Ottawa Structural Residential Services Ltd

I used OSRS twice for a triplex and an investment property. One job was complex and OSRS did the job competently. The other job was more straightforward. Both basements have not leaked since repairs were undertaken. Quality materials used throughout. Staff are competent.

Great company. The whole process was thorough, from arranging the estimate, work dates and walking us through what to expect. The crew set up the work area according to proper safety procedures, too. Me likey!

I waited a while before posting this because I wanted to ensure my issue was resolved. A competitor had quoted me 20K to dig out the entire perimetre of the house, water proof etc. Not in my budget. I contacted this company and they proposed an alternative- 2 years later still no water coming in. Very pleased all in all.

STAY AWAY FROM OSRS.
- they tried to skimp on a very important structural component (installed unprimed flat steel bar instead of the proper, engineer spec'd brick lintel). I caught them so it was fixed)
- they said my weeping tile wasn't draining ($3000 more). I tested it myself and it was fine. Their "testing" procedure is sorely lacking.
- they parged around the windows in full sun on a hot day (a definite no no... caused rapid drying and cracking... which it did)
- they said the windows didn't need to be caulked (WHAT??). Next rain, they leaked so I caulked them myself.

Ottawa Structural completed a large repair to the foundation of our home. The company worked diligently to complete the work in a timely manner. When unexpected problems arose the company dealt with them immediately and the cost did not increase by much. The workers communicated updates regarding the repairs and were extremely polite. They cleaned up after themselves and I am very satisfied with the company.

I'm not really sure that we weren't oversold on what we needed. We had sinkholes around the window well and it was all clogged with dirt and debris. Inside Ottawa Structural found a tiny little crack and convinced us that if we didn't have the foundation waterproofed, that this crack would eventually cause problems. I have no idea whether this was true, but it was going to cost 2500.00 just for the new window well and 4000.00 for the whole job including the waterproofing, so we went ahead and did the whole job. Seems like a lot of money for a new window well.

We also called in April and the job was done in December, so not exactly prompt. The guys did not do a great job in December as the ground was already nearly frozen and we'd had a huge dump of snow, so they had to come back in spring to redo parts of it. On the whole, not a terrible, but not a great experience.