Basement Masters Waterproofing

We are doing a big reno job in our basement and when demo started and the paneling was pull off walls they discovered cracks,mold and cavities of the house foundation! Yikes, this all needed to be repaired before framing could start. The remodeling company we're using has used Basement Master's before and I see why. They (Walter and his crew) came out next day to see what needed to be done plus suggested to put in a sump pump because of the condition of the house foundation and the way the water drains from the outside. 3 days later the crew came out and job was done in 2 days half our basement! They we're quick and effiicent. We will use again when we finish the other half of our basement.

They were good. They were very professional and they made an effort to provide prompt service in a very busy time of the year.

They gave me good information. They said they didn't do what needed to be done. It was on exterior of my home, not interior. They were nice enough to give me good information.

We needed Sump pump replacement and had an issue with the basement window. Basement masters proposed a good and simple solution for the window and also suggested to reinforce the basement walls. The is expensive and ended up doubling the cost of the job: still we received no pressure to take this suggestion and I was pleased with the suggestion. The work was done fast and well, although it took a little time to get the evaluation and agree on a final design.

For several years, we were getting a relatively small amount of water through the cinder block wall in a closet in our basement. We finally decided to see if we could have something done about it. We contacted three waterproofing companies, who came to our house. Mark Mckeehan from Basement Masters Waterproofing provided two options for mitigating our water problem. One was to install a sump pump inside the house where the water was coming in and discharge it to the outside. We already had an unused sump pit in that area of the basement. We really preferred to stop the water from coming through the wall at all. And it was going to be difficult to discharge a sump pump to the outside given the location of the leak. The second option Mark suggested was to have them dig down to the bottom of the foundation outside the corner of the house where we were having the problem and waterproof the wall from the outside. That was more like what we wanted, but we had several concerns about that option. In the area where they would have to dig, there was a septic line coming out through the wall as well as the electric line from the house to the well. There was also the potential to run into the water line running from the well to the house. The house was built in 1975, but we bought it in 1996. We had a general idea about where those things were outside, but didn?t know for sure exactly where they were. Mark assured us that they would carefully hand dig the entire area down to the foundation. We eventually decided to go with the second option. Walter and his crew of five other gentlemen arrived, right on schedule, at about 9:30 on a chilly Friday morning to begin their work. I watched as they removed an existing brick walkway in the area where they had to dig (approximately 4 feet along the front wall of the house and 3 feet around the corner back into a breezeway). Then they started digging with shovels. At about three feet down, they found the septic line and the electric line to the well. They were very careful not to damage either of these. They had to dig down another 5 to 6 feet to get to the footer below the bottom of the foundation. And they only had about a 3 foot area from the wall in which to work because the septic line that came out from the wall then paralleled the wall and around the corner into the breezeway. Walter?s crew worked incredibly well together, taking turns digging. When they finally got down to the footer, they cleaned and inspected the exposed foundation. They found a small crack in one area, which was the likely source of the leak. They covered the entire exposed foundation area with a rubberized waterproofing membrane and then a heavy vapor barrier. They installed a new perforated drain pipe at the base of the footer and covered it with stone to create a drain field. As they refilled the hole, they were very careful not to damage the septic pipe or the electric line to the well. They tamped the soil down, taking extra care when they were working above the septic pipe and electric line to the well. They finished cleaning up everything around 6 pm. I had watched them almost all day long, and was very impressed with their professionalism and care. And it was obvious that they worked very well as a team. We want to thank Walter and his entire team for the fantastic job.

They did a perfect job. They were clean, polite, and courteous. The owner kept in touch with me to make sure they did the job to my satisfaction.

In general I was pleased with the work. The estimate and proposal were the best I received (out of 3 total estimates). Also, their prices were substantially lower. All the scheduling, etc. was well handled and they were on time and finished in 1 and half days of work. Everything was explained very well. Be aware, they save some of their time and money by relying on the customer to pull the required county permits. I was fine with this as it was a good exercise for me (my first time needing a permit for home improvement work), but it did cost me a day off of work, etc. Future permits should be easier though. My only complaint was that their choice of the external drain discharge was sub-standard. It is flush with the ground and a pop-up style discharge. The county inspector said that it would be subject to freezing and that a freeze guard style should have been used (something like this: http://www.basementsystems.ca/basement/waterproofing/products/outdoor-drainage/frozen-drain.html). I did call in to the owner to come out and replace this, but they never did. Otherwise, for the price and the promptness, it has so far been worth it.

