Quality 1st Basement Systems

Metal Wall Channels were installed on wall prior to sealing the horizontal crack along wall. When I called my salesman Kenneth Peare to inform him that the crack was not sealed as he had promised me, he informed me that the workers would properly seal the wall before leaving the job. Rather than using waterproof cement, as Kenneth Peare had told me in his sales pitch, they simply squirted a grey silicone putty or epoxy over the crack. This of course did not hold, and water oozed out of the crack as soon as it rained. I had them come back to repair the crack with waterproof cement. The supervisor, Jack, completed a small section with the waterproof cement and then left his crew unsupervised to finish the job. The crew did not know how to properly prepare the wall to take the waterproof cement so the work they did also failed to seal the crack. Jack came back a second time to complete the work his crew messed up. Unfortunately water continues to drain into my basement from the portions of the horizontal crack that was not sealed prior to the installation of the metal wall channels. Jack came back a third time, placed some globs of the waterproof cement along the edge of the metal wall channels and informed me that if that didn't work, I could purchase their cleanspace walling product to hide the leak since it will drain into the water guard. Had Service Technician look at wall Feb 4 2014, His report states that the wall is leaking due to not being sealed properly. When he called the office to ask what the company would do to remedy their mistake, he was told to pitch the cleanspace walling product . Instead of fixing the mistake that was made by not sealing the wall correctly, Quality 1st Basement Systems gave me a Proposal for 25ft of cleanspace for $325.00 more. **After I posted review on Angie's List, company contacted me to schedule repair of foundation crack. Workers arrived on March 20, 2014 to remove wall anchor and seal crack along wall with waterproof cement. This time I stayed and watched that work was completed to my satisfaction. I still don't understand why the foundation crack was not repaired prior to the installation of the wall anchors or why the supervisor (Jack) did not remove the wall anchors in order to seal the crack the two previous times he came to my home to repair the work his men failed to do correctly. Thank God for Angie's List

When we bought this home, it was a dry period at the end of the summer and our inspection noted water stains on the exposed footing in one of our crawl spaces. He suggested it was a grading issue which we addressed with a landscaping company. However that didn?t alleviate the puddles forming after heavy rains in the crawl space. I realized we would have to water proof it so that I could get piece of mind. I called in 3 companies, 2 wanted to do French drains inside leading to a sump pump. A method I was familiar with from a prior basement waterproofing. I was very skeptical when Jeff Nero a design consultant for Quality 1st came to explain the encapsulation concept of water control. Jeff got into the space and looked over every area of my concern, coming up with a suggested solution. After answering all of my concerns and questions, Jeff had convinced me this was what i needed for my problem. I would be encapsulating the space with their system AND they would be insulating the entire space to an R11 value. Before water proofing became an issue this insulation was going to be a separate project and done by another company; but was all part of the Quality 1st crawl space system. Not only did I do that space but also did the other crawl space that didn't have water but was in need of insulation and seal up. It was prepared the same as the other area but without a sump pump. If water ever got into that space all we would need is to have them install the pump. 2 spaces handled for less than the cost of one space with French drains. I was AMAZED! The crew showed up on time, prepared the area in the basement for dust protection and went to work on the 2 areas simultaneously. By 4:30 they were finished and wow, did those crawl spaces look clean, bright and well insulated. This encapsulation method has allowed me to open up the crawl spaces to the rest of the basement to allow them to become the same temperatureas the main basement area. The floors above those areas are warmer making the rooms warmer. Because of this waterproofing method I don?t feel like an obsessed man constantly looking at accumulating water and you know how that feels if you are dealing with water. I?d recommend their system for crawl spaces and am considering their patented basement finishing system too.

The entire staff of Quality First Basement are courteous, efficient and professional. I don't know if the solution they proposed will solve the water problems(stay tuned for my report next year). But so far I am more than impressed.

Nick Biris was my sales rep. Even before the estimate and consultation, Quality 1st sent home a hardcover book (!) explaining who they are, what they do and what kinds of basement waterproofing are available. Everyone I have dealt with is extremely professional and courteous. Nick spent a couple of hours reviewing what was needed to do the job properly and measuring my basement. He worked with me to determine what would be the most essential part of the job, what parts could be continued at another time and what we could do to keep the job within budget. I really liked that he had software on his computer that allowed him to kind of model the job and show exactly what the costs would be in each scenario. That really gave me a sense of transparency on the pricing. Nick used some modern gadgets to help make measurements- and even took the time to explain the laser level to my 10 year-old :) When the time came to do the job, Juan Garcia and his team were very courteous and amazingly efficient. They were done a full day ahead of what we had planned for. The job was done well, the place was left sparklingly clean (inside and outside the house). Everything about my experience with Quality 1st reinforced the impression that these guys are professionals. They know what they are doing, have lots of experience with row houses like you find in NYC. My basement is already drier and warmer than it had been before the job, proof that the vapor barrier was well installed and is doing it's job. I'll be going back to Quality 1st to have some of the special flooring they recommend to keep water vapor from coming up through the concrete floor. Thanks, Guys, I am a very happy customer.

