Basement Waterproofing Solutions

We contacted BWS in July 2012 and requested an estimate. Francie showed up on time for the appointment and examined the basement. Another contractor (who had just finished installing an egress window) had already alerted me to signs of water problems and concerns about an inferior existing perimeter drain system. Francie identified a couple more problems I had not already noticed, and explained in detail a few things that were not done correctly with the initial construction and a subsequent retrofit attempt done by the previous owners of the house. I quizzed her in detail about the process BWS would follow to address the issue - partly because I wanted to see whether she knew what she was talking about, and also because I like to do as much of the work myself as my time will allow (to save money and to ensure the job gets done right!). She gave a very detailed description of the methods and materials used for the job, including important dimensions and other details. She also gave me a nice drawing with a section view of the proposed drain system. The initial job, including all the demolition work, new installation and finishing, was quoted at $4334. That said, the only negative aspect of our experience was a lack of responsiveness from Francie. We did not hear from her for a week after her visit, and after emailing her to inquire about our quote, she promptly responded with an apology about mistyping the email address and sent us the quote. However, there was an even worse fumble that I'll get to below. Armed with the information from Francie, I decided to take a shot at the entire job myself. Or at least the demolition work, which I figured was the most labor-intensive and least-skilled (lowest risk) to take on. I rented a concrete saw and jackhammer, cut and removed 12" of the slab around the perimeter of the basement, then removed and hauled out the concrete, stone and earth until I had a nicely sloped trench. On August 3, I asked Francie to requote the job based on me doing the above work. She responded immediately and said she'd get right back to me with a revised quote. Twenty-two days later, I had completed the demo work but had still not heard from Francie. I emailed her and got another immediate response with an apology about not responding earlier. But after another 17 days, we still hadn't heard from Francie with a revised quote. At this point, we called BWS and accomplished the one thing that makes all the difference with BWS: direct contact with David Horner. David was at our house the next morning. He reviewed my work and said I did a good job overall (with a few minor exceptions that he said he'd be happy to work with). He pointed out a few things that Francie did not catch during her original visit - the contractor who put the egress window in should have installed an overflow drain into the french drain (which David said they could do for us), and he also recommended installing a port for a radon remediation system (in the event we ever need one, it will save some money), plus he offered to install an exta port for a dehumidifer somewhere around the perimeter of the room (in addition to the one next to the sump). David discouraged me from using the new sump basin I'd purchased because it wasn't as robust as the style he typically uses, but he offered to take mine as a trade-in (he'd use it on a different application where it was sufficient for the job). Within three days, I had a revised quote for $2,737, meaning I had saved about $1,500, while also getting the additional work not included with the first quote. The following Monday, we called to accept their proposal and schedule the work. They started three days later and completed the entire job in one day. The finish quality was excellent. I was at work until after they were done, so David came out to meet me the next day and review the job with me. He described in detail everything that was done, some of the minor surprises they encountered and how they handled them, and everything I needed to know about owning my new system. While he was there, I asked for his expert advice on the rest of my basement refinishing project, and he was generous with many details - including what products to purchase and where to get the best deals, and what to avoid. I also knew I had some issues with an adjacent crawl space, so I asked him to take a look at that. He pointed out several problems, the biggest of which is that my crawl space is incorrectly built as a vented crawl space with inadequate moisture protection, which has led to the insulation falling down and mold growth throughout. He recommended a thorough mold remediation and fully encapsulating the crawl space, and again described in detail how I could do it myself, what materials to purchase and where - and also offered to quote the job complete. I'll be writing another review for that job, since we accepted that proposal as well (scheduled to be completed in a single day next week). I will echo the sentiments of many other reviewers - working with David has been a fantastic experience. He comes across as a very simple, down-to-earth, honest contractor. He appears to be concerned first and foremost with my satisfaction of the outcome of my project - whether it is work I have done or paid his team to do for me. He is flatly against pressuring his customers into signing a contract. I have long held an abundance of skepticism for basement waterproofing companies because of horror stories about other people being scammed. Now that I've worked with David, I can say that there is at least one honest company in the area. To those who have given negative reviews here about BWS, I can't argue too much about the issues regarding Francie (my review would have turned out quite differently if she was the only person I dealt with). And I'm sure that David and his team have made a mistake here or there, have forgotten to call someone back, lost an email address or might have quoted a price higher than was expected. But if you write them off for something that simple, you will lose out on what is likely to be a very satisfying experience. I would definitely recommend BWS to anyone who has any type of basement waterproofing or mold issues.

