Cincinnati Foundation Company

They were real nice. The work was well done. Very professional. I would recommend them.

The initial work appeared to go well. We never quite knew when the workers would be there, but when they did show up, the work got done. They dug down to the footer and installed the French drain and a second sump pump. Next, they sprayed the foundation with tar and covered in plastic. Then they backfilled, leaving a one foot wide strip of gravel against the foundation. They left a 6 foot high by 15 foot long pile of dirt they promised to use to fill the backfill area as it settled. It was now around Sept. 5th. So far, so good. Here is where the story changes. They merged our downspout with the new sump pump's discharge pipe, and against our instructions, directed it into our next door neighbor's side yard instead of into our front yard (which is sloped away from the house and towards the street). We immediately mentioned this and were told if there was any problem with its configuration, they would be happy to return and relocate it. Not long after that (mid-October) the merged downspout and sump discharge pipes disconnected. Everytime the sump pump discharged we got a fountain of water shooting up in our side yard. It didn't take long for massive amounts of erosion to take place. Weekly communications with Cincy Foundation continued until mid February with promises made each time that they would be out to fix it. After four months of weekly promises and no-shows, I fixed it myself. On October 13, they showed up to spread some of the dirt from the 6 foot high mound to fill where the backfill had settled. They probably reduced the height of the hill by 1 foot. After waiting in vain for them to come back and finish spreading the other 5 feet, in early May I finally spent about 16 hours of my time with a shovel, wheelbarrow and rented tiller moving the now compacted clay and filling settled spots. Meanwhile, the downspout/sump discharge continues to empty into my neighbor's yard. This spring, my neighbor complained to me that his side yard had turned into a swamp. We contacted Cinci Foundation on Apr. 29 and reminded them that the pipe still needed to be redirected into our front yard. Again, we got the weekly promises to fix it - with no appearances by them. Finally, on May 26, two workers showed up. They dug a foot deep trench to a dry well I had dug in my front yard. But, they hadn't shown up with any pipe to actually redirect with. So they promised to return in a day or two. On June 14th we told them they had one week to complete this work or we'd file a complaint. To demonstrate the lack of professionalism you can expect from this company, rather than apologize and make sure the work got done, we got the response "Just out of curiosity who would you file a complaint with". We replied the BBB and Angies list. His response? "No one uses bbb" and "Both are scams I'm just a struggling one man band". It is now over three weeks since the trench was dug, and still nobody has shown back up to install the pipe (but every few days we're still being promised someone will be here). By the way, with regards to the BBB, apparently some people do use it as there are 11 complains about this company. As if that wasn't bad enough, the basement continues to leak. While not as bad as it had been, we paid to have it fixed, not somewhat reduced. They offered to fill the cove joint (again, no follow up from them). Googling "filling cove joints" by the way turns up almost universal agreement that it is not an acceptable solution to fix a leak. Cinci Foundation warranties their work for life, but based on their complete lack of response, I don't consider the warranty to be worth the paper it is written on. At this point I'd consider they finished about 80% of the job. I've had to spend my own time, money, and effort doing much of the remaining work they have been paid to do. Frankly, I don't know what to do regarding the still leaky basement. I certainly don't trust this company to fix it.

It was fine. Very professional, timely and I felt he was very honest.

They quoted me for completely different work than what I needed. I have already given them $9000 and had no way of stopping it. They haven't come back since, until I threatened a review on Angie's List. The co-owner came out with a copy of the warranty and begged me to not leave a negative review. I paid them quite a bit of money to get this fixed and they have left a really bad taste in my mouth. They never honored the coupon price from the book either.

It went very well. It took them 2 days to complete the work. They were very professional and knew what they were doing. I was especially pleased that they took care of enclosing the end of my porch so that the animals could not get under there anymore. And I had a block wall that was placed many years ago but had fallen over. They reinstalled this wall and it looks better now than it did when it was first installed! Also they placed the extra dirt that was left over in the back yard right where we needed it. I was very happy with their work and would recommend them anytime. I had contacted several companies to come and give me an estimate, but had a hard time getting anyone to look at it. Of the couple that did take a look, they only discussed patching the walls. But when I called Cincinnati Foundation, they came out right away and were very knowledgeable of what the problem was and how it needed to be repaired. I knew I found the right person for the job!

The last time Joe visited us, he brought his boss out. His boss asked him to give us a price, and he said $5,000, just off the top of his head. Other companies were more specific about how the fee was determined. We asked for a written contract. The contract was never delivered. Suddenly, Joe (after having invested a lot of time with us) was no longer interested in the job. He said he had a bigger job to handle. As it turns out, we went with a much cheaper solution. Cincinnati Foundation's solution would not have solved our problem at all.

