Frank's Basement Systems

Due to a rapid thawing, our home's sump pump started to fail and couldn't pump water faster than it was coming in from the drain tile. I came home from work to find a huge puddle of water in the area where the pump was situated, about 1/2" deep. The pump itself was working, but barely. After spending an hour bucketing water out of the pump well, I gave Frank's Basement Systems a call at around 7:45pm. One of their guys, Shane, was at my house within 20 minutes. He did a perimeter check outside the house and confirmed water was being pumped out, but the flow was minimal. He disconnected the pump from the piping, pulled it out, and I got a view of how corroded the old pump was, and it was chock full of debris and rocks. He cleaned the rocks from the pump and reinstalled to see if that would help the situation - it didn't. By this point, I was fully prepared to invest in a new pump, and he kindly provided me with the inventory he had available. Upon deciding which pump to go with, he went to his truck, drew up the paperwork that I signed, and he was able to install the new pump within half an hour. In addition to the pump, he redid the piping exiting the house and added a quiet check valve. Finally, he provided me with an estimate for a backup pump, at my request. Besides the great and thorough work, Shane was friendly, kind and honest. He did his due diligence in first attempting to repair the old sump before advising installation of a new model. He wore plastic booties over his shoes, wore a face mask the entire time and maintained proper social distancing. I've worked with Frank's at my previous house and am glad to have worked with them on the sump for my current house. I hope I won't need any work in the near future, but if I do, I'll continue to go with Frank's.

Our basement is old stone foundation with water coming in from the walls, it was determined that we could not waterproof so instead we water mitigated. Frank's installed a waterguard system around the perimeter (including a new sump pump) and a dehumidifier, they have both made a huge difference in the atmosphere of the basement. Both the sales and install crew were great, we had two small follow up items which were handled promptly. We would do business with Frank's again and recommend them for basement water work.

We have been using Franks since 2009 when they put drain tile in for us to help with drainage issues. We also had them put in back-up sump pump in 2014. When it came to heating I have always called Franks. We have a hot water furnace and they are very knowledgeable about that system and any other heating system. Only reason do not use them for AC is do not have one. So using them for 9 yrs, we would say speaks volumes about their services, their employees and the company in a whole. :)

I just had some foundation work done in my basement by Frank’s Basement Sysytems. It was a job I dreaded, both because of the expense and the less-than-glamourous nature of the work. A few months ago, I met with my sales rep, Mike, who was both professional and courteous. He explained the job to me thoroughly, answered all my questions and noted all my concerns on the contract. I had structural drawings done by an independent engineer. Fast forward to July. The crew arrived on time. They were neat in appearance and polite. They listened to all my questions (I asked a lot of them) and were already aware of some of my concerns due to Mike’s meticulous notations on the contract. They were here for 5 days. They always kept me informed of their progress and every day before leaving, they cleaned up the work area. There was no loud yelling, no loud music, no swearing and they were respectful of my property. Nothing like the roofers! Chuck, the foreman, was calm, confident and upbeat throughout the entire job. I immediately felt like I was in good hands. I’m sorry I don’t remember the names of the whole crew, but kudos to them all. To the owner: Please treat these guys good- they are the reason your business is successful. When the job was complete, I held final payment until my structural engineer returned to approve the work, with no pushback from Frank’s. Although I would rather be doing other things on my vacation, it was definitely one of the best experiences I have had with a large scope home improvement project. Now, on to the next one.

Job was completed within five minutes

I was EXTREMELY UPSET with my business dealings with Frank's Basement but the owner of the company proved to be very concerned with the reputation of his company. He came through with fixing the problem, and I am to this date of these comments, SATISFIED! I recommend that if you the consumer / customer experience ANY problems with the work that his men do, PLEASE TALK TO THE OWNER. Frank is a kind and caring man who does care about the reputation of his business.

They're very helpful, explain everything before they do it, and they guarantee all their work. They're easy to get along with and are absolutely wonderful.