I contacted Basement Waterproofing to complete work on my 90 year old+ basement which always had moisture from rain and had flooded from heavy rain and a sewer back up. The french drain did very little, if anything to keep water out of the basement. David was able to give me an estimate that week with various options to fit my budget. I was shocked at how quickly David and his staff completed this project. It took 2.5 days for them to remove the damaged items from my basement, clean the mold and other flood damage, put a drainage system in, along with sump pump installation. David met with me at completion and helped me become familiar with the renovations which also included a dehumidifier. I am extremely happy with the work completed and though it's only been a few weeks, we have had some severe storms and my basement has remained completely dry. It's my new favorite room in the house!

Company's "Project Manager" talked for 1 1/2 hours non-stop trying to impress with how much she knew and how terrible my problems were. Sue was intrusive and left some details unanswered. Totally turned me off.

They're pretty honest. Their price is reasonable. They kept the house pretty clean while they were doing the work. Overall we had a good experience with them.

They were great. They were courteous and clean up was great too.

They did an excellent job. I have nothing negative to say about them at all. I would highly recommend them to anybody that has a waterproofing issue. They were fast and did everything they promised.

We bought our house in 2011 as is with some slight leakage in our unfinished basement. Before we could get it fixed the hurricane came and flooded our basement with 2 feet of water. We had a sump pit in our house but no sump pump. The owners who built the house in 2004 had never needed a sump pump prior to that. We purchased a pump to clear the water from our basement but never installed it into the existing pit. We looked around this winter for contractors willing to waterproof our basement and we had a difficult time. With some giving prices almost 3 times higher than Basement Waterproofing Solutions. A lot of the waterproofing companies in the area give a hard sell and try to pressure you into purchasing on the spot. We discovered Basement Waterproofing Solutions at the York, PA home show and the owner David was working at the table. David had a very friendly demeanor and answered any questions we had. Based on our dimensions he gave us a simple estimate at the show and explained his process. Whereas all the other contractors bad mouthed each other and tried to pressure sell, David explained what they all had in common (they all drill weep holes and put in drainage for example, most offer guarantees should your basement have problems afterward) he even pointed out where some water proofer stands were at the show that we hadn't been to yet if we wanted to look around and see what they had to offer. Based on this refreshing and honest exchange we felt like David was trustworthy and we asked him to come for an estimate. Other contractors that came to give an estimate stayed for over 2 hours trying to sell products, David came, surveyed the basement and discussed what options we wanted and it all took no more than a half an hour. He left and said he would type up an estimate and email it to me. He got the estimate to me the next day. After liking his estimate and agreeing to hire him, David scheduled to come out within the week and let us know it would take about 2.5 to 3 days if everything went to plan. His crew came out and were friendly and got right down to business. A very nice feature is that they use a great air pressure system to push all the dust out of the basement windows and they seal off the basement door so that the dust doesn't get all over the place upstairs. The first 2 days were great, it was a little bit loud but they were jackhammering at my foundation to dig the trenches so it wasn't anything unexpected. The only hiccup in the process was that they were supposed to finish on a Saturday but their truck had a breakdown on the way over. They called ahead of time and apologized and let me know what had happened and then scheduled to come out that Monday. They arrived as promised and finished up their work. The crew cleaned up very well and left our basement in great condition. Originally I was slightly questioning of the need to get a second sump-pit put in but once the workers had drilled the weep holes in my wall a ton of water came leaking out of the cinder blocks exactly in the area that they had planned the second pit. The area of my original pit had been bone dry so it showed the wisdom of putting in a new pit and gives me peace of mind that my basement is covered. David came out to do an inspection of the crew's work and tidied up a few things that he noticed that I never would have spotted. He also hooked up our de-humidifier to the sump pit for us while he was there. We just settled up on the bill today and it was exactly as promised in the estimate and darn near exact what he estimated while at the home show before coming out to the house. This is a man that stands behind his work and gives a fair price and sticks with it. After talking to a lot of the other water proofers in the area I am happy to have bumped into David at the home show. We now have a very dry basement that has drainage from every angle as well as a transferable certification from David that we can provide to any new homeowners should we sell to them and they have problems with the basement leaking. Thank you to David and his team from Basement Waterproofing Solutions for a great refreshingly honest experience.

Our experience with Basement Waterproofing Solutions Company was fabulous. David, the owner came out to give us a bid. I got a great vibe from him and decided to go with him. He was very through with his knowledge. He did not put pressure on the sale at all. His recommendations were to get a total internal re-walling done and we did it. We were very pleased with the price. The crew was very efficient and very cordial. I was not home so they took the time to explain everything to my wife. We even called the company back to let them know how well we liked them. They were fabulous. They were very professional, that is what we liked the most. I would recommend them.

