Quality 1st Basement Systems, Inc

Useful and informative inspection report and discussion.  Estimate for repairs exceeded our sole-source threshold, so we'll need to get two more bids.

They did alright. Fixing the cracks went well, even thought I had to go down and clean up some of the residue after they finished. The downspout works better than it did, but water still gathers at it's base - though not as bad as it did before.

They were very good. They've been putting them on for years and they're very professional and they did a great job. I was very happy with them. They cleaned up after themselves. It took them 2 days to do the job. The person who came to evaluate the situation was very knowledgeable and was just a real nice guy. He wasn't really pushy. Miguel, who was the foreman, just explained everything that they were gonna do. He followed through with everything. It was a big job and they took care of it. It was just great.

Basement Inspection:  Gary arrived exactly on time.   He is wonderful individual.   I didn't feel any pressure with what was described to me for my basement.   We discussed all of my option.   I was happy with my decision during and after I signed the proper papers.  My install was scheduled that very day and in less than 2 weeks I have a new basement.
Installation of the Sump Pump:   My sump pump was installed without too much interruption to my family life.   My basement looks amazing.  The waterproofing material and chair rail looks great.
It hadn't rained much since the installation, but I am confident that there will be no more problems in my basement with leaking.

They were excellent to work with. We needed to change the schedule a number of times and they were very flexible, even to osplit the job into two visits. I would recommend them to anyone!

What they did was quite good and we were very happy with them.  They have their own equipments and different things that they use like sump pumps and that sort of things.  They did a very good job.  They had an engineer that came to give us a quote and so forth and he was very professional.  They drained the water into a system like a sump pump.  They put in two big metal bars and did other things and it is a whole system to make sure to keep the humidity below the house low.  Ever since they have done that it has been good.  We were having a problem with humidity getting up into the house.  They come once a year and do service to check the humidifiers and things.  It was a really good big process.  The man was very professional.  The price was good.  The quality has been very good it has been keeping the humidity down and now it is 37 percent when it was running 60 percent or 55 percent.   The engineer they sent out initially was good and he knew the water problem.  The workers were Hispanic and didn’t speak English but worked very hard down there.

Started well, they got into the work and I think they underbid it pricewise so I had to stay on them to complete according to specs.

Jorge's crew arrived on time the work was done with great skill and clean up was great awesome crew and this is one fine company

Everything was fine. I have a crawlspace and it was off the room that my daughter was using as her bedroom. Every once in awhile; she would see a mouse or a spider. They essentially wrapped the whole crawlspace in plastic and put a dehumidifier in. They were very good.

My experience with them was very good.  They were very professional.  They were very knowledgeable about what was happening in my house and about the issue that we were having.  They didn’t try to get us to spend needless amount on items that were not going to do anything different.  We had someone come earlier and they were charging arm and leg for the job.  But the gentleman from Basement Systems came and checked everything out.  He had a computer with him and he pulled out everything and explained all the stuff for about two and half hours.  He seemed to be pretty relaxed.  I thought that it was expensive but it was fine for what we got.

They installed a complete french drain system, a super sump pump, battery backup, vapor barrier flooring, chair-rail paneling, paneling.The concrete is still drying and there have been a couple of leaks necessitating service calls.  Overall though, we are satisfied with the job.

From the moment I picked up the phone I was impressed, very courteous and helpful.  They sent me out a very detailed brochure of their products and services.  The guy who came to give the estimate was very friendly and explained everything thoroughly.  They came out about 3 weeks later to do the work.  They were on time, very efficient and clean.  Since we had the work done we have had no water in the basement.

I called, they came out when they said and gave me a correct estimate.  They came back on-time and completed the job on schedule.  It was very smooth.

Inspector, Jeff, was very knowledgeable.  He knew what he was talking about.
Crews where great.  Job was done fast and neat.  I would highly recommend them.

Basement Systems had already waterproofed my basement so I was sure that I wanted them to finish it also.  I called the office and scheduled a time for the salesman to come out and give me an estimate on the finishing aspect of my basement.  The salesman was polite and let me know our options.  We found the price to be fair and we are very happy with the finished project.

