Aquaguard Waterproofing

When I called for an appointment, they advised that since my pump was over 5 years old that I would need it replaced. They quoted me about $475 or so in additional to the coupon price for a replacement. I agreed. When they came to do the work, they realized that the replacement was going to be a little more difficult than expected. He thoroughly explained what the process would be. I decided at this point to put it off because it’s not a pressing issue. I appreciated his professionalism and information.

I purchased a sump pump tune up. I got an e-mail message to call for service. I called for service on September 4th in the morning. Steve from AquaGaurd called me set up appointment but started by asking several question and tried to up sell me on a new sump pump. He didn't come to my house, see my sump pump. My sump pump works I was just seeking preventive service to avoid problems later.

The salesman was very competent and professional. Multiple times after his visit I called with questions and the salesman responded promptly and prefessionally. After a second visit personally by the vice president of the company we finalized the contract. The crew arrived on time and was very competent. The foreman was extremely knowledgeable. The scheduling was prompt, the coordination with building permit and inspection was excellent. The result could not be better. There is a lifetime warranty on the work and with the next heavy rainfalls we will see how well the system works. If there are any problems, I am sure that Aquaguard will respond promptly and address the issues.

After his analysis he provdied me an honest answer that I did not need his services because the service I needed he did not provide. I appreciate his honesty because honesty in ther service industry is very challenging to come by these days.

The technician was very professional, patient, and performed the replacement service very expertly. I had a ton of questions, and he graciously provided great answers. I was left with a great installation, a great understanding of the equipment, and a sense of satisfaction for a job well done. Aquaguard upgraded my system with a great pump and great value. I would highly recommend this vendor for anyone needing sump pump service.

My only complaint was that when I called to set up the appointment they didn't really understand the deal that I had purchased or what I was wanting to schedule. It took a few calls to get it right, but once I got the right person on the phone everything went well. The technician who came out was punctual, courteous, knowledgeable and efficient.

It was good and there were no additional costs. They came and did what they were suppose to do, gave me an assessment and the assessment seemed accurate given that the sump pump kept working.

They have been in business for a long time, that stood out to me. I also called 4 or their references and they did not have anything bad to say about them.

They told me on what they are going to do, I'm just asking them the questions that I have, I think that's my opportunity to learn.

The contractors came in for five days and completed their work without an issue...

It was working seemingly fine until about two months ago. And then we discovered the mold. The drywall on the wall where AquaGuard performed the repairs was starting to be soaking wet. Carpet and baseboards wet also. I removed the drywall and discovered soaking wet insulation which was acting as the bridge for incoming water to get to the interior. I discovered that AquaGuard installed that dimple sheet only 6" high above the floor - even though the outside ground was 5 feet high above the floor! It was designed to fail, and fail it did. Since then, I have hounded AquaGuard to come and fix their defective work. They came out twice but only to leave both times without doing a bit of repairs, using a variety of excuses not to perform any work. An odd finding: turns out that the original sump pump may never have worked from day one! Every time I call to speak with the rep who's "handling" my project, excuses s*** forth. I was supposed to get a call back from the president of the company (Mr. Buchanan,, I'm told?) over two weeks ago. Nothing. Same promise four days ago. Nothing. In the meantime, the bedroom against that wet wall is unlivable. We have threatened legal action as a very very last resort and unfortunately it's come to that.

Very good service. In and out in no time.

They showed up on time and were careful with regards to not causing any dirt to spread around the house. The work was done fast and I had a great piece of mind knowing I would not have problems in the future.

The service was excellent. The serviceman was very professional and on time. Although my sump pump is old, they provided a thorough service and only recommended I get backup for when power may go out. I was concerned they would try to sell me a new pump, but that was not the case. The serviceman was honest and told me exactly what I needed.

We received a number of quotes, but they were the best overall quote in terms of the price, value, and knowledge. None of the “the price is only good if you sign the contract while I’m here today” B.S. – I hated that stuff. I think they did a good job overall, and I can safely say the system they installed works great.

The sales person, JR, was very punctual and pleasant. He seemed to know what was needed to remedy my situation. The estimate was not over the top, but he lost me with the pressure tactics. I am sure that this is something that the company teaches their sales team, but it does not work for me. I had lived with this problem for about a year, and a month or so more was not going to be the end all. He had me listen to phone messages (as a way of a referral) and read parts of his manual with other references. He called the owner for information regarding quick scheduling/discounts. It reminded me of a car salesmen going to the "manager" for the deal. He told me that if I scheduled the work that night, he could offer me a discount. I don't make rash decisions, and I still had other companies to interview. He was a nice enough individual, but the sales tactics were too much. I do not find doing business in this manner to be professional. Again, surely not the sales man's fault. BTW, I had the work performed for $4,000 less than his estimate (with no pressure).

I purchased a tune up. I called and explained I believe the pump went bad. I was offered a deal on a pump and check valve and they would extend the tune up offer two years out. I did some research and believe they installed the best pump for my needs and they offered some good advice and installed a water sensor I had purchased at the same time. Very helpful and courteous.

I purchased a coupon from Angie's list for a sump pump inspection - what we really needed was a backup battery. The technician came promptly, but didn't explain the situation well, and offered to do some expensive work on the side. We ended up having someone else do the work.

I alwys had a problem with my sump pump turningo n constantly becaue I have a high water level but never in ten years since purchased house had a wet basemetn, etc. I brough the tune up special. He said he could not clean or tune up the sump pump becasue of wter level in the sump pump weel. he tighten a scre and looked at the ouside foundation and that was it.

