Brown Foundation Repair

Rick Applewhite came to my house this morning to check my foundation; I can say up front I was expecting the worst! However, after checking my foundation (& explaining what he was doing the entire time) he told me no work was needed!! He also showed me what to look for so I would know to call & have it looked at. He was friendly & very professional! I would recommend him!!!

Lee gave great advise (that no other company had mentioned as this was my 5th foundation repair quote), explained the plan well, and made the process easy.

I waited over two weeks for the in-person estimate at my home for foundation repair/leveling. Tony was on time for the appointment. As soon as we met in the driveway, he informed me that "they" are so busy with work that "they" really don't have time for "these in-person estimates". He quickly proceeded to do a half walkaround of part of the house with no visible foundation issues and within three minutes gave me an eye-balled quote of $13.5k to put in 14 piers. He didn't do anything inside the house and he didn't walk around the rest of the house which is where the visible problem area is! When I asked him why, he quickly backpeddled and gave me a nonchalant reveiw of the cracked beam and threw in another $5.5k that wouldn't even address the cracked beam. He proceeded to tell me that they invented most of the systems in use now by other companies. When I asked how he can eye-ball estimate almost $20 grand in work in less than 5 minutes without examining the entire property, his response was, "trust me". When I asked for a written quote, he told me that is fine but don't expect it today (as he was walking to his car). He said he has a game to watch today and beers to drink. Brown foundation may or may not have invented repair systems. They may or may not also be competent in the work that they do. I will never know. I was so put off by Tony's unprofessional representation of his company and the industry that I will not be doing business with them if they were the last foundation repair company in the state. They are not, fortunately.

We contacted Brown Foundation and Repair in regard to a warehouse concrete cracks. Met with the salesman. He told us mudjacking was needed and why it was better than polyjacking that is on the market. Cost of job was $24,500. Not a little chunk of change. 1st red flag was the warranty was wrong on the contract. Job started the second week in February. We discussed impending cold weather and that they would need to bring water due to winterizing the commercial building which included draining the well. The day we did that the supervisor wasn’t pleased. Expressed that to me. Didn’t understand why we couldn’t wait. He obvious hasn’t dealt with frozen lines and a frozen well. When they began stabilizing the concrete flooring the concrete didn’t fill in the cracks like the salesman said it would. Foreman said that would need epoxy concrete mix to fill them in. Next problem, the salesman went in every unit and visual witnessed the amount of stuff in some. Said they could bring in a skid load to move stuff if needed. Some parts of the building didn’t get the mudjacking they need due to tenants belonging in the way. Price wasn’t reduced. Moving on, the ice day hit. I live an hr away. Showed up on the job site. No crew. I called the office. They said they were on their way. Called again 4 hrs later. Already sat in the freezing temps waiting on them. She said they weren’t coming. I’m glad they kept their employees safe. I wish they would have same regard for my safety. The simple truth or a follow call would have allowed me to stay out of the 21 degree cold and off the roads as well. They also told me they would be calling to set up a time to show back up. To my surprise, actually not, the crew was at the job site waiting on me. No call. So if you want people that will honestly communicate with you, probably not to the company for you. Time will tell if their job is satisfactory or not. Will update in 6 months or so. Photos show completed work.

After contracting to do a very elaborate French Drain at our rental property in Farmers Branch, Texas, we were given a 2 week lead time. We were having gallons of water pooling in the living room. The job total was $8,000. They wanted $500 to reserve a space on their calendar, which I charged to a credit card. The $500 was represented as a deposit on the original contract. They called and said they could come out a week early. Before they came out to do the work, I learned our problem was caused by leaking pipes under the slab, and not by poor drainage on the side of the house, so, I called and told them I would not need their services. They said, OK, keep us in mind if anything should change. All very pleasant When my credit card bill arrived, I noticed that they had not refunded the $ 500. When I called the office to inquire, Jeremy Rodriquez told me I had to speak to the sales person. I called him and he said I needed to speak to Amber Abbott. I called her and she said she would have to check with accounting and would call me back. Two days later, she had not called back. I called back again, and Jeremy started with the same regimen. I reminded him of our conversation a week earlier, and immediately, Pat Rodriquez, general manager, gets on the phone, very obnoxious and belligerent and starts telling me the $500 was so he could schedule a crew that day, and he was not going to refund my money. After a few minutes, he calms down and says he will contact the owner and see what could be done. Promises to call me back by noon the next day. He doesn't call back, and when I call, Amber says Pat is out of the office, but, she will contact him and find out what the situation is and promises to call me back later that day. 2 days later, no return phone call. I call again, and Pat is just so sorry, and condescending, and doesn't know why Amber did not call me back. Says he talked with the owner and a refund of $ 250 is the best he can do. In light of this scenario, I agree to the $ 250. He takes my name, and address, we go over it twice to make sure the spelling is correct, and promises he would get a check out that day. I live just north of Houston, they are in Dallas. It is now 8 days later and no sign of a check. I email Amber about this twice, and still no response. I believe calling them now is a waste of time, since they have not made any good faith effort to follow thru on their phone calls, or to credit my $ 500. Very disheartening, since I had used them before to level a foundation. That job was $ 13,500. They charged me $ 1, 000 for permits. I have since learned that the permit fee was that job is $ 150.00 I can't trust them anymore, and would not recommend them in light of my current experience.