Mr. Butterfield came out to give us an estimate for waterproofing my basement. He did an excellent job explaining what needed to be done and why he recommended an outside fix versus an inside fix. They were the last of 5 estimates and we were impressed with his professionalism and his explanation of the work needed to be done. We were told that because of all the work they had it would be mid-August till they could get the job done. However, they had a cancellation and were able to move us up by 3 weeks. The workers who arrived were all professional and worked amazingly fast. Everyone was nice and very accommodating including the office staff. The job was finished in 1.5 days and the area looks like it was not even touched. We just had 6 inches of rain and our basement is bone dry. I highly recommend this company and would not hesitate to use them again.

We contracted with Basement Masters in Oct 2013 for the installation of two egress windows. They were to replace two small windows in our basement that were originally installed in our 1973 home. The work began on 3/20 and finished on the 22nd. Basement Masters employees from the salesman, Richard Butterfield, to the hands on technicians were professional and pleasant to work with. The windows work exactly as advertised and enhance the experience of spending time in our basement. Two minor factors detracted from an overall perfect experience, the first was a matter of communication. There was a long period between signing the contract and the actual work being done. The delay was due to weather and completely understandable however, any communication during this time to evaluate the schedule was always initiated by us, the customer. A bit of pro-active communication on the part of Basement Masters would have been appreciated. The second is in regards to the carpentry--square and plumb where not something they paid attention to. That said, when we brought it to their attention they adjusted their work until we were happy.

Every single person I encountered from Basement Masters was top notch and knew their stuff. Randall, the owner, stopped by for the initial visit and estimate. He took his time and spoke with me about my needs, and what I DIDN'T need, and what was the best way to achieve my goal of no more wet basement. He looked at the entire exterior of the house and the entire perimeter of the basement and offered his suggestions, and told me what was fine and what to keep an eye on. We have some cracks in our foundation in our back workroom, and Randall told me to just watch them, as they appeared to be surface cracks and nothing serious. He also explained what a more substantial crack would look like, in case they change or worsen. I asked if we needed the entire exterior waterproofed, just to be sure, and he said no. Based on how we are on the downward slope of a hill, and how and where the water would pool with the way our house's footprint is, the corner they had to fix is the most vulnerable and is exactly the place that would be hit the worst and pool the most. Which is probably why it leaked! I really appreciated Randall's honesty and candor, and the fact that he didn't try to sell me ANYTHING, let alone work I didn't need. He told me what Basement Masters would do if they were hired, and there was no pitch, no hard-sell, no "your husband must be home...." Nothing like that. Just an honest assessment and a fully-detailed proposal WITH diagrams attached to an email that asked us to contact them IF we had any questions and were interested in proceeding. And we were. Leah, one of the gals in admin, was extremely understanding and helpful. I spoke with her over the phone a few times while we worked out details, and each experience was very pleasant. She was great to work with. On the first day of the work, Walter, the foreman, and his crew were very careful, fast, neat, and efficient in their work. I was amazed by how far down they had dug by the time they left for the day. They didn't seem to rush or overextend themselves, to make sure they didn't get hurt (always a concern for me). When they left for the night, they protected the area and marked it off, covered the piles of dirt to keep it from blowing everywhere, and cleaned up as much as they could. Their work area was neater than my yard in general! Randall also stopped by during the day to check in and see how things were going with the guys. I had to head out of town for the day on the second day, but I gave Walter my cell number and my mother was also over in case he had any questions. The guys had to go down into the basement a few times to break a sump pipe and reroute it through the floor to the exterior of the house, as part of the new system. My mom said they were extremely friendly and polite, and always made sure she knew they came back in so she wouldn't be startled! She was impressed with the guys and their work, as well. After the waterproofing was finished, the guys attached new window well covers, put back all the landscaping (what little I had in that area), leveled it all out and put down new mulch. It looked fabulous then, and it still does. Randall stopped by again a day or so later to check the finished product and briefly chatted with my mother. She told him we were very satisfied with the job, and I've seen him a few times since then, as I referred Basement Masters to my next-door neighbors. Coincidentally, it rained quite hard a few days after the work was done, and...as suspected...no leaks! And there have been none since then. When I need more waterproofing work done (it's an old house, so of course it's "when" and not "if!"), I'll definitely call Basement Masters again. They were worth every single penny, and I feel I got more than my money's worth.