I found him through Angie's List. He was excellent. His pricing was great. He had the best prices. His was very low compared to the other three people that I had spoken to.

The company owner was very courteous and professional.He gave me an estimate and even adjusted it due to his advertisement coupon.The work was completed in 2 days at a very good price. The workmen were very courteous, worked continuously and very hard. The job supervisor was on top of the work and kept the job moving. The only problem I have with the overall finished product, is with the concrete that was filled in the trench at the end of the job. To further explain: the slope of the concrete filled in did not dry and match up evenly with the existing edge of the basement floor. As a result, there is a hump where the new concrete floor and the existing concrete floor meet. It is a finished basement, and this is making it difficult to put tile on the floor, without grinding off the hump. I would still recommend Basement Waterproofing Solutions, but be aware of the concrete work at the end of the job and make sure you get the correct slope from the wall to the existing floor. In addition, when they left, I discovered the lid to the sump pump was only partially screwed into place, because 2 of the screw holes were filled with concrete and the round opening to for the cover was not properly shaped. I had to clean out the holes and make the lid fit better in the wet concrete, so I could get all four screws into the screw holes to secure the cover correctly.

I recently discovered water in an isolated section of my basement and scheduled an appt for 10/11. The appt was set for 3:15. The agent contacted me around 2:00 to advise she was in the area, and asked if we could meet earlier. I took off work early to meet her. When she walked in, we immediately walked down to the basement (no outside perimeter search was performed yet). We had barely got into the basement (before any examing was done) when she started telling me I needed a sump pump. This is a 50 year old house, not in a flood zone, with no reported water issues previously. Again, I had an isolated section (2 ft wide) in the basement that had damp carpet- certainly not the type of water issues to immediately jump to the conclusion that a sump pump was necessary. I had to proactively ask her to look at the outside perimiter of the house to see if there were any areas that water could be getting in through. I strongly suspect that she never would have even tried to locate an outside source, had I not asked her to look. In the corner of my house, there was a crack in between the house and patio. I believe that is where the water is coming in. She briefly looked at it and said that it could be contributing to the problem, but insisted that water must be coming up from the foundation and that I needed a sump pump. Clearly, this COULD be a possibility, but without tearing up carpet, how could she possibly know that? I walked away from the experience with the realization that the person that came out was NOT someone that was trying to locate the leak and stop it. She was just there to sell me a sump pump. Oh, and I never received the written estimate.

I called the firm on 29 September to arrange an appointment, which was set for the afternoon of 3 October. The representative called that afternoon to say she had been in an auto accident and could not ake it as she needed to have her car fixed. Certainly understandable. She set a new appointment for late Thursday afternoon, which was acceptable to me. On Thursday she did not show, neither did she call to explain. I received no call on Friday or this morning (Saturday) to explain why the appointment was not kept.

The was a partial waterproofing done of the basement in 03 with one sump pump installed. After we moved in we used this company to complete the waterproofing job with the instillation of a speed drain in front of the basement door, and another sump pump. This company did not install new drainage for these new water evacuation features instead they tied it into the existing 2 inch drainage pipe from the first sump pump. With all the rain that we have had recently the system could not take all the water causing a back up of water and flooding our finished Basement. The company says that all work is guaranteed and warranted however I have tried contacting them on several occasions and cannot get a hold of anyone! I just want my basement to be dry.

Here is the story, we have had foundation water in our basement on and off for many years. We have lived with it and back in April we had major flood in the basement due to sewer backup. After getting everything cleaned up, we started considering a solution to our foundation water issues. I called David and setup an appointment with in 48 hours. He had a quote in 2 days. Our home had some issues. The sewer line was in a bad stop and the bilco doors left a lot of water flow in to the foundation. David felt that doing the project would be a little tricky but if we got the sewer line out of the way, we would have better success.. I got my plumber to pull the sewer line, so it is was out of the way. David's crew arrived and went to work. His crew was very efficient, professional, and respectful. They took there time to do it right and they were here for 2 days. David said 2 days for the project and when the crew left they were done. Timing was right and scheduling was perfect. As I said to David I'm looking forward to the rain now to see how things work. So far so good.