First I have to comment on how thrilled I am with my 2 year old basement system from Quality First. Prior to that I had a system installed by one of their competitors and I never realized how poorly installed that system was. Every few months my sump pump would break and my basement would flood. The old company told me that my house was sitting on a lot of water. This turned out to be false as when Quality First came out to look at the old system, they immediately pointed out numerous problems. Through the lifetime warranty, they reinstalled the system correctly and I have not had one problem with water in my basement since! On this particular annual checkup, Collin Peare was the Service Tech. He was on time, very very kind, spoke very clearly and explained to me everything that I wanted to know about the annual check-up. He also answered my questions about installing a dehumidifier. He read my mind because I was already in the market for one and had done some research. Collin made everything so simple, he gave me a great price quote, waved my annual check-up installation fee and installed the dehumidifier/air purifier right on the spot. He was not "pushy" he discussed other more costly options for my sump pumps which I declined and Collin just continued with his work. He was calm, polite, friendly and it was just another example of how well run this business is. They are true professionals, knowledgeable and they send trustworthy professionals into your home. I highly recommend Quality First!

OMG!!! i was referred by a friend about the company who had a dranin system put in. so i called to make appt. I WAS VERY IMPressed with Jessica who told me every thing i needed to know about my basement. she was very informative. so i decided to get the dehumiderfier. it was installed on 10/30/13 . PRIOR to having the system my basement smell really bad when i tell you it was horrid. so just on 10/9/13 i went in my basement i was so amazed at how good the basement now smells my healting contractor was there as well i was telling him that this system is the best im so glas that i made this investment .it is the best thing it have i was telling my heating contractor he also was impressed i told him this all happen in within two week time he was wow that really great. so i recommend this company to anyone who has a smelly basement of humidity it well worth the cost. thanks Jesssica andjjuan for giveing me the best for my home.!!!!!!!!!!!

First came the phone call to 1st. The woman made an appointment and told me the name of the person who would be coming to provide me with an estimate and a recommendation. Then, a reminder phone call the day before. The representative was thoroughly professional, assessed the situation correctly and set a date for the repair to occur. The repair crew arrived on-time and finished up promptly. The foreman of the crew explained what has been done, and left the job in a workman-like manner - the worksite was cleaned up well. The fix worked. What more could one ask for?

My basement is so much more usable now. All work was done well and within the time expected. The same foreman of the crew came both times. The crews have been punctual, friendly, professional, and clean up well. They really did a great job and I would use them again in the future.

Quality 1st initially talked a good game and appeared to have the project well in hand. We signed the contract and paid the deposit. Quality 1st was to submit for the building permits and start the project on 7 August. The work crews arrived as scheduled on 7 August and started the work which was due to be completed and inspected in about 1 week. After the initial work was done, Quality 1st was to contact the town inspector for the preliminary inspection. The inspection was delayed because Quality 1st had not properly filed the permit paperwork and was not even authorized to start the work. They had to resubmit the paperwork and it took 3 additional weeks just to get the permits and then nearly another week to schedule the first inspection. The inspection was done and the job was eventually completed but it took 5 weeks instead of the originally projected 5 days. We had to constantly contact Quality 1st to ask for status and to push them to complete the permit submission and schedule the inspections. After the initial contact with the sales engineer, we could not get him to respond to calls or emails. All inquiries went unanswered and we could only get answers by constantly calling the production crew which did not have all of the information at hand. While the finished project met the original plan, there were many aspects of the job that were well below a true quality effort. In addition to the poor planning for the permits and the communcation difficulties, we had the following issues: 1. Because the project took 4 weeks longer than originally planned, the yard areas where Quality 1st had dug holes and laid dirt were completely dead after the holes were refilled. As a separate effort, we had to purchase top soil and grass seed to attempt to return the yard to a conditon that was close to the pre-work state. 2. The workers tracked dirt through the first floor and grease on the floor in the basement. They did not put down any protective material and we needed to do a thorough cleaning after the job was finished. 3. While installing the braces, Quality 1st installed 2x8 lumber to the underside of the first floor. In doing so, they had to move some electrical wiring. Instead of working around the wiring, they moved it and in several cases nearly shorted it out and rerouted it in dangerous ways. We had to fix or move several wires. The overall project was run in a less than professional manner with little regard for the needs of the client. We did the reinforcement project as part of the sale of the property. Due to the delays in the project, we had to delay the sale of the property which caused us to incurr additional expenses. I would not recommend Quality 1st to anyone.

