ABSOLUTE WATERPROOFING & DRAINAGE

All work was done promptly and professionally. I could not be happier!

You want to hire Byron at Absolute. Here's why: Absolute Waterproofing and Drainage Services isn't as inexpensive as some drainage competitors, for a reason. Their goal is to make sure the end result will work properly for as many years as possible. Byron, Absolute's founder and owner, has decades of experience to draw from and a passion to far exceed his customers' expectations on every job. His proposal was significantly different from a competing proposal by LA Scapes, which was really more of a landscaping company. They could have done something for 2/3 the cost, but it wouldn't have solved my problem because they failed to identify where the water was actually coming from. (More on that later; there was a different ditch near the road that was washed out / filled in with debris, and was not functioning, offloading all the water from the street across my yard and into the corner of my basement.) Byron's system is simple and well-thought out. It is just a "swale" or a shallow bowl-like ditch that pulls water past my house, down to the drainage creek at the back of my lot. Some of the added fill dirt required a well around my basement window. Since he only needed a small amount of fill there, Byron did it with landscaping bricks and a waterproof plastic shield. He diverted around an existing tree, which we will later remove and fill in as budget allows (only because the tree is way too close to my foundation). Routing around the tree will ensure that even when cut down, the water stays away from my house. Rather than that basic design, the LA Scapes proposal was to put a much more severe ditch on the edge of my property to catch the rain from the neighbor's hill, with the option to create a more shallow ditch near the house if that still wasn't enough. Turns out that plan wouldn't have worked because of the other washed out ditch; all that water would still have ended up hitting the corner of my house, completely bypassing the proposed system. Byron didn't notice the washed out / filled in ditch near the road when he did his initial proposal, but when he was at my house doing the work he had his crew clean out that ditch just as an extra service to me at no charge, and discovered the problem. I don't think any other Nashville company would have bothered sprucing that area up, since it wasn't specified in the contract. Not only that, but then he had his employees re-dig the failed section of my existing ditch and give it the same grass seed and protective netting as the rest of the project--again at no extra cost. That solved the root cause of my drainage problem. Combined with the new swale down the side of my house, now we are certain the water will flow the right way. I'm so happy I hired him! Still going the extra mile, Byron had his crew clean off my roof and gutters, add a short section of retaining wall to protect my deck stairs, and dig out under my deck stairs to expose an existing cement drainage sluice so any water from the deck will flow appropriately out into the back lawn--again at no additional charge. I paid $3500 for this drainage job for a reason. The value is there! When I met with Byron, I had a clear impression that Absolute was the right company to hire; and he proved me right. If I had hired the other company--no disrespect to them, but they wouldn't have known how to handle the situation and I would have just been upset later. Absolute only does basement waterproofing and drainage, and Byron's experience is so great that he can handle any oddball issues that come up. The day they completed my job, Byron explained to me that he's observed how water stays together as it flows, by watching the flow of water that was over his rock levee at the back of his own property during the 2010 Nashville floods. Even though the water was four to six inches higher than his wall, it was staying in the drainage system rather than flowing into his yard because it was flowing swiftly without resistance, sticking together cohesively as a focused stream. Byron has learned how use earth and stone to guide water into a smooth movement; I see that evident in the shape of the drainage system in my yard. I would have just dug a straight line ditch, but his drainage system uses a gentle 'S' curve that looks like something you would see in nature. It makes sense to the eye; you can envision how the water will move down it gently and swiftly, without eroding anything. The swale has a life to it. Everything about Absolute was top-notch. Scheduling was easy; Teresa in their office is very easy to work with. All the paperwork was straightforward, and every promise was kept. The workers were on time and did fantastic work. Byron was on site both days to supervise and make sure he liked what he saw, and he has high standards. I'm very happy to recommend Absolute Waterproofing and Drainage. If you're going to spend a lot of money to protect your home, you want to do it once--the right way. I'm very thankful to have found Byron and his crew.

