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  • Report:  #302923

Complaint Review: Everdry Waterproofing Of Pittsburgh - Evans City Pennsylvania

Reported By:
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Submitted:
Updated:

Everdry Waterproofing Of Pittsburgh
1568 Mars-Evans City Road Evans City, 16033 Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-388-3837
Web:
N/A
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
At the end March of 2006, I contacted Everdry of Pittsburgh (1568 Mars-Evans City Road, Evans City, PA 16033) as I had dampness in my basement, which was for the most part finished. I found Everdry through television advertising. A salesman from Everdry came to my home and did an inspection and recommended a solution of an inside and outside French Drain system, which included a sump pump and dehumidifier.

The total cost for the system was $9,789.00. Foolishly, I contracted with them to do the work. I do have a copy of the contract along with a Credentials paper, which stated that they were a member of the National Association of Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors (NAWSRC), the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, the National Association of Home Builders, and the Building Industries Association. In fact, the credentials paper states that some of their workers are certified with NAWSRC.

I recently searched online and couldn't find where Everdry of Pittsburgh is a member of any of those organizations let alone "certified" with NAWSRC. I also saw on the Better Business Bureau's website that Everdry of Pgh has falsely stated they were a member or referenced the BBB and that the Attorney General was involved regarding their violation of the Do Not Call legislation. In the past 36 months, the BBB reports that 29 complaints were filed against them.

Anyway, Everdry came out to do the install and I found that they were not going to install the French Drain system around the exterior of the house. They decided that they didn't need to do so. Some of the wording on the contract and their reference to their systems was a bit confusing and I assumed that I screwed myself with that and had to settle for the interior system only. I hoped that the interior system would do the trick. Everdry installed the interior system and I immediately noted water coming up through the cement floor.

In addition, their workers had plastered asphalt roofing tar on the sidewalks around my house to waterproof/seal the exterior. I immediately complained and they sent a supervisor out to inspect the problem. In addition, they had cemented over my trap/access pipe to my sewer system. The supervisor agreed to send someone out to redo the system in the home.

They also agreed to dig up and replace the sidewalks on the side of my home. They did come out and redo the interior system. When they dug up my trap/access pipe for my sewer line, I found that the workers had just shoved plastic into the line and cemented over it. Now in lieu of the trap being flush with my floor, I have a pipe approx. a foot high sticking out of the floor.

Everything appeared to be ok for a time and I paid approx. $5,000 to have vinyl flooring installed in the basement. In addition, I paid to have the drywall repaired as their workers caused damage to it along with a couple light fixtures, and had everything painted. This past summer, I had a terrible problem with flies in the house. I would kill or pick up 20 to 30 dead flies a day. It was so disgusting that I contacted Terminix to come out and spray to try to get rid of them. They seemed to be coming from one particular wall in my basement.

Over the Christmas holiday, I noticed that the vinyl flooring was lifting and separating where it was seamed. (Near where the flies seemed to come from.) There was dampness underneath it. In addition, I saw a mark on the wall where the nails holding the drywall in place were rusting, and the drywall around one window was damp and starting to deteriorate. I also didn't notice the sump pump coming on at all. I called Everdry and they came out this week to inspect the problem. In addition, I contacted two other waterproofing companies to come out and look at the system.

Sylvester Taylor and another individual came out from Everdry, after I had to fight with DJ in their office. We had made an appointment for the 16th and then DJ tried to tell me that it would be a 50/50 chance of them getting there. I told him that I had arranged to get off work to be available for an appointment that they had available and which was made almost two weeks in advance and that if someone didn't get there that they had a 50/50 chance of hearing from my attorney. Sylvester Taylor did show up and inspected the system. He also said in disbelief that he couldn't believe "that company" and volunteered to tell me that the BBB had an overwhelming number of complaints for them. A supervisor from Everdry was to call me back after they reviewed Sylvester's notes.

