to arise.

I had a few other estimates done for crawlspace encapsulation, and told Jay what the other company's wanted to do, etc. Jay looked at my crawlspace and said that encapsulation was not necessary, and all I needed was a dehumidifier and some better ventilation. He even looked up some products online for me that I could get. His honesty blew me away. I got the feeling that he builds his business on honesty, rather than ripping people off. I will definitely be calling Armored Basement again.

I just recently moved into a home a few months ago. There is evidence of water damage along the basement walls and there is a heavy damp/musty/wet smell as you go into the basement. I can't remember the name of the guy that came out (Sorry!), but he came earlier than scheduled. We went right to the basement and he took a look around. I had had 2 other basement waterproofing companies come out to inspect my basement. They both told me that I would need a new waterproofing system put in and that I should replace my sump pump and well...totaling close to $10k. I wanted a third opinion. I knew if I heard it for a third time than I couldn't deny what they had claimed. Armored basement came in and, not only, denied that I needed a new waterproofing system but he also confirmed that I had a functional waterproofing system already. He inspected my sump pump and also confirmed that that was in perfect working order as well. I have support juts that take up a majority of the space in my basement...he recommended that they be removed, as they're separating from the wall and they're not supporting anything. As for the smell, he recommended a dehumidifier to pull the moisture out of the air. It was such a relief to know that my basement looks worse than what it really is. I had an overall wonderful experience and I would highly recommend their services to anyone.

Very well. Jay was professional and helpful. He didn't try to sell me anything I didn't need, and in fact saved me from spending $9000+ on a system I didn't need.

Jay and his team arrived on time and completed services in one day. We recently had additional problems in the basement and Jay responded to my 10pm Friday night email immediately and came the next morning to address my concerns. He recommended waterproofing around the entire basement parameter and provided a very reasonable quote. We will definitely use Armored basement as we continue to address our wet basement.

They were very courteous and honest. They provided me with tips on how I could resolve my issue by staining the baseboards since it was not a foundation issue.

Before the estimate from Armored Basement, we had a couple of other companies look at our basement and they both recommended installing french drains in the basement, which would have cost thousands of dollars. Before moving ahead with that work, we wanted a further opinion and quote. Jay from Armored Basement asked us to explain the problems we had experienced in the basement (including exactly where we had seen water in the basement) and, based on that, he said he suspected that water was coming in from under a window sill. To test that, he ran a hose against the window sill he suspected was the problem and, sure enough, we could see water coming in exactly where we see it after heavy rains. Jay explained to us clearly how we could waterproof that part of the outside wall using materials from Home Depot, which would cost about $30. Following Jay's clear advice, we got the materials and waterproofed the wall. He did not charge us anything for his visit. We re-tested the wall using our hose and water is no longer coming in from under the sill. We will have to wait to see whether this has totally solved our problem because we have not had heavy rain since Jay's visit. But, at the very least, we have fixed one problem that Jay identified at minimal cost, without going straight to a very expensive fix. If we do get any more water in the basement in the future, we will definitely call Jay to help us out. We were very impressed with his professionalism and we liked his suggestion to fix what appeared to be the most likely cause of the water issue rather than rushing to implement the most expensive solution. Jay's business card stresses that Armored Basement pride themselves on undertaking "zero sales pressure in your home" and that was definitely our experience. It was great to find a company that emphasizes trying to solve a problem at the lowest cost, rather than trying to maximize the sales they can make.

Jay Bengston, the owner of the company, came himself to inspect our corner - no salesman or non-professional. He looked at the corner, inspected the walls of the unfinished part of the basement thoroughly, and looked around the house to find a possible problem. He suspected the crack in the concrete as well and ran water down that crack for 15 min. with a hose he brought himself. The water immediately showed in the corner of our basement. He advised us, even though he wouldn't earn anything from us, that we should simply fix the concrete and see whether that would do the problem. Also he made us aware of the frame of our entry door, which is damaged by water as well. He also advised us on our rain gutters. He left without charging us one dollar. It became very clear to us that the first company we consulted sent a non-professional salesman to sell us their expensive product, which might not have even solved the root of the problem. I can only recommend Jay Bengston and his company! He seems to be an honest and very experienced professional who would not do a job that wasn't necessary! If we ever had waterproofing issues again, we would definitely go with his company!