He did a great job. He looked around my foundation. He told me what to do to help the moisture level. He is very honest. He told me I didn’t have a foundation problem. He gave me multiple low cost, common sense options to help improve the moisture level, such as running a dehumidifier. He inspected the walls thoroughly to make sure that there was no moisture getting in anywhere else, and he did this all at NO CHARGE!

My initial voicemail requesting an appointment for an estimate was returned promptly and an appointment was scheduled for less than a week out. I was ecstatic because I was able to get it for a day I was already taking off work, for another contractor to come to my home. The scheduled time was for a Thursday at 1:30pm. By 2:45 when no one had arrived, I called and left a voicemail inquiring if anyone was coming. After a short time, I received a return call from a gentleman who stated the man who was supposed to come had been in a car accident and wasn't going to make it that day. He stated that he (man on phone) would come on Saturday to do look at the basement and he would call that evening to confirm a time. I received no call, nor did anyone show up on Saturday. I was not upset about the original appointment being missed due to the circumstances, however the lack of follow up on their part has left me looking for a different company.

Joe showed up on time to see the water problem we were having in a basement closet. After talking to me and looking at the problem inside and outside he told me what the problem was and how to fix it. The good news is that it wasn't a huge job. The bad news is that this company can't afford to do small (he said it should cost $1500 to fix the problem) jobs. He suggested another alternative that a good landscaper could do to help the situation. He also said that he would ask his boss if he knew of another company that would do a "small" job like ours. He was very nice and professional and honest. I appreciated that. Unfortunately, he couldn't fix the problem.

Based on Joe's reccomendations I should be able to avoid the intrusive water proofing process. It's rare you see this level of integrity any more.

They came to give an estimate. It turns out it’s not the kind of work they do. The estimator who came out really did an amazing job, though, going around the entire house pointing out other things we could do. He gave a very thorough inspection of our crawlspace, and gave great advice in terms of moisture control as well as future foundation repair to help with our problems. He could have easily been annoyed to come out, as he spent an hour driving out to my house, but instead he was very helpful and courteous, even after he found out his company couldn't really solve my problem. He was on time despite the long drive, and was responsive and very professional.

They came out and gave us a quote and told us we needed 11 tie backs to support my foundation which was bowing, cracking and leaking. They came out the following week and dug the holes the first day. The second day they installed the tiebacks through our basement walls into the holes they dug outside. They then filled the holes in the yard with cement and then covered the remainder of the holes with dirt that that had dug out of out yard. They also put drain tile around our foundation to re-route the water away from our foundation. We then were given instructions on how to tighten the bolts on the inside of our house to straighten the foundation. We have to do this every two weeks. Since we just began the process of tightening the bolts we have not seen any change yet in the foundation. We realize it will take time to see a difference. The work was performed quickly and professionally. We have no complaints. We are just in a holding and waiting pattern until we can see results of the foundation being straighten. We also appreciate the cap of the front porch. It looks great.

Chris, Joe, and his team worked wonders on our stone foundation. They took on a challenge that no one else would touch and came to a solution that was cost effective and clean. Chris and Joe met with us a couple times before the work started to make sure we understood everything. They prepared a contract that set forth the details of what would be done. I give them the highest compliment I can give any person: they did what they said they would do. The heavy rains caused some interruptions in service, but Chris and crew got everything done in a timely fashion. We couldn't be more pleased with the work that was done and we believe we received a reasonable price for the services that were rendered. I would use Cincinnati Foundation Company again and they have our highest recommendation. They are conscientious and have a can do attitude. Thanks guys!

I made an appointment to have someone come out and tell us how much it was going to cost to repair the cracks and fix the leaks. We were anticipating paying THOUSANDS of dollars. Joe arrived right on time and inspected the problems. Then, much to our surprise, told us that we didn't need their services. He provided the solution as well as recommending the gutters be cleaned and the area graded away from the house. In addition, he even emailed us the link to the video instructing us how to make the repairs! I was quite impressed with his honesty and integrity. It would have been very easy for someone to take advantage of us and he didn't do that. I simply cannot say enough positive things about this company and our experience.

Mike Sr and Mike Jr are good workers that explain things well and don't mind a lot of questions. They do great work WHEN THEY ARE HERE. But you really have to pester Chris and the management team constantly to keep from getting forgotten. During the project, the project scope kept getting reduced. From shoring up all the walls to shoring up just some of the walls. From vertical beams to tie-backs instead. When our yard was a mountain of rubble for 5 months, we finally had to beg, plead, and threaten to get them to come back and finish. In the end, the work was good, not great. But given the administrative difficulties, I would probably not use again.