This went amazingly well. We had a plumbing emergency as storm and waste water were backed up in our basement. I called Frank's Mr. Plumber at the after hours emergency line. An actual employee answered the phone on the first ring, not an answering service. The only person available to come out was the owner of the company. THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY came to my house after hours and did the work himself. The job was done properly, timely and very cost effective. I would recommend Frank's Mr. Plumber to anyone who need any type of plumbing work done. Matt from Tonawanda, NY

I can not say enough about how happy I was with the job that Frank's Basement did in my home to alleviate the wet basement problems I have had for over a year. From the sales representative, Mike Ciocca to the entire service crew, I could not have been more impressed and pleased. I have a large basement (approximately 1,800 sq. feet) so it was a big job The crew arrived promptly everyday. They were professional, friendly, answered all my questions and thoroughly cleaned up after themselves. I would highly recommend this company to anyone.

We are very grateful to Frank that he finally solved our problems after other professionals tried and were unsuccessful. Frank came to our home himself, and carefully figured out the problem. He was professional, caring, and reasonably priced. His workers were pleasant, polite, and answered any questions we had. They were careful to keep the mess to a minimum, and cleaned up carefully when they were done. Our backup issues have been solved. We also had one spot in the drain tiles that was clogged. Other contractors told us to rip up our entire basement floor perimeter. Frank found the exact spot and fixed it.

The WORST experience I've EVER been through. Had blowout arguments with the guy in charge about their work failing to stop the water from leaking into my basement the first and second time since they installed the work. Frank's Basements advertises that they are foundation specialist but yet FAILED to take notice that my foundation was damaged and had pulled away from my house which caused rain water to leak through. Their so called expert (Dan) took my water hose and saw that the problem was with the foundation but did not want to admit that they did the wrong work on waterproofing my basement. Frank's Basement chose to do work that would allow the water to continue to flow into my basement instead of replacing the foundation which would have stopped the water COMPLETELY. I am out of $4300 because this company know that they can get away with installing sump pumps into your home whether you need it or not. I have to now SPEND more money to find a company to pull up my old and damaged foundation to stop the water from flowing through. I would NEVER RECOMMEND ANYONE TO USE THIS COMPANY IF YOU VALUE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY! I paid $4300, just to end up STILL slinging a mop to cleanup the water on my finished basement floor. I had to take this company to court and I'm still fighting them. They wanted to get $760 more out of me to fix the problem when the problem was supposed to be fixed out of the $4300 that they charged, and was paid for. Good Luck to anyone who hires them.

Craig did an outstanding job. Very professional. Expert repair and left the basement clean and dry. Will highly recommend Frank's to others.

Very well. They weren't able to do the installation until 6 days after I called to schedule. After I told them that our heater was busted and we would be without hot water until it was replaced the owner, Frank, called us himself. He had his crew put in an emergency tank that same day at no charge. When I expressed my gratitude and amazement, he told me that that's how he's stayed in business for 35+ years and I believe it. The installation was very professional and the supervisor was on site to explain every detail about the new tankless system. They had to come back the next week to finish up a few things, but were true to their word about when they would do it.

It was a big difference. They were only going to put two clean outs on a yard. It would put like six in a yard. Just because they were doing a lot of work for other people. I think that's why they charge more. A lot of people use them, so, I let them come out to look at the job and they told me that they would put a whole system instead of just putting two lines.

Big project but great work. Crews were friendly and hard-working.

Decent price. They tell you the cost up front. They have quality work. I never have to call them back a second time. I never use someone again who I have to call back a second time.