Byron and his team were punctual and professional at all times. Byron explained clearly the planned work and was patient in listening to and answering my questions. Teresa is prompt in returning emails and always friendly on the phone. They encapsulated the crawl space and placed an industrial dehumidifer and made sure all downspouts were channeled away from the house to a point the water would drain away. They regraded a portion of my yard so that the water would flow away from the house and oversewed the area nicely with grass seed. They reinforced a small area of the wall from inside the crawl space with concrete.

Exceptional! I cannot say enough about this company, their work ethics, installations, kindness & politeness. From the first phone call into the office to the final day of the installation it was an actual pleasure doing business with Absolute. Byron & his expertise/knowledge are far above & beyond what you might expect. He didn't try to pressure sell nor did he try to sell us anything we did not actually need. I would hire Absolute again without question and recommend them without hesitation. If you have any yard drainage issues, moisture or dampness in your crawlspace or basement or any water issue that is caused from rain/storm water Absolute is the company you should call. You will likely have to wait awhile because they are booked up, but they are booked up because they are Exceptional!

Byron Lowe, one of the company's owners, came out to look at what needed to be done. After looking at the basement, he suspected that water from the gutters was causing the problem. When he got up on a ladder and examined the gutter over the leak, he discovered it had a big hole in it. He sealed the hole with caulk, and also cleared the gutter and roof of leaves. He suggested that we have another gutter installed next to the front porch. We were very relieved that an expensive repair wasn't needed.

It took a long time till they could do the work because we had a wet summer and the company was covered up with work, but Theresa and Byron (the owners) kept me informed and let me know when they would be able to come to do my house. The crew brought heavy equipment and completed 6 downspout drainage pipes to get the water further away from my house and one condensation line from a heat pump AC unit that was pouring water out next to my house every summer. The job was completed in a morning.

It went wonderfully. We had to wait a while for them to schedule us in, but we knew up front that they already had a long waiting list since they are so reputable. They drew up a detailed plan to resolve our drainage issue and reviewed it thoroughly with us. They showed up promptly. Worked continuously the 3 straight days it took to complete the job. They or Byron stayed late each day to get all the tasks completed. They are extremely hard and dedicated workers. Byron, the owner was on the job directing and working diligently alongside his crew. I would label him a perfectionist with his need to have every detail exactly right. He and his team put dirt on tarps when making the trenches and when filling trenches replaced the sod on top so that all the drain trenches were barely noticeable. They left the area immaculate when they were finished. The price was reasonable for the large amount of work performed and quoted price did not change even though he did additional things to improve the drainage once he was on the job. I was impressed with Byron and his company and would readily hire him again and in good conscience recommend him. He even bought and placed a large flowering plant on the decorative rocks to soften the appearance of the area. Great attention to detail and quality work. This was our first experience with this company and very happy with the service and exceptional quality of their work. We hired them based on the great reviews of others on Angie's list and Google.

Professional and friendly crew - about a 3 day job overall as estimated. Left yard in good condition and took time to explain what was done.

Could not have been more professional. Byron and company stand behind their product. No worries as a customer. Loved the end result....I wish they performed all other trades! Left the site in better condition then they found it. Crew was first class enjoyed having them.

It took a long time to get scheduled, but they did an excellent job. The wife handles all the scheduling, and she also did a great job.

The proposal and application process was flawless. Byron and Theresa Lowe are great people with whom to deal. Byron gives advice to the client on how to drain water away from the structure. I will use Absolute for any future needs within their area of expertise. They are very competitive on price and leave everything clean and neat upon completion.

They were fabulous. I waited 4 months for the appointment and it was well worth it. Honest!

I called Byron because my unfinished basement/crawlspace had been running high humidity and I was frequently noticing some water condensation. He came out and gave a thorough inspection of my crawlspace as well as the surrounding outdoor areas. He highlighted some things that the previous owners could have done better but ultimately were functional. He gave me a few items I could easily do myself and told me to call him if those didn't help my situation. I implemented Byron's suggestions and the humidity in my crawlspace has been reduced by about 10-15%, to the point where my dehumidifiers are no longer constantly running and driving up my electricity bill. There were several different options that Byron could have implemented that would have costed me money, so I appreciate that he gave me some simple fixes before we did any kind of big ticket items. I would use this company again in the future if I need to.