It took two men that did not speak english 12 hours to install the system .I was told it should take no longer then 8 hours .I tried to call and also e-mail the copany.I have not got a call or e-mail as of yet .There way of conducting bussiness is the worst .

Installation went very well. Very professional, cleaned up afterwards, all looks well installed. The only complaint i would have is that they didn't show up on the date they agreed (later we were told some machinery broke). I would have hoped they would have called in advance to tell us that they were not coming (took the day off to be around) on the agreed date. They came the following date and performed the work. Also, nice from them, as a result of the delay, they told me they would provide me a free annual service. One small thing: they did not provide an extension cord to a second outlet (they did recommend have an electrician adding a second outlet, but had promised to leave an extension cord to the nearest one in the meantime) but plugged both connections to the same outlet, a practice they don't recommend. We had the electrician coming a couple days afterwards and all is good now. I am very pleased to have their system installed. This is a great system (I am told) that has many features that make it reliable to prevent basement flooding. A plumber had recommended a hydro system that would work with water, as many in the market are skeptical to sum pumps that have a battery backup; however, the great feature of this system is that it uses the battery power efficiently so we are told this system removes tons of water, regardless of time. the hydro system may guarantee power but if the sump pump is not as good (1Q basements pumps are top rated material) and fails you are in trouble. While I am not rating as Excellent on punctuality and responsiveness, after all, what matters is the system I got and the quality of the installation.

The crew was fantastic. We had cleared part of the basement, but had expected we would need to keep moving things around all day to give them working space. Not so. They did all of that. It was wonderful not to have to worry about it. The company uses great quality material. The price is perhaps higher than others would be, but we have had only good experiences with them. Previously they removed a faulty french drain and sump pump, replaced both and replaced basement windows. All their work is really solid. We now have a dry, comfortable basement.

The basement has not had a leak since they installed the system. They were prompt on the job and finished in just a few days. We would recommend them for anyone who has a wet basement problem.

Sha-chon came out to service the pump that was installed by the previous home owner. He took his time to explain everything to me, as I am a new home owner. He was very patient, very honest, and extremely knowledgeable. After our discussion, I decided to replace the pump, battery and battery backup, as they were older and we have a very high water table near the house with active sump drainage throughout the day. His team arrived on the scheduled day on time, did their work and were very professional.

LOCK UP YOUR VALUABLES BEFORE CALLING THEM! When the installation crew left Friday afternoon, my wife realized her engagement and wedding rings were missing. We immediately called the local police and also called Quality 1st Basement's manager, Bob. Bob implied that my wife must have misplaced the rings. The police, on the other hand, began an investigation immediately by contacting the installation crew and questioning them over the telephone. My wife agonized all weekend over the loss of the rings that she had for 32 years and Quality 1st's implication that she must have misplaced them. Monday morning at 6:30am as I was leaving for work, I noticed a prescription medicine bottle in the driveway and as I was throwing it in the trash I heard a rattle and saw that there were two rings in the bottle. The police called the crew in for in-person questioning and one of the workers admitted stealing the rings and throwing them into the driveway Sunday night. The worker was arrested. After several weeks of not receiving any apology from Quality 1st, I called and talked to Bob. Bob said that he never followed up with the police about the result of the investigation and claimed to be completely unaware that his worker had been arrested. The worker was still employed and still being sent out to jobs at homes just like yours. Bob promised to call the local police and confirm things for himself. It's now been over a month and we still have not received any response from Quality 1st . No apology for my wife's weekend of distress over Bob's suggestion that she must have misplaced the rings. No apology for their employee screening process. They had been paid in full for the work and apparently that's all that matters to them. Perhaps they should change their name to Money 1st. DON'T HIRE THEM!

I still haven't have a drop of water in my basement after a year. They cleaned up after themselves, covered everything with plastic, overall did a great job.

