Groundworks

Everything was positive from the first returned phone call (within an hour of my call to them) to the follow up call a day after the service was completed. Then about a month later, i received another call from them just checking to see that everything was working properly. This is the way to run a small business!

They were very nice to work with. They have to come back because a little paint was peeling off. But, they were very accommodating and did a great job. They work with their hands on. The owner's name is Eric and he was very nice. They were responsive and they followed up. They worked with us on what we wanted. Their price was very good. It was within the range.

Excellent service, easy to work with. They are very respectful of your property and work as clean as a job like this will allow them to. They work very hard and effectively.

They brought in huge machines and at least 10 men. They dug it all up, bucketed out the windows, and cleaned everything up. It was a lot of work, but they completed it in two or three days. They were pleasant, agreeable, and the price was what they said it was. They guaranteed that I would not have any issues with my French drain and with the last storm Sandy, we had no water issues.

His recommendation was I needed to address a drainage problem to drain water away from the basement wall.

I would Definitely recommend This company to anyone who is having waterproofing issues. They will bend over backwards to make sure you are please with the job they performed.

The technician was very professional and responsive and went over my options in detail.

It all went well -- my previous comments pretty much explain the story. The few negative comments I have (which I reported to them) are that a basement window was left open (it's wintertime!) and a couple of interior doors that had been removed from their hinges were not re-installed. They offered to come back and install them at a later date. The best test for the quality of the company and the work is yet to be determined - after a heavy rain. Stay tuned on this.

I had a wonderful experience with this company as far as professionalism, knowledge and estimate being given on the spot. D.J. The service man took his time and was VERY thorough. If I had a concrete basement I would have used them for sure. I have a crawlspace and got a better estimate from another company that suited my purposes better. I would however recommend them to a friend who did have a basement.

I call Select to make an appointment for the assessment. The appointment was schedule in a timely fashion and the representative arrived as scheduled. However, the service he performed was merely an estimate of what it would cost to perform the repairs. I thought I would receive some type of written document describing the damage and cause as well as options in terms of cost necessary to correct the situation. I don't feel that I should have had to pay anything for an estimate. Companies such as Select provide this service without charge simply because they want to get the business. Absolutely not worth the $50.00 I paid

I was having issues with my sump pump. It would run constantly. I called Select Basement Waterproofing Inc and they told me a technician by the name of Derek will be working on the issue. Derek is a great service manager, he arrived at the specified time. He came in and found the issue with my sump pump quickly. he explained everything, from what he was doing to what steps i should take to remedy the issue. I would recommend Derek and the company to anyone who is having problems with water in their basement. Luis

The crew arrived on time and performed the work in a professional and timely fashion.

Their prices were low and everything turned out the way I wanted.

I used an Angie's List Big Deal for this service. They were professional, complete and did what they said they were going to do. They seemed to know what they were talking about and their price was fine.

They did an excellent job and were organized, neat and efficient. They also were very clean; it was a very messy job. This company did exactly what it said it would do and did a better job than they said they would.

It went well. They were professional. I thought the price was expensive but it was what we needed to do. They did miss a few spots, so they dropped off paint for us to touch up those spots. They were punctual.

They were very professional, knowledgable, and thorough. I would use them again and would recommend their service to others.