They were fabulous. They are a no pressure sales. They really educate you on what's going on with your house. With waterproofing they provide different options. They were just very clear. I ended up going with them not because that they were cheapest, but because they really explain things really well to me. they have options that other estimators didn't provide. I thought there was one way to go and they showed me that there was more than one way to go. They were fantastic. the price I thought was very reasonable. I'd recommend them to everybody.

Randall was extremely kind and professional. There were a few hiccups during the job, but he made sure that everything was settled and completed as promised. I would highly recommend the company.

My house is 35 years old and I've lived in it almost 20 years. Over time had experienced some water entering the basement area after major storms, however the problem got progressively worse especially after Hurricane Sandy, to the point anytime it rained we experienced water entering various areas of the basement. Contacted several contractors specializing in dealing with basement water problems, one of which was Basement Masters Waterproofing. Randall Butterfield came out to assess the problem. Randall was knowledgeable and provided me with informative approaches to addressing the problem. He thought that the exterior drain system may have become clogged with debris/tree roots and thus was not draining properly. Further advised that they would do a water test to determine where the leaks were coming from and where they were entering the house (using a garden hose to accomplish this). No hard sale from Randall and he even suggested possible cheaper alternatives. Randall subsequently emailed me with an estimate and proposal for the work to be done to include photos and indepth explanation regarding how the problem was to be addressed and the materials that would be used. Subsequently went with Basement Masters Waterproofing as I felt comfortable in that they knew what they were doing and would correct my water problems once and for all. Randall advised that the project would take about three days to complete. Water the foreman and his crew arrived and began to work on the problem. I was amazed that they never used any machinery or power tools to excavate/dig next to the house but rather hand tools (shovels) showing great care in protecting the exterior of the house and the nearby landscape. Walter performed a water test and identified what he believe to be some of the source areas of the leaks. Upon excavation they immediately determined that the house never had an exterior drain system (not sure if code required it when the house had been constructed in 1979) and thus would require additional and extensive excavation around the house to install one. During the work, Randall would stop by and check up on the progress as well as call me in the evening to check on things as well. Can't say enough good things about Walter and his crew, these guys worked non-stop from when they arrived usually at 8:00 AM all the way until about 6:30 PM. Again they did everything by hand. Due to the unforeseen additional work because of the discovery of no exterior drain system, the cost of the work had to be adjusted but Randall worked with me in coming up with an acceptable price. When Walter and his crew finally finished with the project they did an exceptional job of landscaping after themselves which I had not expected and actually made some areas around the house appear better then they had been. Since the work has been completed, we have had several significant rain storms and all is well in the basement, no problems and it's dry. I would strongly recommend Basement Masters Waterproofing to anyone who is experiencing basement water problems. Randall was exceptional in dealing with and he's knowledgeable. Walter and his crew did an outstanding job. The price was fair and reasonable.

As a property manager, I couldn't be more impressed with Basement Masters Waterproofing. They were the third service to provide an estimate for a basement safety egress window and window well. The two previous professional services told me a window well was necessary to make space for a large-enough window to meet safety code. I didn't originally think so but wasn't going to argue with two different pro services. So, at this point, I was merely comparing prices. To my surprise and relief, the Basement Masters Waterproofing representative advised that I had just enough space for the safety egress window WITHOUT having to dig a well. Further, the representative recommended I go directly to their preferred custom window manufacturer ? Vinyl Lite Window Factory ? as BMW wasn't really needed for the job. And Vinyl Lite built us a perfect custom casement window. I used my regular contractor to install it. BMW saved my client well over $2500. I will call Basement Masters Waterproofing first when I'm able to deal with another client's damp crawl space later this year. And that will be a much bigger job. Very impressed and pleased with BMW's diligence and integrity. Looking forward to working with them again.