The project went great from start to finish. If you are seeking any drainage or crawlspace work, you don't need to look any further. All the other Angie's list comments attesting to their fine work is true. You won't find anyone better. They are very knowledgeable, prompt, very conscientious, they cleaned up daily, etc. Bryon went above and beyond the work required and helped me out with a few things. He did not charge me for two additional vent wells that were needed. Also, he was going to pick up decorative rock in Nashville and while he was there he got me some and spread it for me as well. This company goes above and beyond the call of duty, and I couldn't recommend them more highly. Use them and you will be glad you did!

How'd it go? Awesome. But first, let me tell you about our problems. We've had issues with water getting into the crawlspace of the house, first noticed in May 2010 with the massive flooding in the Middle Tennessee area. Water stands under there. Water from our gutters was draining down beside the foundation and finding its way into the crawl space. (we have a recessed crawl space that is below ground level). Based on Angie's List reviews, we called Absolute. There is no way to get into all of the details that makes this work top quality, but rest assured, you get their undivided attention, they're there when they say, and communication is first class. Best thing we've done, so far so good! Yes, they're a little more expensive than All-Dry or Olshan, but the service and deliverable is top quality. I can't emphasize that enough. I am extremely pleased with the result. They are booked, but worth the wait. Thank you Byron and Teresa!

Per my initial review on October 14, 2014, we contracted Byron and his Absolute team to assess our excessive moisture issues in the crawl space. He is very busy, but he really took time with his assessment of our situation and his recommendations for a remediate, effective solution. In order to address the moisture issues and prior to implementing his permanent solution, he installed temporary drainage pipes around the house, regraded the rear exterior, and regraded the crawl space so that Richey Restoration could remediate the mold problems. Fast forward to December. After Dan Richey had repaired the crawl space and remediated the excessive mold, Byron installed a dehu, condensate pump, condensate drain pipe, and vapor barrier in the crawl space. (It is now bone dry in there!) He connected his clean flow drainage pipe to all gutter downspouts around the house and rerouted them away from the foundation, and installed two drain tiles to ensure drainage redundancy in a couple of problem areas. Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention what he gave me as a quite unexpected Christmas present, and which he did out of the kindness of his heart. First, he saw that I was struggling with a serious stump on the corner foundation of my house. I had been axing away at the thing for awhile, but was afraid to hook a truck chain up to it since it was so close to the house. His team removed it and he regraded around it. Second, he told me he didn't want my children breaking their necks around a poorly graded area at the carport (~6-7" drop where we had to demo the back deck), so he moved a lot of dirt to regrade ~200 sq. ft. He also seeded it with both winter and summer grass seed. Where did he get all of that extra dirt? Well, he decided to install an extra 4" clean flow drain pipe for us (it's NOT just simple, cheap corrugated drain pipe!), and instead of reburying it with the dirt, he decided to also install a long french drain! But there's more. Since he had extra gravel from the french drain (that he did for free), he saw that the piers under my shed had suffered from the previously poor drainage. He had his crew remove all of the former homeowner's junk from under it and braced the entire underside with gravel for improved drainage. THEN, since he said he had extra asphalt left over from digging up part of our blacktop, he fixed a very large area in our driveway that had eroded away! And finally...on one of the days he came to our house, he accidentally bumped one of the stone markers at the entrance to our driveway. I tried to explain to him on a few occasions that the previous homeowner had done a horrible repair job on it; it simply wasn't his fault whatsoever, but he decided to completely repair it! I'm a pretty tough guy, but when he was walking me through everything, I was in tears. We don't have a lot of money and the past several months have been very trying on us financially. But I wanted everything done right so that my family would have a safe, comfortable place to live. I don't know how I could ever repay a person for doing this for my family. I just wish every American businessman was like Byron.