This job went extremely well except for a small hiccup after it was completed which I will explain further down the road. I decided to go along with a suggestion DJ made about having the job done on July 4th, since I needed to be home and wouldn't need to reschedule my work schedule to get the job completed. This worked perfectly and the cost was slightly discounted for allowing the work to be done on a holiday. DJ's brother I believe his name was Dillion (can't actually recall) and another man I believe Tommy would be the project leads. Both men along with about 4 other workers appeared at my house at exactly 8:00 AM as they stated they would. They immediately began to take out the old drainage system. They took the time to call me downstairs to show me what it looked like and just as I thought the system was coiled around the surface of my basement rather than placed straight and correctly. Based on what I saw, water would not for much longer had been able to flow properly to the sump and carried away from my home. The guys worked diligently and appeared to focus on their specific job which made the entire job go quickly without rushing and doing it poorly. With the help of two additional workers that came midway through the process, the work was completed by 11:30 AM. Everyone was able to head home and enjoy the rest of the holiday. Only two small issues occurred that I wasn't expecting. One, was that one of the drainage plugs for the sewer pipe was cemented over, although I was initially told it would not be. However, it didn't appear to be heavily covered and at least I know it's there and will be able to get to it. The other issue was with one of my basement windows. In order to get the materials needed into the basement rather quickly, one of my basement windows was removed to do so. When it was put back in, it was not placed back properly, so I was unable to open. I didn't notice until a day later. Because of the strong odor coming from the mold and mildew paint, I needed to let the basement air out so the odor would go away which it did rather quickly. Although I was walked through the work that was done, I failed to check the window. I just saw that it was back in position and assumed it was good. I had to call back to the office to tell them about the window. It did take a couple of days before someone actually came out to see about it. However, he could not fix it. After a couple more calls, Tommy came back to my home and worked to get it fixed. It was a bit of a pain, but all-in-all it got resolved. Since Select replaced my old drainage system, I have not had any water issues and there have been some significant rain events and storms. I think they did a terrific job!

