Innovative Basement Authority

The teams were knowledgeable and did great work, which is the most important thing. I need to reinfirce that... and the price for the work done with the warranty was great. My frustration was that we signed a contract for specific methods to be used for our basement foundation correction and bracing, and then when the crews came to work the foreman decided he wanted to do something different than we originally signed in the contract. This was annoying to me because I had researched several methods of bracing our foundation and I knew what I wanted, and why. So to sign a contract and have them show up and say they should be doing something different felt unprofessional to me. Especially when you are paying 5,000 dollars. In the end, the work is great, and I feel good about the result, I just felt frustrated with the process.

This is an appeal for $500.00 additional monies to be refunded to me. I will submit that the contractor sales staff and myself made unfortunate mistakes (i.e. I reacted to sales pressure in 2015). This matter is not personal but a matter of business only. My wife was never comfortable with this project and wanted me to immediately cancel the contract after the check was written in the summer of 2015. A subsequent meeting occurred with the salesman, Darrin where she acquiesced.

Installer came on schedule and did a very proffesional job.

It wasn't that great. They were here September of last year or August of 2015. In the process one of their employees stole my credit card information. My credit card company took care of what they needed to, I don't know if he was ever arrested or charged or anything. Their work was mediocre. They didn't get the sidewalk level like they should have and they left some hydraulic fluid spots on my driveway, wasn't impressed. It was 12 hundred bucks. I informed them what had happened and of course beyond that my credit card company did take care of their part.

It began with a rep from the company who looked at the problem, put together a solution and a bid of the cost. More problems became evident as the problem was further investigated. They adjusted the cost and solution accordingly We accepted their proposal even though they were significantly more expensive than a competitor's bid. We did this because IDS' solution seemed more permanent. The crew arrived on the scheduled date. They were easy to talk to and respectful of our property. They answered all questions fully. They worked hard and efficiently. I was satisfied completely with the results. I would recommend them without reservation. We worked with the crew from Pine City, Minnesota.

I worked with Matt and Travis-- they were wonderful. While he was down there, he noticed there were some air leaks from the garage and fireplace. He told his boss he found some air leaks and they came back the next day to fix the leaks with no extra service charge. They could have not said anything or charged me twice for two separate visits but didn't. They were always on time and called beforehand to let me know they were on their way over. I feel they did a great job and have noticed a world of difference since their visit. I've dealt with them before and this was some of the best money I've spent-- it has saved me money on having to replace furnace filters, less dusting, no mice or spiders, no moisture, and I can actually store things down there now. I plan on using them for my attic in the future

Had to go with another company to repour the whole driveway.

We had some work done with Innovative Basement Systems.? That was done this Summer also.?

Someone came months earlier and looked around. He told us what would need to be done. We sat down and went over the cost for the company to do what was necessary as well as tried to come up with a rough estimate of what the plumbing and electrical bills would be so that I had a rough estimate of how much this project would cost. He mentioned potentially having to replace 1 or 2 tiles (ceramic grout tile) around where the sump pump would be and I said that was fine. He failed to mention WHATSOEVER that the crew would need to completely rip up the tile around the walls (about 2 feet all around). Not only were the tiles removed - they weren't removed on the cut. They were just chopped up jagged so that half a tile was left as well as cement that was completely rough and jagged. In order to fix this, a flooring crew would need to cut all the peices correctly and sand all the cement down before it could even be re-tiled. None of this was brought up in our initial costs. It will cost thousands of dollars more than estimated due to the floor and I was given no warning for this. By the time I knew it was too late and there was no going back. It was deceiving and costs us way more than we can afford. The work was done just fine, the crew was professional and polite. But the estimator was deceiving and I would never trust them with a job if there was another option.

Communication has been a challenge but it is not anyone's fault. We are in communication now, and a new appointment has been set for Thursday, August 13th.

Project was delayed by weather and then by availability of equipment. They finished in less than 2 days. We were left with more clean up and more foundation cracks than expected. There was no follow-up from the company. We received a letter about a week later to tell us our check was written for the wrong amount and they needed an additional $5. Overall, the process for foundation raising and stabilization with piers is good but the company's execution and professionalism was less than desired.

Innovative Basement Systems came out in March to provide a quote for roughly 50 ft of drain tile, 1 drain port, and extra concrete removal for another basement project. I had several vendors come out to bid and Innovative Basement Systems was one of the lowest priced options and their bid was very thorough in terms of price, products used, and warranty information. Keith explained the process well and answered any questions I had. When I finally decided to book the job I had a hard time getting a installation date; however, as soon as I put down the deposit scheduling called within 2 business days. They were booking 4-weeks out at the time. The lead contractor called the night before to confirm a time and said their last job was running a little bit behind and wouldn't be to the house until noon. He was able to split up the teams early so three arrived to jackhammer the concrete around 10:30. This allowed enough time for the bldg inspector to give the go ahead and for the team to finish the job. They filled the cement back in and tested the system. They couldn't get the existing sump pump to work, so I had them check their truck for one. Fortunately or unfortunately they didn't have one... while they were checking I hooked up the sump pump to try again and it worked - a new pump was unnecessary. Not sure how their pumps compare to Menard's but the price was quite a bit more than Menard's prices. If I ended up needing one, we would've just bought at Mendards and installed myself. Two weeks and quite a few rainstorms later the existing and new system is working as it should, no water in the basement and the pump continues to function as normal. Now I can feel comfortable finishing the basement.

The service was done in one day and they did a great job. The one problem though is that they are not too good about calling you back, following up, or providing me with my warranty paperwork. I had to call them.