DJ from Everdry did call me back and I've had a couple, somewhat nasty at times, conversations with him. The long and the short of it is that they didn't realize and don't know how to handle the fact that my foundation is not a typical foundation where the holes in the block run vertical. Their system was based on the fact that the holes ran vertical and that the water would drain down into the interior French Drain system and subsequently into the sump pump. The holes in my foundation run horizontal like a terracotta foundation and the water in the walls is trapped and cannot and will not ever run into their system. I'm fighting with them for a refund of my money so that I can have it fixed properly by a contractor that knows how to handle this situation. In addition, I want the money that I paid for the vinyl flooring to be refunded to me also as their system was flawed from the beginning due to their lack of knowledge.

Along with the above, both of the other waterproofing contractors that I spoke with advised that the drywall in my basement should have been removed part way up and holes drilled into the blocks to release the water. A two step system is then installed to direct the water down into the French Drain system. Everdry never even mentioned this but they did put up a single piece of place in a few selected areas that weren't dry walled. All this is doing now is causing condensation between the foundation and the plastic.

When I asked DJ at Everdry about this he told me that my insulation and drywall do the same thing as the plastic. That was the most ridiculous statement that I ever heard. The drywall and insulation would hold the moisture and mold. It would not direct and release it into the French Drain system. I guess he thought I was stupid.

Everdry also provided me with a list of assocations that they were members of, including the National Association of Waterproofing and Structural Repair Contractors (NAWSRC) and stated they had people certified with them but when I search on NAWSRC's webiste of members there was only one waterproofing company in the Pittsburgh area that a member of and certified with NAWSRC and it was not Everdry!

I am fighting with them right now to refund my money so that I can get a reputable contractor in to fix the mess that they have created.

I have also spoken to Channel 4's Call for Action Hotline

If you have a problem with Everdry please report it to them. They did a story on this company a couple years ago alerting consumers of their practices.

Bennie

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

U.S.A.


1 Updates & Rebuttals

Mark

St Clair Shores,
Michigan,
U.S.A.
Contractor Comments, A Different View

#2Consumer Comment

Fri, January 25, 2008

Bennie, Sorry to read about your problem(s), i do understand what your going through. Am a licensed basement waterproofing/foundation contractor in Mich. Have seen- quite a few of same or very similar problems. If you like, you can contact me, will TRY and help you or,anyone else. Have decades of hands-on experience to try and help, have many factual links written by others you may want to read. A few points before i go, a) Inside drain tile or baseboard Systems do NOT stop/prevent water-moisture- termites and other insects from entering cracks,loose parging etc that are on the outside of basements walls.Radon can also enter basements through these same exterior openings b) Inside drain tile or baseboard systems, with or without sump pumps do NOT relieve,lessen,remove SOIL pressure that si against the outside of basement walls. Expanding & contracting soil can cause cracks,leaks, a wall to bow inward. Roots can also grow against walls, they can grow into/through cracks and possibly WIDEN a crack. They can deteriorate mortar joints between blocks. Inside systems do not remove these and other possible pressures/weights off the exterior wall. c) not saying you have any mold,efflorescence on part(s) of bsmt walls but, some homeowners do. in order to help stop/prevent mold/efflorescence one must find-locate and eliminate water-moisture intrusion and possible humidity problem. Inside systems cannot stop water intrusion THROUGH, for instance,block or brick basement walls.They can only try and divert water around inside perimeter which should keep water off the part of basement floor where they installed system.Two different things. d) many who only or most often install Inside sytems do NOT diagnose the ACTUAL problem(s), they don't locate where water is FIRST-entering. They either don't know or, don't care.Again, they only or mostly want-to install this Inside system because they make MORE money. Alot less materails involved,alot less labor. Just because you-they saw water along- near the bottom of wall and floor does NOT mean there is a problem under the floor or under a footing, nonsense. This only means...thats where it enters 'inside'. Most often, water that enters along this area, the cold joint- cover is there due to, cracks,loose parging,other openings exist on the outside, THIS is WHERE-why water 'first-enters'. Its also where termites can enter, termites alone cause 5-6 billion dollars of damage every year anyways,i'll leave it there for now,if you'd like some help just let me know

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