Lee Goldberg

Review of Quality 1st Basement Systems

I rarely write reviews, but I felt the need to wri...

I rarely write reviews, but I felt the need to write this one. After reading the highly rated reviews of Quality 1st Basements, I called them on a Sunday to set up an appointment. The operator was extremely friendly, took down the details of the water issue in my basement and immediately set up an appointment with me for the following week. The inspector called the day before to confirm the appointment. He showed up on time the next day. Unfortunately, that is where my contentment ceased. When the inspector showed up he made a cursory review of the area of the basement where the water was coming in (2 feet in length) and of the outside. There was no inspection or discussion as to what was causing the problem. Instead, I was told that once water issues start in the basement, they only get worse. There was seemingly no regard for my comment that we've never had water in 20 years in the house that we built. Something had to change recently.

Instead, he showed me a video of the product that Q1 sells (i.e., a drain and a sump pump that requires the breaking of the slab with cementing over the drain)--a product that seems to be the answer to all water issues that come in from the foundation wall. I was told that they would need to remove the sheet rock in the pertinent area, cut my studs and then they could provide a composite wall or I could have a contractor come in to fix the walls. The size of the pump I was shown was way over sized for my issue. (I happen to be an engineer so I was able to see this immediately.) And even though water was contained to a 2 foot area in only 1 part of the basement, the inspector suggested I install the system around the perimeter of the house since there would only be a warranty on the part of the basement where the system was installed. The estimate was for approximately $2,400 for 1 wall. The next day I had A1 Waterproofing (out of Haledon) come in to assess the issue and give me an opinion as to what needed to be done. After removing a small portion of the sheetrock, Roland realized that there was a hole in the concrete poured wall that was never filled by the builder. (Tar had been washed away ovre time.) He mixed some hydraulic concrete right there and filled the hole. Needless to say, the price was minimal in comparison to the Q1 estimate. Call Roland at American A-1 Waterproofing. As he told me when he was looking for the problem: "I will treat your house as if it were mine." That is what you want when water seeps into your basement.