On the first day of our scheduled job, Jerome and men arrived in multiple trucks, on time and ready for work. Men ready, dressed for work (original,dismissed contractor, dispatched men casually dressed in clothing/shoes, typically worn in better social circles, NOT to perform work of this type) exited trucks, entered our basement/garage and began working in an orderly manner. Workers seemed briefed before arrival about all job requirements. Prepared to PROPERLY EXECUTE the job we contracted for!. No time was wasted. About 10 men were present throughout entire installation. Keenly understanding what assigned roles were, and what was expected. Performed work was targeted, efficient and well done. I was watching AND paying attention. Unlike the original contractor, Jerome's men had no problem AT ALL ,with my presence among them. There was a clearly designated foreman in charge, serving as the ?go to guy?. He oversaw all details, large and small. Assuring that each person was completing their part of job as assigned. Courteously communicating with all employees present, and with me, making certain that everything was going as planned. That I was satisfied with each phase of work. Questions were answered, concerns addressed. The dismissed original contractor, who started our work, can NEVER have above words said about him or his employees performance on our job!. Size of their crew, was small, consisting of three people, only one spoke English. Given what transpired (how the job went CRITICALLY WRONG), our original installers were, I believe, unable to properly assess, independently evaluate and ultimately execute the scope of assigned work which originally started and ENDED! on October 31, 2011. Jerome's preparation by contrast, done in advance of his multi man crews arrival was a very welcome change. It was a critical factor, that in no small measure yielded a SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME of ALL work performed by Select Basement Waterproofing in our home. Showing us from the start, that Jerome's crew was ready to install, and was above all PROPERLY TRAINED. Capable of undertaking, able and willing, to carry out all tasks. A crew of the size deployed, enabled Jerome's men to complete the job in a few days. The end result providing expertly installed improvements in the form of perimeter French Drain with communicating sump pumps, each with battery back-ups. A vapor barrier and insulation package was also added. Completing the contracted project . Select Basement Waterproofing, has AVAILABILITY of, and NUMBER of personnel needed to get a job such as ours, and much larger ones, done as needed. No skimping where it counts. Also beautifully obvious, Jerome OWNS the tools, equipment and trucks, needed to deliver a large contingent of men, and materials to a job site. Organized purposefully, to assure a successful outcome of all work the customer contracts. This DIFFERENCE between Jeromes company and the original contractor,(who started our job, and had to be dismissed while it was in progress), was INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS. It ?shouted? loud and clear that Jerome and company are an established business. A business that's been around a while (I did verifications), one here to stay. Important fact, especially, but not limited to lifetime terms of our transferable warranty. Select Basement waterproofing has established a record of excellence and satisfied customers (our family among them). Jerome owns and operates a company with steady and well trained employees. Workers and managers alike who have significant experience doing what they do. I talked to nearly every man present on our job. Each spoke well of their company in numerous and varied verbal exchanges. Expressing confidence in quality of products installed, resulting from long standing experience. Each person spoken with, had genuine respect for, and only great things to say about Select Basement Waterproofing and owner Mr. Fokas, about how he treats them. They considered themselves part of a whole, real team members. Impressive indeed. Tommy, Josh and Puff come to mind as exemplary employees. They have high work ethics and clear pride in their job performance. Each man doing his part of job as well as we would have done it if we were called upon to do it ourselves. Adding here, that I have been told, on many occasions, that I have very high standards when judging effort and execution of given task or job. As consequence, performances and attitude toward our job did not go unnoticed. It was excellent at all times. It is not to say that other team/crew members did not perform very well, they did, it's just that Tommy, Josh and Puff stand out in my memory. Jerome obviously made the effort to assemble a team of competent, hard working, well trained and loyal employees. It in turn, translates to a job well executed for the contracting customer. Of which we, WITHOUT RESERVATION, count ourselves as one. It's DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE WITH OUR FIRST CONTRACTOR. His employees (at least two of them) were new to the company, appearing poorly trained, I asked!. Some spoke poorly of their employer. Results of these facts became INCREDIBLY and PAINFULY CLEAR, BUT UNFORTUNATELY TOO LATE!!!. Very important also, Jerome follows up EACH and EVERY part of a job. Communicating to the customer what next phase involves. Mr. Fokas is VERY PROFESSIONAL, COMPETENT and certainly customer friendly. His prices are competitive compared to other contractors engaged in this line of work. We interviewed 9 different companies. Quite a time consuming task, to say the least. Following which, Jerome and company became our TOP PICK. He remains in that spot. I would like to say that SELECT BASEMENT WATERPROOFING has DEFINITELY EARNED our vote of confidence in the company, the product line that is demonstrated, installed and ultimately serviced. Jerome delivers EVERYTHING, and QUITE FRANKLY MORE, than he presentedand sold us. Making EVERY EFFORT to install products in a manner that produces the most optimal results and performance. Considering these facts, I RECOMMEND JEROME FOKAS to anyone seeking waterproofing services WITHOUT ANY RESERVATIONS AT ALL. In all our dealings with him over 14 plus months, while together navigating through a THOROUGHLY and HORRIBLY BOTCHED attempted installation by his competitor, a company also listed on ANGIE'S LIST, Jerome has proven to be a man of IMPECCABLE character and integrity. He is unquestionably the owner of a company which PROPERLY installs a waterproofing system. One which is capable of evacuating water from under the slab even in the heaviest of storms. THANK YOU Jerome!!!!. May you be RICHLY BLESSED with a ?FLOOD? of customers (no pun intended) as a result of your EFFORTS and EXCELLENT WORK done at our home. You have worked closely with us to solve a problem created in its entirety by your competitor. A company which installs waterproofing systems in the New Jersey area and beyond. Our ONLY regret is that you were not the FIRST CONTRACTOR on our job. Mr. Andras was right when he said you are the BEST!!!. Thank you for a job done with UNEQUALLED EXCELLENCE!. Meeting you was OUR truly lucky day!!!. Prior to our need for the immediate correction of a terribly performed waterproofing job, by one of his competitors, I had no previous contact with Jerome Fokas or Select Basement Waterproofing. Our currently completed, basement waterproofing job is SECOND TO NONE!. All waterproofing contractors ARE NOT EQUAL. Jerome illustrated that point MAGNIFICENTLY!!!. May you (Jerome) always know the same peace in life, or better, that you gave our family by performing the work your company did for us. Our HUGE mistake of picking the wrong first contractor, has cost us thousands of additional dollars attempting to correct the intentional damage that they caused. Damage ARROGANTLYLY DISMISSED, and DENIED. Their company robbed us of our sense of peace and money which had to be re-directed for repairs. As well we lost the ability to use our home in a manner we were accustomed to. Feel free to examine all statements presented. After which, I SINCERELY HOPE that the road leads you straight to SELECT BASEMENT WATERPROOFING and to Jerome Fokas as the contractor of choice to install your waterproofing materials. If your job is handled with as much care and attention as ours was (of which I have no doubt that it will be) you will be a VERY satisfied customer. Noteworthy as well, is the fact that Select Basements Waterproofing installation passed each and every inspection with flying colors. Inspectors stated that they were QUITE IMPRESSED with the ENTIRE INSTALLATION. French drain, and sump pumps alike. SUCH WAS NOT the case with our other contractor. They had numerous installation violations, noted and CITED! So.... if you want the job done right on the FIRST TRY the choice appears to be crystal clear. Select Basement Waterproofing company ?IS THE REAL DEAL, there is no competition? if you want to avoid problems, massive, like we experienced. Please do yourself a favor and give Jerome Fokas the opportunity to earn your business. I could write for many more hours, why WE WISH that we contracted with Select Basement Waterproofing, and Jerome Fokas the owner, FIRST, but I have taken up enough of your time. Just ask Jerome, he certainly knows why and has many pictures to support all of our statements. So do we!!!. I hope that my letter helps you avoid OUR EARLIER, NEAR DISASTROUS predicament and makes your choice clearer and easier. Should you have any further questions, AT ALL, about our MOST PLEASANT experience with Select Basement Systems in Morganville, NJ and Jerome Fokas please ask Jerome how to get in touch with me. I will be happy to provide more details, or to further address your concerns.