A good experience until the install started.  We called the 800 number 6:45 at night and the call was answered by a live operator (not common nowadays.  They were very accommodating in scheduling the sales call.  The salesman, Jeff arrived an hour early but did not ring our door until the scheduled time.  He was OK--he seemed a little disinterested in our job as it was only a drop ceiling install and his appearance was not the neatest or professionally composed.  He quoted us a price and gave us the line if we sign today we will get $500 off that price; which I told him that trick doesn't work on me.  Anyway we went with them over the other contractors we talked to as they had lots of experience in installing drop ceilings. 
 
Their office called and scheduled when the work would be performed (everything seemed good)--  I was told the crew would arrive between 9 and 10.  On the first day of the job we get a call at  9:50 by the install crew saying they are running late and will be there at 10:30. At 11:20 I called the 800 number to see where they were and the office told me they were at my house and insisted they were there.  I told them that they are wrong and that  I am the only person at my house.  They put me on hold for 5 minutes and came back on the line and said they will be there shortly.  At 11:30 they arrived.  Two installers.  Jorge was the lead installer and he spoke good English, his helper did not speak any English.     At then end of day one Jorge said they would be back between 9 and 10 the next day.
The next morning at 9:35 Jorge called and said they would be here at 10:30. They arrived around 10:40.  Jorge said the job would be completed that day.
We returned home that night at 7:30 to a surprise.  There was trash and debris on our driveway from the install crew; mainly the white fibrous material that the ceiling tiles are made from along with shavings of metal from the frame and pieces of the metal frame (up to 2ft long)  laying in our driveway and flowerbeds. 
As we walked into the base WOW--what a poor poor quality job.  The ceilings were crooked and wavy.  About 90% of the ceiling tiles installed were damaged in some way or another: scratches or gouges in them, the ends and corners broken off.  The lighting that was installed was not what the contract called for (dimmer switches on all the switches); there was dirt on all the walls from where the installers would place their hands/arms to balance themselves as they were working; our carpets were completed stained from some type of black dirt; they left some tools lying around, an empty ice tea container, dirt and dust everywhere; furniture was turned over--a complete disaster.  It was that bad my wife started crying/
I called the next day and the owner picked up the call.  I politely described to him that our house and the job that they say was completed was not up to our expectations.  He told me they stand behind their work and things would be corrected and that Dave Ryan would be in contact with me to address the issues.  Shortly later Dave called and I described the situation to him.  He asked that I take pictures and send them along and that a crew would be out in a few days to correct the situation. 
That night I started to take pictures, but realized I was basically taking pictures of my entire basement where they were working, so instead I took short videos and emailed them to Dave Ryan.
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTDL50nfhZM
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nQmF7bZ754
Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i1sh3mOcCg
Video 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RYHX_L3EMk
Video 5:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgES3OmGC0k
Video 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2egNcSQa-w
Video 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TZTH-Lz0vw
Video 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ctYVbU8-aY
The next morning Dave called me and apologized for everything.  The owner called me as well.  Dave told me that at first he did not believe me when I was talking to him the previous day but after seeing the videos he does. 
They sent out the same install crew with a manager to right the situation and for the most part things were fixed. 
--They leveled and straightened the ceilings.
--Instead of replacing all of the broken/damaged tiles they touched them up with paint (when I questioned
--They caulked where the crown molding met the drop ceiling (both they installed)
--Cleaned the carpets, picked up the trash and vacuumed up.
Even with the fixes, they did not live up to our expectations.  Instead of replacing all the tiles damaged they painted them, when I questioned Dave on them he said they will replace all of them--they sent another worker out a week later to replace them--all that guy did was replace a few of them.   They caulked between the crown molding and the ceiling tile, which seemed like a good idea and fix, but we can no longer remove those tiles as they are caulked to the wall--this defeats the purpose of a drop ceiling as we can not longer access the ceiling in those areas.   In addition, the electrical was never completed as written in the contract.  When I asked about that he said they cold not complete it as such due to a code issue.  So I asked what was the electrical issue/code violation that would not permit dimmer switches; Dave told me he would look into it and get back to me.  I contacted Dave every month for three months following the install to understand what the electrical code violations were in my house (both email and phone) and I have yet to hear back from them.  I completed their job/project completion survey (which states each and every survey is reviewed by the owner) asking for an explanation of the electrical code violations.  Till this date I have yet to hear from anyone from BasementSytems USA.

