The Basement Doctor

Description of Work: They did basement waterproofing for us.

Description of Work: I think it’s important for anyone needing repairs done in their basement that’s considering J&D Basement Systems, also known as the Basement Doctor, as their contractor to read this story. My home was built in 2005. A serious construction defect caused by the basement sub-contractor has left me with a major water problem in my basement. I have a poured wall foundation, which requires weep holes at the bottom of the walls to drain the outside of the foundation. My sub-contractor poured my basement floor too low (right on top of the footer), blocking all of the weep holes in my walls. This prevented the drainage of any water outside my foundation. I now have 15+ cracks around the foundation and water seepage. I hired an engineer and personally opened up the floor in three places to confirm the problem. I initiated discussions with my insurance company. After a year they finally conceded that they were responsible for my problem. When we started the process of determining the costs involved, I contacted J&D Basement Systems/The Basement Doctor. They gave me a proposal to fix the problem in my basement. During a six month process of negotiating a settlement amount with the insurance company, I met with Wes Martin of J&D Basement Systems on a few occasions and traded several emails and phone calls. I was concerned that in order to get a settlement payment, the insurance company was asking me to sign a release, indemnifying them from further responsibility. I spent a great deal of time making sure I had all the costs covered before I signed the release. Wes Martin gave me every assurance that he had all the work I needed included in my bid. As I said, I met with him to discuss this specifically. We proceeded to sign a contract for the work and scheduled a date to start. Approximately two weeks later I got a letter in the mail stating that J&D Basement Systems was terminating my contract. There was no explanation included. When I inquired about why they wished to terminate the agreement, I was told that the amount of work anticipated was not covered in their contract amount. Specifically, Wes Martin told me that he wasn’t sure how many cracks were in my walls that would require repairs, and he couldn’t verify the amount of my existing drainage system under the floor that would need to be replaced. Both of these are items we specifically discussed. Not only did he assure me that any cracks they found would be repaired, but he also stated that most or all of the existing drainage system would be replaced. These were not items that were overlooked during the process. We specifically discussed them. I was then told that the job could be completed for a possible up charge of $4,400, depending on what they found when they started the job. Needless to say, I can no longer go back to the insurance company and ask for an additional $4,400, and J&D Basement Systems claims no responsibility in their apparent miscalculation. In my opinion, because all of their reasons for requesting additional money for this job were specifically discussed prior to them preparing the estimate, I believe this is a deceptive effort to get more money out of a client. I’m sure J&D Basement Systems and Wes Martin would disagree, but either I am correct, or they are incredibly incompetent. In either case, I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to hire this company for their basement repairs. This explanation is based entirely on facts. I am not an angry customer that’s fabricating the truth to try and get back at my contractor. Because of the tactics of J&D Basement Systems (aka The Basement Doctor), I simply believe anyone considering them deserves to know what type of people they are dealing with and what to watch out for. Better yet, I would recommend that you look to someone else for your basement repair needs. _____________________________________________________________________________________ After reading the Basement Doctor's response, I am more convinced that this company should be avoided at all cost. After they terminated the agreement, they explained to me that they wanted me to pay them more money to complete the job. There was never any mention of getting a copy of an engineer's report or not being able to solve the seepage problem in my basement. It was simple and clear. They wanted more money to repair the basement than the amount of my contract. Again, I went over the scope of work and the contract price with them several times to make sure I had the job covered. I can't go back and renegotiate with the insurance company. I based my settlement amount with the insurance company on their representation and assurance that the job would be completed for the amount they proposed. Now they're resorting to lies to misdirect people into thinking they weren't wrong in this situation. The bottom line is that they asked for more money. I would be happy to provide anyone with copies of their emails indicating this to be true. Either they aren't capable of bidding a project correctly or they make it a practice of putting customers in difficult situations in hopes that they can squeeze more money out of them. There is no other explanation. Are these traits that any customer is looking for in their basement repair contractor? I maintain my recommendation that anyone considering this company look elsewhere.

