This year's rain resulted in two instances of our basement having about an inch of standing water. Given that we have a finished basement, we can't take the chance for any mold growing sight unseen behind the drywall. So we called several contractors to come in to take a look and give us project proposals along with estimates. One contractor proposed to tear down roughly four feet of drywall and open our concrete basement floor to expose the footer and install a system that channels water seeping through wall cracks and rising from below to a sump pump for evacuating outside with a cost of $8700 with no drywall repair. Another simply asked for us to wait and see the next time water comes in to take a video so he can see exactly what to do. Another contractor proposed some regrading and installing two window wells with drains, costing $6700. Yet another refused to come unless both me and my wife are present (tragic policy). Jason from HBC came, looked over everything in great detail both inside and outside, and sent me a detailed proposal with a list of waterproofing "options" that I can select a la carte. Based on his proposal, prices, and available discount for being an Angieslist member, the final price was around $8900 that includes both an interior full perimeter drainage system and exterior grading along with downspout extension. To us, Jason's proposal combined the best of all options we were looking for. The best part of his proposal is that he didn't need to tear down our drywall.
Jason is both the owner and the foreman of HBC. It is apparent that he is very good at what he does. On the first day, he and his associate spent several hours just to cover our basement belongings in plastic to control dust. Jason did the jackhammering himself to open our basement floor. When there was something in the way that really shouldn't be moved (i.e., a hot water tank), he hand dug a tunnel under the surface concrete. In all, the interior portion of the project took 3 full days, during which he was personally present to do most of the technical and hard work himself. The 4th day comprised exterior grading, downspout extension, two simple window wells, and general clean-up. His team wiped down everything in detail, including the walls. Jason even gone above and beyond what our original contract stated by putting up finishing wall covers in areas he suspects of potential leakage so that any water comes through gets directly channeled to the drainage system. He also tore out the old pipes of our sump pump, which looked like a DIY setup, replaced them with a setup that looks far more professional and orderly along with a dual sump pit system while using our original equipment. All in all, Jason Fry and Healthy Basement Concepts provide a great service, expert installation, at exceptionally reasonable prices. He is also just generally a very nice guy and works very hard to make sure that every project is being done as though it's for his own house. If you're going to spend close to $10,000 on a major basement project, trust Jason and his team to get the best quality and value. read more