I had a representative from Basement Systems give me an estimate when I first bought my home and was so impressed with his professionalism and attention to detail that 2 years later when I was financially able to have the desired work done I called and set up another visit. The man who came to my home was professional and answered my questions and I felt confident in the products and services to which i committed. 
The work began Monday June 4, 2012 with 2 men jack hammering out the existing french drain and the hole for the sump pump. They were polite and appeared to be competent. The next few days saw the addition of 3-4 additional team members.  Extensive work was done on the basement and I monitored the project/process as much as possible but unfortunately I had to work full time during the job.
Upon completion of the project I was dismayed at the thick layer of dust left covering everything in the basement. There were pieces of the water guard plastic scattered about, a rusty saw blade was left on the floor, screws and scraps were left on the floor, and they'd left an expensive piece of equipment behind. They're lucky I'm an honest person. I spent the better part of my Saturday cleaning the basement after they'd left.
I was unhappy with the attention to detail. Corners were unclean and had gaps, the area around my new window was left extremely rough, the "Bright Wall" was hacked at around obstructions rather than more attractive smooth cuts, and the trim around the egress window was only half completed. Not to mention I only found out after installation that they don't finish wround the window and was left with bare wood framing.

I called to complain about all of the above concerns and a second "clean up" crew was sent to our home to finish up/clean up the work we were dissatisfied with. This crew was pleasant and agreed with many of my concerns. I was content with their work.

Everything was quiet on the basement front until we went to finish the basement. We worked with another contractor/company who had a New Castle County inspection. The inspector found our egress to be 3/8" too small. Code in this area states the egress must be 20" wide during its normal operation. It sounds like an insignificant amount and yet the inspector told us it was too small and that we'd need to change it. I again called the Basement Systems office and eventually got a call back from the owner. He was out of town and advised he would call me back on Tuesday. I finally got a call on Friday. He advised he called the county and that they told him there was no failure and that the egress should be ok. My concern is the same egress being but into another home and another inspector causing the homeowner headaches because they say the egress isn't good enough and up to code.
Eventually another inspector came in and said the egress was good enough (thankfully) and we're well on our way to having a dry, clean, finished basement.

Although the job was expensive, I consider it a tremendous deal for the amount of work they performed.  The quality of their work is quite impressive.  It far exceeded my expectations.  All around, this company is a delight to work with and I highly recommend them for any basement waterproofing needs.  The basement is now bone dry.  I can also rest easy knowing that the work is guaranteed and transferable with the sale of the property, something that will be appealing to a home buyer.  This company is a class act.

Basement Systems USA has been truly a please to work with from the very beginning and went above and beyond my expectations.  I brought in two basement waterproofing companies to perform the estimate.  The first company stayed for a total of about 15 minutes and didn't do a good job explaining to me why my basement repair was going to cost me $15k. Then, Jeff Yentzer from Basement Systems came to the house to give me an estimate (this was before I was even technically the home owner). He spent over an hour looking inside and outside the home, to do his best to determine the probable cause of the moisture issue. He also did an excellent job as my consultant over the next few weeks of negotiations with the owner to help me get the total cost of repair credited to me by the owner. Jeff was great at walking me through what needed to be done, and answering all of my questions (and believe me - I had a lot!). He was extremely responsive and reachable via cell when I needed quick answers. I believe without his support I would not have gotten the money for the needed repairs from the homeowner. Jeff even spoke directly with the owner regarding his assesment of the issue. After I purchased the home, I was able to get the work completed rather quickly - they were great about getting me into the books (about 3 weeks after purchasing). This was really important so that I could move in the sooner the better. The second half of my experience with the company (work performed) was just as outstanding as the first half. My crew was excellent - five stars! Led by Arjan - the team was extremely hard-working, on-time, professional, and respectful of my property. Although with any job there were curve-balls - Arjan was on his own the first day, but they worked hard to make up time. Sandar, Alfie, and Esteban all spent time working on the basement and I want to personally thank each crew member for their professionalism and craftmanship. I definitely felt I was in good hands and could trust the crew to come and go from the site on their own accord. My team did an amazing job - The finished product was wonderful! I feel like my basement just got a face-lift (more like open heart surgery because most of the work is behind the walls but the system is so important) I feel lucky I get to live here! I joked with Arjan that he made my basement look bigger upon completion - It really felt that way though because he really put a lot of time into making sure he got it right - the finishes and attention to detail made my space feel like a million bucks ;-) Thanks Basement Systems USA! Your customer service is excellent and I've truly enjoyed working with each and every one of you on this job. Thanks for working so hard for me and helping me to feel good about the purchase of my first home!