Mr. Lee Wormington was very helpful and honest. He provided vital knowledge on how to fix my issue. I really appreciate him.

The followup visit went great. The technician was very professional and courteous. The warranty they have is excellent, and they will do whatever needs be done to get a house leveled out. In my case, our house continued to settle after they had done some work, and they are out to followup and to determine what additional leveling needs to be done to get the foundation level. I've used this company for several years now and have been very pleased with their sincerity, professionalism, and perseverance in getting things done right and in a timely manner.

Three calls and two promises to provide estimate. They didn’t initially even have to come by. All they had to do was look at engineers drawing and Recs. They promised to email an estimate but never responded. My third call did not reach a human I left a message asking them to please give me an estimate. They were highly recommended by my structural engineer. I can only imagine why they didn’t respond. Maybe they were overloaded with work? They could have told me if they were unable. Not sure what’s going on with Brown.

The price is for me to know. They did, and they're doing what they said they're going to do. They are clean, it;s a dirty foundation job. When they finished with the preliminary work, they left my yard very nice. They covered up the holes and everything. They're very professional people. The communication can be improved, everybody could improve on communication. They're not cheap, I think they're the best in business; you pay for what you get, and you get what you pay for. They showed up almost exactly when they said they were going to show up. They're very professional. I'll use them again, hopefully, the need doesn't come up.

This is an excellent company. They did a great job leveling our pier and beam foundation for a reasonable price. We were VERY pleased!

They were so through . Explained everything that was need.

I initially tried reaching out to Brown Foundation several times to request if this job is still under warranty, they declined to communicate with me as the buyer and instructed me to contact the seller, or the seller's agent. I requested the seller's agent to contact Brown to schedule an appointment to get the damage warrantied, or a new bid submitted if out of warranty. They have declined to do so and only stated the work will not be warrantied. I've taken further actions and requested to schedule an appointment for a date AFTER I close on the house. Not only were they rude on the phone, and refused to talk to me as the buyer, the office manager claimed it was 'illegal for them to schedule an appointment with the buyer' or 'to discuss any past work performed' on this property. Note the seller's disclosure contained all documentation from Brown Foundation. This shows very poor professionalism, and legal knowledge. I stressed the importance of getting myself on the calendar AFTER the date of close (within 2 weeks) to keep the inconveniences to a minimal during my transition into the house, but the office manager did not seem to want my business. I will not be using Brown Foundation Company and will never suggest them to anyone needing repairs. I hope this review will be found to any potential customers of Brown Foundation Company and they will steer clear of this mismanaged company.

I have some concerns about my foundation - see cracks in tile floors and wood rails. Called Brown Foundation repair and scheduled a free estimate. Mike called a day before confirming an appointment. He showed up next day on time and was very helpful and honest. He checked cracks and answer all my questions. Instead of recommending repair (worth of many thousands of dollars) he suggested to watered foundation in a different way. I was pleasantly surprised by their honesty and integrity. Found definetely recommend the company and use it in a future.

It was very good. Their professionalism was good.

Their equipment was very stainless. I would use them again in the future.

I am planning to buy a house which was repaired by 14 piers in 2007 by Brown in Valley Ranch and now having an elevation difference of 4" for 40ft (supposed to be 2"), i wanted to make sure if everything is ok although there are no visible issues. They were on time, professionally checked the house and promised to tighten the piers a bit if i preferred to do so (which wasnt suggested since that would lead to cracks). That gave me the confidence that they are behind their warranty. They promised to send me post-repair results to compare with todays data.

