John and his crew waterproofed the foundation of our 100 year-old semi. Water would seep through the foundation after a heavy rain—maybe a few cups' worth of water. John was punctual at our first meeting to discuss the job. His quote was the highest of the three quotes I received. I chose John based on the thorough explanation he gave me of the work and the materials to be used. Due to the limited (3') clearance to our neighbour, all excavation would have to be by hand. Once I gave him the go-ahead, work started in a couple of weeks. I was impressed with the speed of his crew. They excavated the 40' wall down 4' or so in a day. This was no small feat since they had to remove the concrete walkway, which was 5" thick and steel-reinforced over about 4'. The crew were mindful of the a/c unit and wrapped it up to keep the pile of dirt clear of it. They then parged the brick and concrete wall and applied at least 2 coats of Blue Seal. As the Blue Seal was drying, I took a close look at the foundation. The Seal was evenly applied to a fairly smooth underlying wall. The crew applied the Blue Seal all the way down the wall and onto the footings. They removed the old, clogged weeping tile and laid new weeping tile. After placing the Delta membrane and insulating foam (as per my request), and securing the membrane with a cap sheet, they back-filled the trench. As they back-filled, they tamped the dirt every couple of feet. The top few inches were covered with 3/4" gravel. All this was done in 6 days. My yard was swept and looked fine afterwards, but John kept his word and power-washed everything. Throughout the job, John kept my wife and I updated on his progress. Within days of completion, there was a 22 mm rainfall. This amount of rain would have caused a wet basement before, but this time I found no sign of water entry. I am happy with John's work and would recommend him to friends and family. Whether by chance or through extra effort, his crew finished work before my son's birthday so there were no disruption to the party the next day. If you're going to hire John, expect a quality job done on time.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $17,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Slightly more "official" paperwork, including the quote. That said, John seems trustworthy so this is a minor issue.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Consider insulating the outside of your foundation to reduce heat loss in winter, as recommended by CMHC.