I called to setup an estimate for getting an egress window in the basement. I left my contact information and was told that I would be contacted to setup a time/date. I never received a call back, so I attempted to contact via email. Their website said they should get back to you in 24 hours. That was a week ago. Very disappointed in the responsiveness after seeing what I thought were good reviews. Perhaps they do good work, but I'll never know, I chose to go with another company on Angies List that has been great at communicating.

I never managed to get an appointment. I called them one afternoon, and was told that the person I needed to speak to was on the other line, but would call me right back. For planning purposes, I asked them if they would be calling back that afternoon or not. They assured me they would call me back that afternoon, so I waited by my phone, but they didn't call. Three or four days later they finally left me a message. I called them back and spoke to someone, who assured me that they would coordinate with a mold expert and call me back to schedule. I never heard from them again. I have not called them back since I figured if it is so hard to even schedule an appointment, it does not bode well for their responsiveness when work has actually started. I am sorry this happened because after reading the reviews and descriptions, Basement Masters seemed like the best fit for what I was looking for.

It went very well. Since we were working with a relocation company to close our home, we needed the repairs very quickly and the contractor made labor available on a Saturday to meet our needs. They were very professional and cleaned the area very well when done--you could not even tell they had done anything on the exterior (they did; I am just noting that they replaced the dirt and compacted it very carefully). The interior looked good and I would definitely recommend them again or use them if I were remaining in the area. I especially appreciated their ability to come out on a Saturday and complete the work.

Randall came out, on time, to give an estimate on repairing some cracks in the concrete walls in our crawlspace/storage area. We were expecting a hefty price and worried about them having to excavate the outside to fill the cracks. He told us we didn't need to do anything but get a dehumidifier (we had had a problem with mold previously.) He said he could do the excavation (for around $8000) but he'd feel guilty about it since it didn't need to be done. He was very honest and took time to explain to me about what was going on in that area and what we should do. Would not hesitate to call them again or to recommend them to my friends.

These guys were great! We had them come out to give us a quote on installing an egress window and well in our basement. We're planning on finishing the basement, and Fairfax County now requires an egress window or walk-out in case of fire before you can finish any of your basement. Randall came out to give us the quote was clearly very knowledgeable about egress window requirements in Fairfax County, and made sure that the design planned for our house would stand up to inspection and would qualify as an fire egress. He took specific measurements and answered all of our questions. When we got a quote from a second company, it did come in with a lower price tag than Basement Masters, however, the guy who came to inspect the basement was barely there for 5 minutes - he took about 3 rough measurements and left, and when we got their proposal, it looked like it didn't *quite* meet all of Fairfax County's requirements. Since we wanted to do this project *right* and we wanted to make sure we'd pass inspection, we went with Basement Masters. Even though the price tag with Basement Masters was a little higher, they did give us an optional discount - basically, we saved a few hundred bucks by going to the county and getting the building permit ourselves. We took them up on this, and were really happy with it. They gave us all the paperwork we needed - the time spent getting the permit was mostly just the time it took to sit in lines at the county office. Once we got the permit, they managed to get us scheduled fairly quickly - they finished another job early and squeezed us in over a weekend. Since we were flexible on start dates, this was great news for us! They stuck to the 3-day schedule they gave us - they showed up when they said it would, they did the work exactly as they said they would, and finished when they said they would. The quality of the window and well we got was very high - we're quite pleased with how it turned out. Also, I think it's pertinent to mention that they did an *exceptional* job keeping the job site tidy and neat. We had 8 inches of snow fall in the middle of the work, so we kind of expected our side yard to turn into a mud pit. However, they did an excellent job of removing excess dirt and being very careful on the grass! They also kept the interior of the house very clean - no mud or dirt inside at all! They also did a superb job of replanting bushes where the window well went in - they don't block light coming into the well, but they do obscure the view of the well from the street. One thing I will note - some of their emails get eaten by Hotmail's spam filters (and possibly other providers as well.) If you haven't heard from them via email and are expecting to, give them a call to make sure you didn't miss their email - I eventually had to have them send emails to my gmail account so I could get them. They were very patient though, and kept re-sending the quote to me until I got it :) Couldn't recommend these guys more!