Byron and Theresa we are very pleased with the work that Byron and his team did ? and appreciate the NEATNESS of the work areas and the post project clean-up. We can?t wait for a huge downpour to see the results! Byron and Theresa ? it has been two months since you installed the French drain drainage solution. We have had at least two very heavy rain storms/downpours, and I have not seen one drop of water in my garage nor any pooling of water at the foot of the steps to the pool gate. The system seems to be working as designed and engineered. Thanks much.

I couldn't be more pleased. They came when promised, delivered the services we needed, cleaned up afterward. Byron and his staff were very polite, professional, and obviously skilled. They pay attention to every detail. I highly recommend Absolute Waterproofing.

It took 5 days for a reply and when I talked with them they would not be able to come out for an inspection for three months (I call in October and the first available date was in January). That was just for the inspection and assessment. They said it would take longer for them to install it. That date was not even discussed. When I asked them for someone to help me, I was given the statement "we focus on quality and there is no one we could suggest." They were not helpful nor did I get that they wanted to help.

Had to wait a while for them to get started. Their schedule is pretty packed, because they're that good. Once the downspouts were upgraded, and the old moisture barrier removed, we had to wait for the crawlspace to dry out. Turns out my water problem was more serious than we were led to believe when we bought the house last December. Finally got it under control and they were here to finish the job. Byron and his crew are top shelf. If you're able to be flexible with your schedule, you won't be disappointed. When they were done with our exterior drainage fix, you could hardly tell they were here. They put down tarps for the dirt that was removed, and carefully replaced it all. Even spread grass seed in areas that needed a little help.

Put me off for weeks, did not return calls for days, and then told me they were too busy to even look at my job. Meanwhile the drainage problem continued.

Went great. From start to finish, they did what they said they were going to do, drew up a plan, came on time, carried out the plan, went above and beyond to finish out a little roof over a well, and did a high quality job. The owner has a strong work ethic and integrity. If everyone operated like this, we wouldn't need Angie's List! They returned later to deliver dirt that they had promised.

Professional service; friendly; good work ethic, did not take shortcuts; answered all questions; my only dis-satisfaction is from the cost of the service which did not seem reasonable to me.

I contacted Absolute Water and Drainage via recommendations I had seen on Angie's List, and I am so happy I did. Let me just say what a stand up business these two have. When we first contacted them, we had about 4 inches of water in our East Nashville crawl/basement. Teresa put me in contact with one of the contractors they work with and he came out and was able to pump out the water for a very appropriate price. He indicated that I really should have Byron come out and take a look at some of our issues. Absolute was quite busy at that time, but they came out to our house within a month or so and were very prompt of the time/date we had agreed upon. It just so happens that at the date they came out, we had had rain the previous days and again, there was some water (about 1-3 inches) in the majority of our basement area (unfinished). Byron quickly was able to assess the problem and determine what was required if we wanted to secure this not happening in the future. He recommended 1) new sump pump, properly sunk (the one that we had was not properly installed by any means), 2) partial french drain and 3) tying all existing downspouts into underground lines and taking those lines out into lowest area in our yard. He thoroughly evaluated our property, and even went so far as to drain the water out himself at no cost. He had a spare sump pump that he had removed from another location and got it working (as ours burnt out) and was able to pump out almost all water. Furthermore, he (and I am assuming this is true for his company) made no overarching sales pitch. He in fact, discussed with me how my gutters were not large enough nor installed properly for the amount of watershed from our roof. He told me that he would certainly be happy to come do the estimated work (see above; roughly $5,000.00) but that I may want to fix the gutters first and then monitor. He put me in contact with fantastic gutter crew that came out the next week and redid our entire gutter system. As his schedule at the time was very busy, he was unable to fix our sump pump, but even went out of his way to help me and consult with me while we were able to get another contracting crew in to properly install sump pump. The gutters and new sump pump that he recommended have greatly reduced the problem, but not solved them entirely, and therefore as soon as we are able, we are absolutely going to contact Byron and Teresa to finish our work. I want to say thank you to both of them. Byron is a true craftsman, and is able to discuss with his clients what needs to be done in a reasonable and understandable fashion. I look forward to working with them both in the very near future. Jared

Byron did the work he said he'd do. On time, friendly. Excellent. I'd be delighted to recommend him and his firm.