Description of Work: They sealed the outside of my basement walls in order to waterproof it.

Description of Work: They investigated our water problem.

Description of Work: I contacted them to help remove mold in my basement.

Description of Work: I hired them to fix a wall in the basement.

Description of Work: They encapsulated our crawlspace which has a dirt & gravel floor. They also fixed a weeping tile in the basement by our sump pump and replaced a broken drain pipe under our deck that went from our down spouts to the street. We also had the upper part of our basement wall joists filled with spray foam insulation.

Description of Work: We were going to get the crawlspace encapsulation done and The Basement Doctor gave me a bid about 2 or 3 months ago.

Description of Work: The service rep showed up and said that all we needed was a dehumidifier which cost $2500,00 and the water was coming from condensation from the ducts because of high humidity. Our air coditioner was broke for a week and as soon as it rained the basement was full of water again. Instead of locateing the source of the leak, he just tried to sell us a $2500.00 dehumidifier that would not have sovled the problem.

Description of Work: Sump pump yearly inspection and cleanup.

Description of Work: We used Basement Doctor few years ago to redo our basement. They came and did their yearly inspection recently. He had to put in a couple of new parts on my sump pump. He also checked the flooring they had done before. He also ran a new backup line for us and gave recommendations about how to keep the basement humidified. He was basically following up on what they had done previously. He put couple of extra bolts. He was doing preventative maintenance.

Description of Work: I used The Basement Doctor for reinforcing the basement wall and seal the basement. They also redid some drainage.

Description of Work: Bob Nygren came out for an estimate for minor water damage in our basement. This was our second company to give us an estimate for our basement. The first company spent only 10 minutes at our home and only 5 in the basement and gave us an estimate of $8,000; Bob spent about an hour at our home and gave us much more realistic, simple solutions that make more sense and seem to be based on real facts rather than what the most expensive problem may be. I will call Bob again for any future work on remodeling our basement.

Description of Work: The Basement Doctor did basement water proofing. They put down a new drain and installed a new sump pump. I had them come out again after a year to do an annual check on the system.

Description of Work: They put in a basement waterproofing system as well as a sump pump.

Description of Work: They minigated mold in our basement.

Description of Work: They removed drywall and concrete from basement, then installed trough to keep water out of the basement. They also replaced my sump pump.

Description of Work: Two servicemen came to dry out our basement when we had some water damage in our finished basement. They soaked up the water on the surface, pulled up the carpet and removed wet padding, set up fans underneath the carpet, removed a portion of the baseboards and cut a small amount into the drywall behind the baseboards to allow fans to dry within the walls. I was pleased with their work through this process. They also checked back everyday to assess how the drying was going and applied an antimicrobial solution after it dried. What would have been helpful was better clarity on what they do, or do not do, after the carpet is dried. I repeatedly asked the servicemen and called the office looking for a recommendation on who could fix the carpet. We needed new padding, a ripped seam repaired, and the carpet re-installed and re-stretched. We also needed to make arrangements to re-install the baseboards. The Basement Doctor was not helpful in helping us navigate any of these steps. Nor could they provide a referral.

Description of Work: Installed new sump pump and ran all new drain pipe from house to curb, rerouting the pipe further away from existing landscaping and trees.

Description of Work: Basement Waterproofing and Finishing Quote

Description of Work: They diagnosed and treated mold problem in our basement. Removed fiberglass insulation and replaced it with foam insulation. Treated mold problem areas with Anabec-brand mist-spray-wipe/on cleaner and mold remover/ resister chemicals. Sold us an industrial strength dehumifier. Entire operation took about 3 days. Returned a month or so later to follow up and confirm satisfaction.

Description of Work: They waterproofed my basement.

Description of Work: Completely clean out, clean, paint, apply vinyl coverings to walls.

Description of Work: Estimate on finishing our basement.

Description of Work: They gave me an estimate to finish my basement.