It went great! They had the work completed in a day. Dug a hole on the outside of the wall where the crack was, patched the crack, put some black mastic or something over the patch and refilled the hole. Inside to prevent concrete dust from going into the home, they hung up plastic and sealed the area. They then cut and removed the concrete and installed the sump pump. All work was performed in one day. I am very happy!

Joe came to my house and assessed my water problem in the basement. He concluded that it wasn't a foundation problem but it was my gutters and a crack along my walkway. I had gotten estimates up to $14000 from other companies. He gave me a referral for a roofer and told me the DYI fix for the crack. Now my work should only cost $1000. I appreciated his honesty and would use this company in the future.

Cincinnati Foundation Company isn't finished with the work because the ground needs to settle and it has been raining but they come to do their job, work long hours, and I haven't seen any problem with them.

The house was actually shifting. The company lifted the house, straightened the bowed walls, and corrected the foundation. This company quoted me at a third of the other quotes I had gotten. They were incredibly fair in their pricing. The project went really well from the time that I made the first call to the time they finished. They were quick and very nice. They showed me some things in the basement and foundation and gave me information about things to look out for. I had other companies come out and look at the problems I had and realized they were lying to me. These guys were really smart, had a lot of experience, and were highly mechanical. They finished everything in a timely manner. I was really happy with the way it all turned out. They cleaned up after everything was done really well. I would highly recommend them to my neighbors and friends. Definitely!

Called provider to come look at foundation during normal business hours. I was told the person I was speaking to was an answering service. I never received a call back, even after a second attempt to call the company.

Joe Dowell was extremely helpful, honest, and informative. He went out of his way to help us even when he knew he wouldn't be doing any work for us. He was also extremely responsive and you could tell he truly cares about the work he does. If we needed anything else in this category, they would be at the top of my list.

We were flexible with work dates so Chris gave us a range of dates when he may be able to come out and told us he'd give a 3 day warning before coming out. Within a week of the quote, Chris gave us a 15 minute warning before his crew showed up and began to dig. The work was not disruptive and his crew worked quickly to dig out our basement wall and apply the waterproofing. The house continued to settle some after the pier installation as the house distributed load onto the new piers, however, the piers are now functioning as promised. The initial job-site cleanup and sloping of the lawn away from the house was very poor (it was after dark on a Saturday night) and Chris's crew had to return the next day to redo the cleanup and re-slope the dirt away from the foundation. They applied straw and grass-seed, but this was not evenly distributed and resulted in grass on only about 1/3 of the disturbed ground (they are foundation guys, not lawn pros). I've since applied grass-seed myself to try and rebuild the lawn. The repair worked as promised for the first year and a half after completion, however, we have recently observed the same water intrusion that the work was meant to correct. The work has a "lifetime warranty" that supposedly covers the workmanship. We have attempted to contact the company repeatedly, in different manners, during the last two weeks and have received no response back. Throughout our previous communication in setting up the work, I found their professionalism and communication to be poor at best. Because of all this, I anticipate they will continue to ignore my requests for them to fulfill their warranty. Be warned that their workmanship is poor, their business practices are shaky and their warranty is not worth the paper it is written on.

I was very pleased with the company. I had multiple firms review the condition of my basement as I had several sources of water infiltration. Joe (the sales rep) was knowledge and good to work with. He had some reservations in regards to the fix and certain conditions in my basement so he asked to bring his boss in, to verify what he was proposing would work. (I appreciated his desire to ensure I was not sold something that would not work). After they returned for the follow-up visit, I signed a contract to perform the work. They were not the cheapest solution, (they were still very competitive) but I felt theirs was the best solution for my problems. They originally told me they were up to 30 days out before it could be booked, but they were able to get me in within 2 weeks. The crew they sent to do the great work did a great job. It was noisy, as expected, and dusty, as promised, but since they told me what to expect, I was prepared for it. The crew was polite and extremely efficient. They finished ahead of schedule. We have had several heavy rains since then and I am please with the performance so far. There is one corner that may need some follow-up but I need to monitor it closer to be clear what the issue is before I have it looked at. I am also tracking the humidity level to see if it has improved (still need more data). On the whole, I was very satisfied.

They fixed my garage foundation problem in the most efficient way possible without having to rebuild the whole garage foundation or tear my house apart. I was happy with the option provided and the quick response as I was trying to get my house on the market. Good job!!

Chris' crew worked very hard and efficiently. They worked til dark every day til the job was finished. They were always polite, pleasant and able to answer any questions I had. Also, they weren't bothered by my asking of questions. They even helped me out by hauling away some existing debirs. I would hire this company again in a heartbeat!