We needed to install a basement drainage system and sump pump in our 70-year-old Arlington home. Although we had had only minimal water seepage in the four years we've lived here, we were about to embark on a full renovation of the basement and did not want to risk future water damage to the new carpet and drywall. We also needed to install an egress window, which would require cutting through the foundation wall. We obtained at least 4 estimates for this job. Basement Masters was tied with one other provider for the lowest cost -- at about $5500 for the waterproofing. The highest cost provider -- a well-known national waterproofer -- was roughly twice as expensive. We went with Basement Masters over the other low cost provider in part because the other company does not do egress windows. Basement Master did the egress window for $4800, which was about half what our remodeling company would have charged. We also liked Randall Butterfield's low-pressure sales pitch and his matter-of-fact, knowledgeable professionalism. The 4 or 5 person crew arrived on time and did the whole job in about four days, which was one day longer than expected as they had to get a replacement part for the specialized chain saw they used to cut through the foundation wall. (See photo.) The job itself was pretty straightforward: they jackhammer the perimeter around the inside foundation wall, dig a ditch a couple feet deep, lay perforated pipe leading to the sump pump well, backfill with river rock, install a kind of corrugated hard plastic at the base of the wall to allow any seepage from the walls to find its way to the drainage pipe, and then cover the ditch with cement, leveling it with the existing floor surface. This was hard, dirty work, but the crew did it efficiently and with minimal mess. It helped that they were able to carry out the jackhammered concrete and dirt through the basement window rather than carrying it out through the house. They also patched some cracks in the foundation wall with epoxy, at no extra cost. We paid an extra $875 for a battery back-up system. We were very pleased with the end result,including the egress window and well, which turned out nicer than we expected. Our only complaint was that Randall was sometimes difficult to reach after the job was done. It was a few weeks before he was able to come out for a final inspection. That did not delay our renovation project but it did mean that he was unable to see all of the work that was done. We also had some follow-up questions and had some difficulty reaching him. But other than that we were pleased with both the quality of the job and the cost.

I wanted an egress window done in my basement by cutting the concrete wall and wanted to get an estimate from Basement Masters Waterproofing. As per the initial appointment, their representative, Randall Butterfield came to see my home on 26th Feb and promised to send the proposal with cost estimate within couple of days. It's been almost a week now and I am still waiting for it. I sent a mail as well as called on Monday 3/3 to remind about sending the proposal. I was promised that it would be sent within an hour. Once again nothing came. I called up again today (3/4) during the day and left a voicemail too. And still no response/proposal. If they don't follow it through after the initial visit then why bother wasting customer's time and energy. I was holding-up my decision thinking I will get another estimate from this company and then I can pick one company that suits me best. But it's been a frustrating experience so far.

They did an absolutely fantastic job. They were excellent because they promptly got back to us. The work was done on the said date and time and everything was perfect. Even after the work was done, the owner actually came in to see how the work was done. They did an egress window for the basement, there was a glass that was damaged outside and he even offered to re-seed the area so that the grass will not grow back. It was an excellent, excellent job.

They came out and assessed our problem and told us what the issue was and that we don't need to hire them. This is 100% different than the 3 other firms who came out and told us the WRONG technical reason we had water leaks and wanted to charge us $2000+ to do an "investigation" on our water leak. It's RARE in today's world to have such honest, expert, and well intentioned companies and people looking out for the CUSTOMER'S best interest - and I can say Randall B. and this company live by this creed.

Mr Randall Butterfield with Basement Masters Waterproofing proposed a solution to a serious drainage problem in my community. A drainage system comprised of pipes and drainage ports was installed. The project was complicated and involved a lot of digging below ground behind eight townhouses. In the area where the work was performed, there are numerous underground utilities and trees. He and his crew performed the work by hand in order to prevent disruption of service from utilities. Also the work was done very carefully in order to prevent damage to tree roots in the area. Mr Butterfield attended two homeowner association board meetings to explain the work and answer questions. He was prompt and courteous about responding to telephone and email communications. He is very knowledgable and experienced and was a pleasure go work with. I was very pleased with the outcome of this project, and would hire Basement Masters again.

As soon as the above issues are resolved, including airing and drying out our basement, we will certainly reach back out to Basement Masters Waterproofing and Randall to come do the concrete work. That's right, we also found a rather large hole on the ground behind our furnace, right around the steel post of our foundation!