Basement Technologies of Western NY

Dear Revdex.com,The [redacted] project was preformed above and beyond the call of the contractA full perimeter Water Trek Aqua Route System was installed at the [redacted] 's residence at [redacted] *** in October I, the owner of Basement Technologies of WNY, personally estimated this project, installed the system, and have been in communication with [redacted] and [redacted] about their concerns [redacted] ( [redacted] 's father) met with me every day during the installation, representing the [redacted] familyAlso, [redacted] was present at home on multiple occasions during the course of installationI had conversations with [redacted] when [redacted] was presentThe complaint fails to mention [redacted] and [redacted] 's agreement to not fill the weep holes and instead re-seal their radon systemThey did not want to pay for the additional time to have it re-sealed, so on the 4'" day of the project, they swapped my time filling weep holes to re-sealing their radon systemI purchased the products and I re-sealed the systemPlease know that the [redacted] 's had large deep puddles on the of water on the floor and water draining out of the bottom courses of block around their entire basementALL of that has been rectifiedThese "weep holes" they refer to as leaking were not done by my company and are leaking in only place in the basementAll of the weep holes (over of them on every wall in the basement) werediscussed many times, their fate was determined by [redacted] and [redacted] by not wanting to pay for the holes to be sealed properly at the time of our system installation, and the full perimeter basement system they purchased is working perfectly[redacted] , the father of [redacted] , oversaw the entire project on his son and daughter-in-law'sbehalfI feel he was the General Contractor on the projectI have included the text messages I received from him as wellHe was part of the decision making as well, was on the job site every day asking questions and getting clarification, and can be reached at [redacted] .A full perimeter Water Trek Aqua Route System was proposed and installed at the [redacted] residence at [redacted] from October 17'" to 0''\ because of the massive amounts of water that was coming up through the seam in the floor and dripping down the wall (by osmosis) due to the extreme problem of Iron OchreThe water was moving through the wall and dripping down the face of itThere weremany puddles all over the basement and the dripping walls were prevalent on all sides of their basementTheir Iron Ochre problem was extensiveIron Ochre is a by-product of iron bacteria and is a slimy, sticky substance that cakes the inside of pipes, drains, walls, sump pumps, etcDuring the estimate when both [redacted] and [redacted] were present, it was explained that we had no way of knowing how much iron ochre was in the walls and, additionally, how much mortar the builder had filled the wall withBoth of those determine how water moves down the core of the wallWater Trek Aqua Route is a high quality basement waterproofing system specifically designed to deal withIron OchreIt is installed under the basement floor, up against the wall, and holes are drilled in the walls, below floor level, to allow the water to drain out of the wall and into the system under the floorAn option of Finish White paneling was discussed at the estimateThis white paneling is 12"tall and would be installed before final concreteIt would be secured to the wall and tucked into our newsystem, channeling the water down if the 30+ weep holes that someone else drilled leaked [redacted] and [redacted] were adamant they wanted to do the cheapest route possible and said they hoped the new weep holes Idrilled would be enough to get the water flowing through the wall to the bottom and bypass the existing weepholes already drilled into their wallIt is definitely a possibility, but not a givenThe way to guarantee it is tocover them with Finish WhiteFilling the holes with caulk will do very little or nothingThe weep holes inquestion are around all the walls basementWhen a customer is adamant about dismissing a service or option,we do NOT put it on our contractIt causes customers to feel we are pushy despite their firm stanceThat is why a new discharge line, sump crock, or finish white was not put on the contract as an additional option as well.I agreed to plug the weep holes, in writing, in an email before they signed the contractI stated, very clearly,that it is for aesthetic purposes ONLYPlugging the holes is not guaranteed to stop the water, and if it does, it will be for a very limited time as the water builds up and pops the sealIt will not work for that purposeThe only way to rectify this is to cover the weep holes with Finish White, as was explained, but just installing the new system might have the desired affect.The contract was signed with a $discount and additional discount for cash priceThe contract also states we are using their existing crock (container for the sump pump) and discharge lineThis was requested by [redacted] and [redacted] to save additional moneyBeing the honest company we are, we did not try to up-sell them on products or force them to buy a complete new system in order to get one of the best products on the market for their Iron Ochre problemWe worked with portions of their current system to save them money.As written on the contract, a 30% deposit is required upon signingI graciously accepted only 15% with thes igned contract to get them on the schedule and the another 15% I reminded them was due months laterwhen they forgot [redacted] also asked for a start date past October to acquire the rest of the fundsWe werelater contacted by [redacted] stating that he was "demanding" a start date and that they had given us a significant amount of money up front and wanted to know why they hadn't heard from usAfter calling him backimmediately and explaining that we were only doing what his wife had requested on their behalf, we movedup their scheduled start date to accommodateOf course, now that they are unhappy with something different that wasn't done for free they deny this event taking placeWe were happy to work with them so we obliged.My employees and I worked on their project for consecutive business days, never starting another job untiltheirs was doneI was personally there, fulfilling this contract [redacted] was on site every day and we had multiple conversations about the work.