After hurricane Irene, I was debating how to better protect the basement from leaking. I had some water seep in but no major damage. I had a sump pump outside at the bottom of the basement steps on the outside stairwell. I initially spoke with David who came out to give an estimate? We discussed trench drains as well. He recommended their Ultra Sump with battery back up (installed inside basement) and a short trench drain in front of the back door. I was impressed that he was on time and did not try to sell me on doing a trench drain around the entire basement. My main concerns were the battery back up feature to ensure the pump would work during power failure, and moving the pump inside better protects it from the elements. I also liked the features of their sump pumps including one to prevent ice from freezing up the discharge line. The price was a little high but compared to what other companies were charging, I felt the work and product was of a higher quality and has so far proven to be worth it. The only negative was that the workmen were very late getting to the house due to having to go back to a prior site to complete work. The office did maintain contact with me, and the workmen did complete the work by the end of the day as promised.

The salesman arrived as scheduled and spent over an hour measuring the basement, preparing the estimate and explaining their system. He was patient and showed a really informative video on how water enters basements and how their system solved the problem. Unlike the other companies that we interviewed, the salesman was not critical of their competitors and did not try to get us to make a decision on the spot. The construction team, headed by Jorge arrived promptly every day and worked 8-10 hours each day until the job was completed. Pete the owner was experienced and no nonsense, but very fair and made every effort to address any concerns that we had about the work as it progressed. I highly recommend this company and its waterproofing system.

After the recent earthquake and Hurricane Irene I noticed fresh cracks in wall above oil tank in basement running across the entire front wall of basement.  Called and made appt for them to come out and give me an estimate of damage.  Dave Ryan came and took his time explaining what damage he saw and what our options for repair would be.  He did not pressure me in anyway to seek a very expensive fix.  In fact he was honest enough to tell me what would work and what would not.  I had many questions after he left and Dave and I spoke a few minutes via phone and email.  He was always patient, professional and did not treat any of my questions as being "silly".

He offered a date for repair within 2 weeks and they arrived on time,  were very professional during the installation and afterwards cleaning up.

I would definitely use this company again for any additional work and I would ask to speak to Dave Ryan when having any questions.

We worked with their office in Allentown. We really liked their basement finishing product.  It's an insulation fiberglass-based basement finishing product as opposed to more traditional drywall.  They were polite and professional.  I wouldn't say they had the world's greatest customer service, but they were construction people and they were nice construction people.

Could not have gone better. We expected this to be difficult. It was extremely easy. The guy's where great, polite, clean and professional. The price was also very competitive

They were GREAT, beginning with the non-pressure salesman. The company made an error in the cost estimate (not the salesman) and quickly found and corrected it, raising their price $3000 above their nearest competitor. Why would I mention this? Because I felt that their proposal was still the very best, their sales effort was the very best, their mold remediation was the best proposed, and there was no sales pressure to purchase, unlike the other three companies I evaluated. We decided to go with them even though they were the most expensive because we felt it would be worth it - and we were right. Excellent sales effort by Jan Huizer, excellent work and interaction with all four workers, Devin, Pablo, Miguel & another. We were preparing for an 1150 sq ft addition to our home requiring a substantial foundation. Two of the firms I interviewed for the foundation work asked to see the basement job by Basement Systems USA. They were awed! One fellow turned to his business partner and said, "I don't know how they could have made a profit on this job." Obviously, I would highly recommend them.