Response from Ohio Basement Authority
Hello, [Member Name Removed], We do appreciate your feedback and review. We installed the exterior drainage project on your home on Monday, July 20, 2015. As we do on every project, I followed up with you on a Quality Assurance call the Monday after the project was completed, July 27. Upon speaking with you (call logged at 5:32 p.m.) and learning that you were not 100% satisfied, I asked if I could leave our office immediately and meet with you at your home to review the project. You granted me that privilege and I arrived a short time later, at approximately 6 p.m. On the way to your home, I spoke with the foreman who installed your project for a report from his perspective. As I arrived, you and your wife were outside mulching the flower beds in the front of your beautiful home. I asked that you show me exactly where we had worked and to lay out all of your concerns so that they could be addressed. You made it clear that you were concerned about the depth of the drainage pipe (between 2”-5” below grade). I inspected the backfill of the work and the exit point at the curb hole. Due to the site conditions at your home and the minimal amount of fall between the back of your home and the curb, it became evident to me as to why the foreman buried the downspout lines so shallow. In order to accomplish your goal of getting the roof line water effectively and efficiently away from your foundation, it is of vital importance to ensure that the drainage pipe has fall, or is at least level, from the house to the curb. If this is not achieved, there will be backfall or low spots in the pipe where water will sit and freeze in the winter. This could cause the pipes to become clogged with ice and ultimately spill out of the rectangular to round downspout adapter, which would allow the roof line water to run back down your foundation wall. I explained this to you and you told me that you understood the reasoning, but you wished it could have been buried deeper although that was not a possibility to achieve your goal. I told you that we could have a crew come back out the next day and bury them deeper if you wished, but the likelihood of freezing was substantial. You declined that offer. Another concern was the backfill over the pipe as it was mounded over the pipe. We understand this concern, but the drainage is backfilled like that so that as the fluffed, excavated soil settles the mound will go away. If too much soil is removed, as it settles there will be a low spot over the pipe after a few rains. I offered to remove as much of the backfill while I was there as you wished, but you declined. During the trenching for the drainage pipe, we did cut the cable line that was not marked by the Ohio Utility Protection Service that had been out prior to our work start date. You told me that the line had already been repaired, and that ATT made the ruts in the yard which you were concerned about but had corrected. In the closing to my visit to your home, you assured me that all of the concerns you had prior to my visit were addressed. I asked that you call me directly if anything else came up, as it is our No. 1 mission to make sure that all of our customers are 100% satisfied. You assured me that you would do so. Between July 27 and your review on Angie’s List, I have received no communication from you. Upon the review being posted Nov. 18, 2015, almost 4 months after my visit to your home, I have left you two voicemails asking for you to return my call so that we may address any additional concerns on the project. Those calls have not been returned to me. Regardless of the poor review, your 100% satisfaction is still of paramount importance to us. I hope this response reaches you, and we can be of service. If you have returned my call and I did not receive the message, please try again at your convenience. Thank you sir, John Becker Ohio Basement Authority 614-239-0100