• An 8" gap is jack-hammered in the floor around the entire perimeter of the basement (over feet)• The 4" floor debris was removed using 5-gallon buckets from the basement• The wet, mud and I [redacted] Ochre covered stone was also removed• New weep holes were drilled into the wall below floor level releasing large amounts of water• New stone was brought in in 5-gallon buckets• Water Trek Aqua Route System (a f01m of piping) was installed in the trench, with clean-out ports to clean the system, and gravity fed to the crock and sump pump• New stone was brought in to cover the system• New concrete was mixed and covered the new system, exposing the caps the for the clean out ports to maintain the system• Because of the messy job done when pouring the footer originally, it took us an entire day to level the footer, which I told and showed [redacted] , [redacted] , and [redacted] and told them that typically this wouldinvolve a change order, but I did not charge them for the additional day (approx$000.00).I spoke with [redacted] many times during the course of installationWhen the floor was opened and the stone removed, it was prevalent that the footer had been over-poured during construction and extra concrete would need to be removedI showed her and [redacted] that was the worse footer I had ever seen, but Iwould not charge them additional moneyAt the end of day 3, after the system was installed and we weregoing to concrete the next day, [redacted] asked ifl would re-connect her Radon SystemThis was not part of the contract and had not been discussed priorI explained that at least tubes of P L Premium Caulk and 100feet ofBacker Rod was required plus Yday of laborThe product was $I offered that if she paid for theproduct, I would install it for free, but I would not have time to fill the weep holes tooI again stated the filling of the weep holes was for aesthetic purposes only and that if she was concerned, we should installFinish WhiteShe did not want to pay anything additional and decided to swap the aesthetic look of the weepholes with the re-sealing of the radon systemThe following morning I went to Lowes to buy the necessary items for the radon system.On the last day of work, I cemented the floor and took hours to install the caulk and backer rod for herradon systemShe was present and happy to have saved money by not hiring another contractor [redacted] was present tooBoth were extremely satisfied with the work and I was paid the 70% balance atthat time and the additional $ for the radon sealing products.On Saturday, January 13'", [redacted] called and spoke with my Office Manger, Kansas, about water coming inthrough weep holesAs directed, Kansas immediately asked questions about the system: was the sump pumprunning, was the crock filled with water, and was any pipe of the new system filled with water( [redacted] hadto remove all the clean-out port caps and look down into the pipe.) All were working properly and I returnedthe phone call to the [redacted] 's and [redacted] answeredI explained that our system was working perfectly: nopuddles on the floor, no water coming up through the floor seam, no water in the pipes, and the sump pumpwas running( If water was in the pipes, that signifies a clog and a problem with our system.) ( Also, we had 3"of rain in hours and 15" of snow melt in the days prior to the phone callThe [redacted] 's system kept upwith extreme and rare amount of water as expected.) [redacted] stated that weep holes besides one another were spewing water onto the floorI explained again thatthose weep holes in question were not drilled by usI explained our system was doing exactly what it wasmeant to do and had been doing so for monthsAll weep holes should have been addressed with FinishedWhite, but her and her husband chose to and take a chance with just getting a new system, and with theextreme weather, unfortunately the new system and new weep holes did not work for those specific per-drilledweep holes that were discussed during the estimate, emails, and during installationThe extreme amounts ofrain and melting snow were too much for that specific spot [redacted] and [redacted] hoped the new system wouldtake care of the weep holes, even in the most extreme instanceFortunately for them, it has worked extremelywell for the other weep holes and even these few they still have problems withThe extreme weather was toomuch [redacted] was irate with my answer and upset that I would not come out for free and redirect the waterfrom the weep holes that were leakingShe said I was degrading her and I was unprofessionalShe wastrying to pay the "woman card" and I refused to biteShe was treated professionally, and directly like everyother customerShe hung up on me.Emails ensued with the same complaints from [redacted] and [redacted] regarding the few leaking weep holes andmy "un-professionalism"They contacted [redacted] ( [redacted] 's father and General Contractor of theproject) to intervene and he reached out to me as wellHe told me I had always been professional and that [redacted] and [redacted] chose to take a chance that the new system would rectify this specific issue and they didnot pay for the additional work they were now requestingHe said he could use caulk to cover the few holes inquestion and I explained how to do itI have spoke and worked with [redacted] and [redacted] since day 1: theestimate, contract negations, acceptance of?? the deposit, acceptance of 2"d ?? of deposit, the requesting ofadditional free services, the changing of serveries, and the days it took us to complete the projectIt is sadthat when I stop doing more free things, a customer becomes irate and all the hard work, time, free items, and100% contract fulfillment are forgotten and I am labeled as unprofessional[redacted] ( [redacted] 's father and who I feel was the General Contractor of the project) has beenin communication with me since January 13111• He agrees that we did exactly what the contract states and that [redacted] and [redacted] did not want to spend the extra money to address the possible issue with all the weepholesHe is extremely pleased with my work, even to this dayStill understanding that filling these weepholes with caulk or hydraulic cement is only aesthetic or temporary, he says he will be filling them on his timeand pay the few dollars in materials for [redacted] and [redacted] I agreed to speak with him on the phone if heneeded additional direction and he was appreciative of my help and helping the house despite [redacted] and [redacted] filing this complaint.This issue with the weep holes was in no way caused by me or my companyAll options were explainedmultiple times and it is deceitful that [redacted] and [redacted] did not state the entire series of events, theextra work I preformed, and their decision to exchange the covering of any of the weep holesIt is alsodeceitful that they had a full perimeter system installed to handle so many problems in their basementand took the chance that all the weep holes would not leak waterOnly place continues to have anissue, despite their decision, and the rest are doing excellent by chance, and our system is workingexcellect for the water that was coming through their walls an onto the floor, but they are asking for a100% return on the entire full perimeter systemI am available any time for clarification or discussion ofmy contract and work performed and I hope you contact [redacted] , [redacted] 's father, to validate the entireseries of events and discussions that have transpiredFrankly, I think it speaks volumes that the customer'sown father is appalled by both of their behavior and is on our side trying to convince them to do the rightthingThank you for your time.Regards,Patrick [redacted] OwnerBasement Technologies of Western NY, IncP.SI apologize for the graininess of the picturesThey are meant for internal office use only for I use my jobsite cellphoneI labeled the back of the pictures as wellThank you