I'll start off with the positives and say that my basement is dry and my sewer line remains clear. That's about the extent of the positives. (Hence, not a complete failing grade) When I first had Frank's here for an estimate, I tried my best to be prepared with appropriate questions about the entire process of the work that I needed to have done. I inquired about the clean-out lines being flush to the ground and was assured they would be as they sit in the middle of my lawn . (They're a good 4-6 inches above) I also asked about the aftermath of the work. They understandably explained that they would not reseed the area. However, I did not expect to have rocks ranging from golf ball size to the size of my head along with broken pieces of the old ceramic pipe and other debris lying on the surface. When I called to complain about the situation they scheduled a visit from Frank himself a few days later. He reiterated the point they they are not responsible for the landscaping but did have the man accompanying him remove some of the debris. Knowing that the soil need time to settle, I figured I would wait until that happened and reseed the following spring. Unfortunately, there was so much clay that the seed never took and the natural rain erosion and settling has exposed more of the boulders and broken pipe (see photo) which my grandson wound up cutting his foot on. In my travels, I've seen other similar jobs and I have yet to see one left as despicable as this. I would have gladly paid a little more to have some fresh topsoil (maybe 4-6 inches) placed atop the trench to alleviate this problem but having never seen such an outcome, I didn't think it would be necessary to have that stipulated. They also had to remove a portion of my hedges in the process which they failed to return to their original place. Then there's the basement waterproofing. My basement did not have a sump pump but an open floor drain. As part of the project I had them install the sump pump for the perimeter drainage to run to. When I first got the estimate, I specifically asked if the discharge from the pump would go through the new line to the road and was told yes. Not until I noticed them cutting a hole in the side of my house (after the sewer line work was completed) did the men doing the work tell me that the pump could not be fed into the new line. I brought this up during the previously mentioned visit from Frank. He confirmed the requirements and said it would cost me another $1000 to get that done. When I told him about what I was told during the estimate and he basically said that I was wrong. In summary, if you consider using this company, get every last detail in writing or expect to incur additional expenses to correct the unwritten issues they will leave you with. The primary function of their work is good but the attention to detail is rather lacking. I would doubt that Frank would be happy either if his property were treated in a similar fashion.

They weren't able to clear it, said we needed it completely dug up and replaced for the low low price of $5K. Got a second evaluation and the other company cleared the line pretty easy. The guy from franks was very nice and very professional but I'm glad we got a second opinion.

The job has not yet been started. They are looking at the beginning of July at this time.

Let you know about rest. Ed Pytlik is very professional.

I called and described the problem I was having - horrible smell and the smoke alarm kept going off. They had someone at my house within 15 minutes. He was able to look at the problem, immediately diagnosed the problem, fixed it, showed me how to do it myself in the future. Really helped with my anxiety about the heating system. This company was good in the past helping with plumbing and I'd hire them again for heating or plumbing issues!

I had a water heater replaced last year by Frank's, and it was at a reasonable price and it was a very reputable brand that they replaced it with (Bradford White). It is running very well, and I would trust Frank's with any future plumbing work, mostly because of their commitment to high quality, to courtesy and patience with the customer.

They tried to charge me about 250.00 dollars more than anyone else. Also asked for reimbursement of a contract to cover their service to save money when I called. They would not give me any kind of refund.

It took longer than expected, but it was worth it.

I called to make an appointment for an estimate for various work and a leak diagnosis. We scheduled for Thursday morning. I got a call back asking if we could move it a day earlier to Wednesday mid-day and said OK. The plumber did not come Wednesday and 5 minutes before the end of the estimated arrival time window, I got a call asking to reschedule for the original time on Thursday. When Joe arrived Thursday, he was very professional and attentive. He gave me estimates for the repairs, tested the upstairs shower and gave me his opinion on how to best fix it. He asked me to remove some dry wall in the linen closet over the weekend so he could access the sink drain line for replacement. I thought it strange that the sink drain line was the cause but I figured he's the expert. We scheduled the work to be done Monday morning. I removed the dry wall and found the drain line in terrific shape and no moisture or evidence of past leaks. When Joe and his coworker Mike showed up Monday morning, they agreed it was not the cause and we cut a few more holes to find the leak, which was a problem with the shower pan and not the sink drain. The water was traveling through the plywood subfloor and leaking out of the holes for both the sink and shower drains. They spent the rest of the day working on the washing machine drain line and sump pump. Joe did a great job with the sump pump. Mike made a mistake with the washing machine drain line and screwed into a part of the foundation wall that was plastic over a notched/perf repair. He left the line unsupported and neither of them told me about it. When my wife went to use the washer, the drain line shook uncontrollably while the water was running through it. Not safe at all and a disaster waiting to happen. I was (and still am) not happy that I was 1) not notified that they drilled into a foundation repair, and 2) left the line unsupported. I called and they sent Joe back out the next morning. I had to be at work so my wife showed Joe the problem. He said he saw nothing wrong. I had to leave work and come home. I was furious. It's one thing to make a mistake but at least make it right without arguing. Not very professional although he did eventually fix it. I went with Frank's Mr. Plumber because most of the reviews said they were pricey but you get what you pay for and they do it right the first time. That was not the case for me.