Very good job overall. Workers were punctual. Scope and cost were as previously negotiated. They asked my opinion on options, both with and without cost. The crew stayed late to finish the job in one day. Completed job looks professionally done. The epoxy paint they used had a strong odor, but that isn't really their fault. I had to ask them to get a couple small spots they missed with the paint rollers, and they then had two guys go over the entire area with brushes to find and coat any other thin spots. It snowed six inches a day or two before the job. The crew shoveled a path to the basement and an area to work. They didn't complain or ask for more money. This contractor was not the cheapest of the ones I got estimates from. I selected them because they described in much better detail the work they proposed. They also new that they had to maintain the integrity of my existing Radon venting system, and described how they would do that. Other contractors did not mention that.

My original estimate was for 1 sump pump, but the night before they came we had a flood warning and a little water was starting to come in by 11PM. By 9 AM the next morning the flood warning had ended but we had at least 12 inches of water in the crawlspace. I thought I would have to reschedule. When I called the owner suggested 2 pumps and said they would pump out the water and then be able to do the job. These guys were absolutely amazing. It is no fun being down in the crawlspace on a nice dry day, but they brought extra people and worked until way past sundown even though they were wet and it got real cold. They are a happy bunch that really seem to enjoy working together. They joke and rib each other in good clean fun. They assessed the water situation and positioned the pumps for maximum efficiency. They discovered a spot where my neighbor's water was coming right through the brick foundation and we discussed possible solutions that would realistically address the situation. Two came back the next day and finished putting thermal guard on all the posts and secured and taped the floor material to the wall material. The thermal guard on the walls is really great. It adds a bit of insulation and is a mold barrier as well. They set up my new Santa Fe dehumidifier to drain into the sump pump and the place is dry, light and smells clean. These guys really know what they are doing. They do it with good cheer and they are quick and professional. I would use them again without hesitation.

He was prompt and was very professional and answered all my questions. Didnot pressure me on any services or equipment. Was honest with his opinion.

I was very appreciative of the honesty and straight-forwardness of this company. They really seem to be straight players. I've chose not to have the waterproofing done for now, but I will definitely consider using this company when the time comes.

It went excellent. Even when sewer line was severed, I believe a gosh darn or something similar was said. Some measurements were made, a trip to home depot and the problem was resolved. All else is in statement above.

These guys are great. Excellent crew. Incredibly good at what they do, very professional, and very fast. I would not hesitate to hire them again or recommend them to anyone.