Their salesman arrived right on schedule and spent several hours evaluating my crawlspace. Once we went to contract, a service date was set at my convenience. The arrived right on time. The crew was extremely professional and did a great job of each of the services I purchased. They made a follow up call after the service to ensure that all had gone well. Although I thought the were expensive, the extra cost was worth it in quality, professionalism and reliability.

My relatives were thoroughly pleased by the quality and the craftmanship of their detailized work. A gentlemen by the name of Nick was highly professional, he explained the procedures with acumen. He also provided helpful insights and ideas about the task at hand. After completion, I too, had the opportunity to view the end results, and I state for the record that I was pleased with the top-notch work that was done. The Work really rejuvenated the entire basement!

AFTER 6 ESTIMATES, THEY WERE TOO HIGH. I DID COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES AND WAS VERY EDUCATED FROM THEM, I DID CONTRACT AND COMPLETE THE JOB USING THEIR SPECS AS A GUIDELINE, IN ADDITION I HAD AN EXTRA 1200 SF OF INSULATION DONE AND STILL BEAT THEIR PRICE BY $ 3000 OVERALL THEY HAD A GREAT SYSTEM JUST OVER PRICED

The driver introduced himself and was very professional. The workers moved shelves, washer and dryer and placed plastic to protect what was in the basement from the dust they created. When done, they replaced and hooked up the washer and dryer. They said the shelves could not be replaced until the epoxy dried so I had to do that. The cleaned up and removed all of their debris. Only real problem was they unplugged my sump pump and did not plug it back in. The pump runs constantly so that could have been a problem if it did not have an alarm on it that alerted me to this.

Actually their price was high, but we felt we were getting a better quality of work. I have a lot of complaints. We needed our foundation repaired and we wanted the house lifted and I was led to believe that we would be here when the lifting was done so we could tell them how much we wanted it lifted. They did the work. Then I asked my husband when they were going to lift it and he said that they told him they lifted it three inches. My impression was that we were going to be in the room and we would tell them how much we wanted it lifted and when to stop lifting and that never happened. We had a lot done, we had what they called a void fill put in and I was supposed to get pictures so that I have it for my insurance company to file a claim. I called them to remind them about that in February. I have yet to receive the pictures. They did a lot of damage to my floor in the basement and they walked away from it. So I would not be anxious to give them a recommendation. It was as if once they had the money and they did the work and they were gone. I have to call them again to ask them for the pictures. They use an engineer. Every time they had to do something they had to revise the plan a couple of times. I granted that this was a very unusual situation, but the after all this work was said and done we were supposed to receive written certificate which stated what was done, how it was approved so that we could keep this on file when we want to sell the house. I have never heard or received anything from them. I don’t know how long it takes the things to be mailed from Kansas to New Jersey but I am still waiting. The workers they sent were very conscientious and hard working, but I am not too happy with the administrators and the bosses and everybody else that didn’t actually do the work. They were sloppy but they worked hard. They left a terrible mess down in my basement.

I had a dehumidifier installed with a condensation pump yesterday by Quality First Basement Systems. The crew, lead by Juan Garcia, was great. They were professional, knowledgeable and neat. I asked Juan and his crew a bunch of questions about the installation, and they patiently answered every one. Juan also pointed out the various options on where to place the dehumidifier, and his top suggestion made the most sense. Shows a real willingness to work with the customer and knowledge of his products and the proper installation. I also had vent covers installed on the crawl space vents. Again a very neat and thorough job. Quality First came highly recommended by my house inspector who is a structural engineer, and I'm glad I choose them to do the work. Ken Peare was my salesman / consultant. He was also extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and pointed out the same issues as my house inspector. Meet with these guys before doing any basement waterproofing / mitigation work. You will not be sorry.

The initial install seemed to go fine and they were punctual and cleaned up after themselves. We thought the problem was fixed. A rain overflow from a storm caused another flood in part of the basement, including the center of the basement. The salesman came in and said these things happen and their drain system was ok. We protested and another service rep came and said the peripheral system did what it was supposed to do. We kept protesting and once we reached the President who center another rep. This time he realized that the center drain was not put in correctly. He had workers install a new path to the center drain and we feel much better with the outcome

They responded to my phone call fast, showed up on time, and did really good work.

They were very good. We were very happy. There was no problem, whatsoever. They were fast and clean. It was a huge job, lots of concrete work. They came on Friday morning and were done by Saturday afternoon. It was amazing what they did. It's a scary thing to have people drilling into your foundation. They seemed to know what they were doing as far as foundation work. They weren't cheap, but we got what we paid for.