Quite honest, and no pressure by the technician, to purchase a new Sump Pump, and they just serviced the one I had and it went well overall.

Don't give them your contact information unless you want constant phone calls long after you selected another company to try and sell you more and more services. NO means NO!

The salesman was no pressure. He came in, looked at the problem and told me the solution. He wrote up a nice solution form and showed me diagrams of what was going on in my basement. He gave me a nice quote. I intended to have any people that come to my house to give me a quote and when they walk out the door, I want the quote they leave me is the quote we are going with. I'm okay if they call me back and tell me if they are going to do it for a cheaper price. He stuck by his quote and gave me his best deal upfront. The workers came in and they were very professional. I was even comfortable enough to leave the house when I had to go to work. They would lock up and took care of everything. They kept it dust free as possible but it wasn't a dust free job. They contained the dust down in the basement about putting up wet towels at my basement door to keep it from coming under the door. They had things like fans and stuff to move as much dust out of the house as possible. All around, the guys were professional. They were only two of them that showed up to work.

After being forced to go through arbitration they paid almost $52,000 on a contracted job costing less than $19,000; such was the extent of the damages inflicted on my house. It took over a year for me to recover these damages. What went wrong? First: AquaGuard unbeknownst to me totally subcontracted out the work to a disreputable, unlicensed subcontractor. The fact that AquaGuard even used subcontractors was never revealed to me during their inducement to sign the contract and did not become apparent till the worst of the damage had been done. Second: AquaGuard failed to apply for required county permits, permits that I paid them $350 to get, till 6 weeks after the job was done and two weeks after I complained to them about the lack of permits. Routine inspections by the county would have revealed multiple problems before the work was completed. Instead I was left to discover these after the work was completed. Third: They failed to repair any of the cracks. Fourth: They smeared exterior roofing tar over 700 square feet of the interior walls of my basement instead of cleaning the walls properly and applying the Aquafin coatings that I paid over $7000 to have installed. The cost of the tar was under $50. The stench was sickening and a definite health hazard. Fifth: They installed a totally dysfunctional, worthless drainage system. For example, instead of installing perforated piping in gravel to funnel water to the sump pump enclosures, they stuck solid piping into the dirt, rendering the system useless. They did these and many, many other things wrong, all saving them time and money to my severe detriment. They steadfastly refused to address the issues in anything like a reasonable manner. When I called and complained about the horrendous tar job, including the hazardous fumes and stench permeating my house, they tried to convince me that it was OK, indeed better than what I had contracted for. WhenI told them it had to come off the wall, they insisted on sending back the same disreputable contractor two weeks after the tar went up. His workers proceeded to grind and demolish part of the basement walls, sending huge amounts of poisonous silica dust throughout the basement and into the living spaces above. They did nothing to mitigate the dust, exposed their own workers to the extreme hazard, and left a worst mess than when they started. I had to send them away before doing more harm. Amazingly they wanted to send the same incompetent workers back to my house but I refused. In the end I had to hire another contractor to clean up the mess, all to the cost of approximately $30,000 and our having to abandon our home for several weeks while the mess was cleaned up. AquaGuard will explain that they were somehow the victims of the subcontractor, but this ignores the fact that they had been using the same person on several other jobs prior to ours. Indeed despite this person?s manifest incompetence they insisted on sending him back time and again because, as AquaGuard?s General Manager stated it: ?He (i.e., the subcontractor) has to pay for his mistake?. Sorry, AquaGuard, but I didn?t want, nor did I hire, the subcontractor you foisted on me. As mentioned above I had no idea they even used subcontractors, let alone unlicensed ones in apparent violation of Maryland law. They never once sent anyone out to inspect the work while it was in progress. This simple precaution would have revealed the terrible performance of their workers. Despite numerous complaints by me regarding multiple problems, it was fully four weeks after the work was completed before an actual employee of AquaGuard came to my house. They fired him. In arbitration, I prevailed in the contract dispute. What about the other victims of this subcontractor? How does one know what other outrages have been perpetrated by other subcontractors that they routinely use unbeknownst to customers? I am finished with this contractual matter but I will speak the truth and try to educate everyone, consumers and contractors alike, of the questionable business practices that exist among some waterproofing companies. Ask questions, get references, and read carefully the contract before signing it. There are really decent waterproofing contractors out there. Unfortunately I met them after the above disaster struck my home.

Worst sales experience of my life and I'm an experienced DIY'er and have met with dozens of contractors for quotes and services. The guy was a high pressured used car salesman that used scare tactics and just plain lies to peddle his product. Tried to end the visit in a nice way first, but after asking him to leave three times without success, I really thought I was going to have to physically remove him from my home! UPDATE 2/18/13: The sales manager contacted me today to apologize for my experience and the behavior of his salesperson. He also assured me that this was not the culture of sales calls at Aquaguard and that this would not happen again. It takes character to apologize on behalf of the company when things go wrong. I can not attest to the work that Aquaguard completes as I only received an estimate, I would however, be willing to entertain another sales quote from Aquaguard from a different salesperson.

The representative arrived on time, he was show where the sump pump was located in the house. He tested the backup battery, Clean some areas around the pump. Tested the pump by putting water in it. It was not pumping at first, until I stated, doesn't the water have to be a certain level before the pump kicks in. He put more water in, and it worked.