Did not achieve the lift needed to bring floor into any approximation of level. None of the out-of-square doors and windows or cracks in drywall were improved. Further, a few weeks after mud-jacking episode buckling of wood floor in multiple locations and a crack in the fireplace hearth appeared. Also sustained significant damage to plumbing under master bath, after mud-jacking. Had an independent engineer do a study after the mud-jacking job was completed. his report indicated that this method of lifting would never have achieved the kind of lift or stability needed to remedy problems experienced. the plumbing repairs caused by the mud-jacking cost as much or more to fix than the foundation work itself. Also, the company did a pitiful job of cleaning up after themselves. Later, we hired another foundation repair company to install 23 interior pressed piers and 11 exterior. We now have a stable floor, essentially level. Would recommend getting an independent engineer before accepting any foundation company's proposal. Live and learn. But, you can learn from our experience and do not hire Brown Foundation.

Within months the right front corner started sinking again causing cracks in the livingroom ceiling. I called in their salesman "engineer" who claimed the problems were structural. The contract called out they drill down until their either encounter whiterock (hard substrate) or if only clay they would put in belled piers. When they got down eight feet the color of the mud they were pulling up turned gray and they declared they hit whiterock and put in unbelled shallow piers. LaterI had to fix it and when t another foundation company drilled down, they found the clay changed colors at eight feet and they never got to bedrock. They put in 17 foot belled piers and rejacked the house up. It has been stable ever since. I was a little upset when I found out the Brown subcontracted their jobs out to fly-by-night operators and that Brown does not honor it's warranties. Avoid this company. They may have "Written the Book" but it does not appear that they ever read it.

We had the entire back side of our house leveled by Brown, then four years later we called them again to level the front part of the house that had a crack. They were always there when they said they would be, they cleaned up all the trash when they left and afterward sent someone to check the plumbing to make sure there were no leaks.

I like that they were very professional and they came out went underneath the house and gave us a good estimate.

After hearing their ad on radio, I called while driving to a meeting. When the phone person talked to me, she treated me like I disturbed her nap. I explained I was driving and asked if a rep could call me later that day to schedule an appointment. She reluctantly agreed. I explained I called while driving so I wouldn't forget the number or loose a scrap of paper. That was several days ago...you guessed it, nothing. I guess they are so busy with work they don't need one more.

The end result is very good, however, there were some challenges along the way, which at the time were annoying, but were really just part of any construction / repair project. The crew arrived on time to begin the process of hand digging and using an auger to drill the piers to a depth of 10-12 ft. The first challenge occurred when the auger broke our water supply line to the house and filled it up with water. Brown immediately called their plumbing company for repair, but the pouring of the piers was delayed. At he same time, the auger machine damaged our porch column and gutter downspout. The machine also damaged the siding corner at our sun room at the rear of the house. During the process of digging / drilling the piers our sprinkler system piping and control wiring was disturbed and / or damaged as well. The piers were successfully poured, and after curing, the foundation was successfully raised. Because we had a sewer leak to repair at the same time, we raised the foundation, had the leak repaired, and then Brown returned to perform the mudjacking. Here is where the ball was dropped a bit. During this process, there was an enormous amount of dirt / debris generated. This dirt was piled, on plastic on our front lawn and other places. We knew this going in. However, after the piers were drilled and poured, the mudjacking performed, there was a 2 week period in which there was absolutely nothing done to "finish" the job by filling holes, replacing landscaping, and grading the dirt around the house. Finally, they had a crew available to return, but by this time, in the June-July, with no sprinkler system, and huge pile of dirt on the lawn, well, it was a disaster. To their credit, through all of these challenges, in the end they stepped up and made it right. They replaced the st Augustine in the front, their plumbers repaired the damaged lines, the price was adjusted to reflect the repairs to the downspout and siding, and they sent their sprinkler people out twice to repair / replace components damaged during the process. During the whole process, everyone was responsive, kind, and professional. All of our doors open and close now and we will have cosmetic repairs done in approximately 6 mos. after everything has settled. Bottom line, we would recommend Brown Foundation Repair.

I asked the vendor if they could provide the name of a partner to do the work since the job was considered too small for them and they did not have a name or recommendation.

Very honest. Actually recommended not doing anything and starting water plan. Recommended a leveling versus an actual foundation repair. Impressed by honesty.

They did what they said they were going to do. I still have some inside repair to do, so I will be using their services in the future for the cracks in my ceilings. We have a lot of foundation problems on this side of the country. All the shrubs and plants they dug up had died. They were very professional and had people who were very knowledgeable on these issues. They had supervisors on each section of the job throughout the project.