I would highly recommend R&R Foundation Specialist. The following describes our experience in stabilizing our house foundation and the success we had with R&R Foundation Specialists of Everette, WA. This description spans a 12-month period ending in September 2021.
The Problem
Our Maple Valley, WA home sits on the edge of wetlands that surround a small neighborhood lake. Over the 20 years we have owned the home we have become increasingly concerned that our 30-year-old house was slipping into the wetlands. We suspected the floor in southeast corner of the house was lower than the rest of the house. Later, we found out our suspicions were true, the house had sunk 3 1/2 inches in that corner. This fact caused us to start contacting companies that could help us.
The Search
Overall, we had 4 vendors quote on stabilizing our foundation to prevent further sinking and to potentially lift it. The quotes ranged from installing 4 piers to 9 piers along the southeast corner of the house. Some quotes required us to remove a portion of our patio deck to provide clearance for the piers, others did not. The quotes ranged in cost from $11,000 to over $22,000. Also, the most expensive quote strongly recommended that we install a crawl space drainage system for and extra $6,000.
In the end, we spent 12 months searching for vendor that could help us because we were receiving wildly different quotes that substantially varied in the amount of work and price.
The Contract
We selected vendor (not R&R Foundation Specialists) and started to review the contract we were asked to sign. Immediately we were hit with strange terms and usually wording. For example, "This proposal is based primarily upon the customer's description of the problem." No, not true. The proposal is based upon the vendor's own investigation into the problem and years of experience in solving it.
We found ourselves having to explain to the vendor that (1) the proposal should be labeled as a "contract" (a binding agreement between two or more parties), (2) it should state the scope of the project (what they were going to deliver and what they were not), (3) proposal should say when the project starts and when it will end, (4) it should contain a payment schedule (what monies were due from the customer and when), and much more. After 5 revisions of the proposal/contract and one month's delay, we finally got the wording straightened out and signed the document.
Cancellation
10 business days after the proposal/contract was signed and before any on-site work begun, we were notified that the project was going to cost 10% more. To have the project costs increase so much and so quickly seemed suspicious. The reason given for the increase was because a Geo-Technical report was found to be needed and it was going to cost $2,300. We pointed out to the vendor the following sentence in the proposal/contract;" Fees includes administrative costs associated with obtaining permit. Engineering Calculations, Geo-Technical report and Engineered Drawings for 6-20 Piers."
Because the project cost rose so quickly after contract signing and because the reason for the increase was clearly an expense included in the quoted price, we cancelled the project. We did receive a refund of our deposit.
Results
After the prior bad experience, we contacted R&R Foundation Specialist or Everette, WA. They were much more knowledgeable than the other vendors. They understood what the problem was, what caused it, and how it could be solved in a reasonable fashion. They also showed us that, not only was our house sinking, but the previous home owner had tried to fix it. Immediately, we signed a contract with R&R to stabilize the foundation with 6 piers and possibly raise it. The R&R contract was for $9,000 less than the vendor we had contracted with before.
We found R&R personnel to be very friendly, professional, communicated frequently, and cleaned the job site at the end of each day. They could relate to the horror stories we had with other vendors and shared our concerns about project cost overruns. When R&R found our house foundation to be twice the size they expected and twice as large as building codes would suggest, they immediately communicated the impact this would have on the total project costs. Together with R&R, we were able to work out a win-win solution for all of us.
Conclusion
I would highly recommend R&R Foundation Specialist. They are much more knowledgeable, professional, more reasonably priced than their competitors. R&R is willing to work with home owners to deliver foundation problem solutions that work and are appropriately priced. read more