This was a very good experience, from beginning to end. The estimator thoroughly explained our options and provided an easy-to-understand contract. The installers arrived on time and did a great job. For us, it required a huge amount of work in preparation, however, it was worth the effort. The price was more than we had hoped to spend, but the result makes it a sound investment. Although we did not have major water infiltration in our basement, our 100 yr. old home with cement block walls and cement floor continued to experience periodic water seepage. The result was a ton of mold, making the air unsafe throughout the entire house. We are pleased to report that in the almost two years since the installation, the project has eliminated the mold and it has not returned. As we understand it, there are two keys to this effort: (1) keeping all moisture contained behind the plastic liner; and (2) having a commercial grade dehumidifier to keep the humidity at or below 50%, which renders the mold inactive. The first task we had was to move everything 4 ft. away from the perimeter walls, to give them space to work. In our case, that involved a huge amount of work, including removing a long workbench which was bolted to the wall plus multiple shelving units. When they began work, they jackhammered about 6 inches of the cement floor out from the wall, where they installed the WaterGuard drainage system. That was a dusty project. After placing the plastic drain system into the trench, they covered it with fresh cement, doing a very good job. The next task was to attach the CleanSpace plastic to the walls, from the ceiling to the floor. This airtight seal directs any and all moisture into the WaterGuard. If and when the water actually flows down the walls, the WaterGuard system carries it to the sump, which pumps it outside. As mentioned above, the final key to the success of the system is installing a large dehumidifier, which can be set to whatever humidity level you determine. We were told, and find it to be true, that keeping it at 50% means that the mold can no longer grow. The crew was competent, efficient, answered all our questions, cleaned up completely and completed their work on schedule, which took two full days. We then went back to work to put everything back into place. As indicated at the outset, it was a lot of work, but since the result makes it possible to enjoy the fresh air of our basement for the first time, and improved the quality of the air throughout our home, our only regret is that we didn't do the project earlier. They recommend an annual flushing of the WaterGuard drains into the sump. You can hire them to come do this, however it's a relatively simple task you can do, simply inserting a garden hose at the 3-4 WaterGuard port access points and running the water for 5-10 minutes at each port.

These folks did a great job. It turned out that another part of my basement was also having problems due to a patio issue that wasn't readily available. The area they repaired had no problem at all after a heavy rain, but an area that always got wet, but which I and the provider thought was caused by water running through low area in the floor DID get wet. I called them back. they figures out that the patio was leaking down another wall, and repaired that as well. He was professional, helpful, and I would definitely hire him again if the need arose.

They were here on time, only took a couple of hours. Won't actually know until next summer if it works out like I want or not because we have to tighten the bolts until the wall straightens.

I had a few items that I wanted them to look at. The first was to put in a sump pump in my existing sump basket and then I wanted them to look at what it would take to help a cold crawlspace. The sump pump options were from the basement to the penthouse (pun intended). However even the basement was more than I needed. As far as the crawlspace, they also have multiple options but each included full encapsulation. I think encapsulation is a wonderful option if you have issues with moisture causing mold as well as high radon. However in my situation I did not have issues with either of those and the only issue that I wanted to resolve was the cold in the winter. I instead called a insulation company and had them come in and seal the Rim Joist and I will see if I need to take it further. I still have their information and if I want to continue down the path of encapsulation I will be reaching out to them to discuss. One thing that I found weird is if you search online in the MN area for other crawlspace encapsulation it may give you different company names but the phone number is exactly the same. So there must be some sort of "umbrella" company that based on what you are looking for either basement renovation, insulation or crawlspace encapsulation they point you to the correct company. What this does unfortunately is prevents you from getting a valid second opinion from another source.

Scheduling was haphazard. We were told it would be 6-8 weeks which would put the start date in August. The next we heard was it would be October. When we protested and indicated we'd need to back out of the deal, an opening in the schedule appeared for August. The quote was to remove and then replace the basement braces, but the workers ignored this and put the drainage system around the braces. When we complained that this was an inferior installation and did not comply with the contract, they reduced the price and proceeded with the work. Bottom line - too much hassle to resolve issues that should have been addressed before the work started.

They're great. They were prompt. They did excellent work. I would say the cost maybe a little high but as far as the quality of their work; it was great.

Before starting I asked Josh the anchor installer foreman about the paneling I had not been able to remove without damage. Josh could saw it out, but with damage to the paneling. But he was able to use a box cutter to remove a section of paneling with no damage. That was very helpful to me. Digging the five holes was tough going, since the clay had dried out over the two months of very little rain. It took most of the day to get the holes dug and the anchors installed. It was dirtier work than I had expected and the basement carpet ended up with dark stains that we are still working on cleaning up. Also I was left with a quite a bit of concrete in small pieces and dust, requiring a shop vacuum to remove. I was pleased that it was not necessary to remove any carpeting or any of the plasterboard from the ceiling to complete the work.

They did a wonderful job fixing it for me. The serviceman who came earlier looked at the crack and inspected for more damage some place else. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and he didn't try to talk me into some things. He was very candidly honest, which I appreciated. When he looked downstairs, they fixed the crack and you never would have even known that anybody was there because they cleaned everything up. When they arrived, they were pleasant. In fact I would recommend them to anybody. They were really great working with me and helping me come to a decision about time and it was really nice to know that they were willing to be flexible. The price was very reasonable. They gave me options, which is what I like.

Provider completed the task as expected and explained what is necessary to continuously maintain.

The gentlemen was punctual, professional, informative and answered all of our questions. We haven't decide what we are going to due yet (budget issues) but IBS was great to work with.

It went very well. I was satisfied.

They did a wonderful job. Everything was great.