They put in a waterproofing trenching system on the inside of the basement. I liked everything about them right from the beginning. The estimator was professional and thorough, and he spent more time than any of the other estimators that I had called in. He called me back and answered my questions. The estimator was excellent. The work was done as scheduled and as promised. The owner of the company inspected several times during the work phase of the whole thing and then came with small concerns and corrected them immediately. The crew was courteous. They did as good a job as I thought was possible keeping the rest of the house clean. My current contractor was doing the restoration of the drywall, so they did a really excellent job in terms of not destroying things that did not have to be destroyed in order to do the work. Overall, it was a good experience. The price was good, and throughout the process, it looked like they were doing a good quality job. I would rate them highly and would use them again in the future if necessary.

I found them on Angie's List. They did the work. They did everything they said that they were going to do. It was an enjoyable experience dealing with them. I received estimates from three other service providers and decided to hire them to do the work. I would consider using them again in the future in a heartbeat. There is no huge pump in the middle of my basement now as the pumps are in the underground and probably have been molded down to the floor. I would be re-finishing my basement starting Monday.

There was a bit of delay getting started, but when we got scheduled the work was done on time in one day with no inconvience to us,and we have had no water trouble since.The owner seemed very knowledgeable and did not suggest a more extensive job which we were expecting (and fearing) We were relieved to have our problem solved quickly and efficientlywith no muss or fuss. Ground around the house was left neat the way they found it.Time will tell if the repair lasts but so far, so good.

David Horner came out to meet with me about the work. David was very professional and a pleasure to meet with. Of the three companies I interviewed for the work, David was the only one whom I felt really listened to what I had to say and offer with regard to my experiences with this issue. I was very familiar with the original construction and what was done over the years to attempt to address the water problem. David took the time to hear that, review the situation and fully understand what was going on. He took the time to explain what his company could do to fix the problem and he was respectful of my questions. I felt the quote was clear and reasonably competitive. After some reference calls, I awarded the work to David and his team. The work itself entailed excavation and installation of a new drain system along the problem wall. Use of mira-drain panel and weep holes along the wall (which was cleaned and sprayed), washed stone, a 4 inch A.D.S. perforated pipe with filter sock leading to a new sealed sump exhausting outside. All to be refinished and closed up with new concrete. David and his team were on time on the agreed date to start the work. He and his team were professional in the completion of the work, and it was done as agreed in timely fashion. The work is recent and we have not had a substantive rain since the work was done, so time will tell as to whether the water problem is truly resolved. I will update the report after a few months. In the mean time, I have every reason to be confident it has been resolved based on my experience with David and the apparent workmanship of his team. Overall, my experience with Basement Waterproofing Solutions was very positive all the way from quote to work completion. UPDATE 12/04/2012: Since this work was performed, we have had two tropical storms impact our area, one in September of 2011 and Huricanne Sandy in October 2012. The 2011 storm (around labor day) was the more significant for us, it dropped rain by the wheelbarrow in our area (around a FOOT of rain if I recall correctly from Tropical Storm Lee). A test if there ever was one, and I am pleased to share that not one drop of water showed up on the basement floor during that storm.

Dave is good. Know his stuff. However my situation required some troubleshooting. He will be back in Spring to do more grading. Very professional, however I thought it was pretty pricey.

It was excellent. I cannot say enough good things. He showed up when he said he would, his crew was very professional, cleanup was great. He also honored the contract right to the letter.

I have not used them but I would consider using them in the future. The pricing was good.

I called Basement Waterproofing on 7/31/10 and left a message that I needed help due to water problems in my basement. David returned my call on 8/2 and came to my home on 8/3. The visit was very pleasant, he explained in great detail what needed to be done. Upon leaving he asked for my e-mail address and said he would send me an estimate. That is the last I heard from him.

David Horner came out on the scheduled date and time for the estimeate. He was very friendly, professional, and informative. We received a fair estimate and scheduled the date and time for the work to be done. His crew came out on the specified day and time. They were very professional and helpful during the whole process. They did all the assigned work and managed to keep the dirt and dust confined to the basement area. Nothing tracked into the main living area. Once the work was complete we reviewed the work done and are extremely satisfied. We couldn't be happier with the job well done. No more water in the basement.

The overall experience was fantastic. The work crew was very polite and professional. Other than the sound of the jack hammer (necessary to dig the trench), we didn't even know they were in the house. After all the work was done they took the time to clean and vacuum, everything looked great, actually cleaner than it was before they started. I highly recommend Basement Waterproofing Solutions.

Mr. Horner gave us very professional service. The job was started & completed on time and we weren't even in the state. They did an excellent job. Kept the dust contained & cleaned up after themselves. Was a very pleasant experience and would recommend this company to anyone who has basement water issues.