Groundworks

Their work was excellent especially with all the rain that we had, we had not had a drop of water. We were very pleased with what they did and with their service. We had water in our basement coming in from our sidewalls. The drains outside the foundation had probably crumbled so they compressed the dirt above it.  They came in, took up about 12 inches around of the basement floor, and put new drains all around inside the basement. They absolutely took care of the problem and they did it in one day. They were thorough and explained everything. They went all over the basement, looked up very carefully and explained the problem. They gave us what they thought and what their diagnosis was. We did get other estimate from other people but they seemed to be the most knowledgeable and the all the ratings had been very good on Angie’s List. They told us they could come into in a day. They also have financing if we want financing. They had everything available that we need. Workers were good, showed up in the morning, went right to work and they laid stuff where we had wood floor. They covered our wood floor so everything was protected. They told us it was going to be noisy. They worked quickly and were done at the end of the day. We were impressed with that. Everything went out exactly what they said it would. They brought their supervisor with them and checked it all out the next day after it was done to make sure it was done properly. Overall, it was a good experience. The price was good. It was the price that we were hearing so they were within the range. They were able to answer all the questions we had.

I want to remodel my kitchen, but floor was uneven, sloping down toward one corner of the room (an interior corner that is shared by the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and living room) sloped / dipped significantly, an issue we'd have to fix before we could do the remodel.  I called FSM to give me an estimate on leveling out my floors, but the inspector who came out was trying really hard to sell me on something different. He wanted to encapsulate my crawlspace and gave me an estimate of $14,200.  I told them I just really wanted the floor leveled out and we only wanted the jack.  We paid $2500 to have them come install two jacks. When the installer came to put the jacks in, it hardly did anything to lift the floor, and he told me that we would probably need 6-9 more jacks to fix the area. He told me this after we had already paid half for the jacks and he was expecting the balance due.  I thought $2500 was an incredible sum of money to spend for so little result, but then to be told that we would need 6-9 more jacks!   (Why didn't the inspector say that upfront?   I would have looked for another solution.  $2500 for 2 jacks = $1250 per jack.   If I needed 8 to 11 jacks total, at that price it would be $10,000 to $13,750!)   I was so disappointed and it still bothers me today because I couldn?t get the kitchen remodel done since the floors are not yet level.  I have $2500 less in my budget but still have to fix the uneven floor before I can do the remodel.  The gentleman that did the jack installation was a nice guy.  He was very professional and I didn?t have any issue with him being at my home. They were very punctual.  But, I would absolutely not use them again in the future. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UPDATE: I received a call and then a visit from Nate at FSM.  He inspected the uneven floor, the crawlspace, and the existing Smart Jacks and rather than suggesting they install 6-9 more jacks, he offered to have their carpenter come out and sister the sagging floor joists to correct the dipping floor.  Nate was hopeful that this correction would not only level out the kitchen floor, but also a section of flooring in my bedroom on the other side of the wall from the kitchen/dining room (above and beyond what I originally wanted, and I appreciated Nate's willingness to make me a satisfied customer).  Nate said it was possible they would need to install one additional Smart Jack, since one of the beams (the one supporting the bedroom floor) was such a long span and warned me that we may experience significant cracks in our walls when the floors are brought up level.    But, when the carpenter (Don) later came out, he inspected the situation and didn't feel sistering the joists was the solution because of the span between the joists.  Instead, he repositioned the jacks and adjusted them.  It did raise the corner in the kitchen significantly but not completely.  Don said there may be some obstacle under that corner's wall (he thought maybe carpentry nails from the wall, or some of the leveling compound that we used in the dining room when we redid that floor may have seeped under the wall) and that it was preventing the kitchen corner from raising completely.  I don't understand how that is...if the force of the jack is strong enough to lift my kitchen up, why wouldn't nails or leveling compound raise that corner that much more or even make a high spot?  Don suggested that when we do the kitchen remodel, if we find that something like nails or leveling compound, we could have someone use a sawzall to cut whatever we find under the floor and then tighten the jacks again to see if it would raise it up to level.  Don said that our house has beams on both sides running the length of our house, but that we don't have a center beam running the length, and so that's why we are experiencing sagging in the center of the house, but gave no estimate or proposal for how to fix that.  We are not builders or engineers, so we rely on the expertise of whatever contractors we hire.  It seems to me that if we are missing a center support beam, that is where we should have concentrated the money and the repairs.   I know Nate tried to get us the result we initially sought after, and he got us closer the second time around, but I'm still somewhat disappointed that my floors aren't more level and now I'm also concerned about the beam I didn't know was missing.

went very badly.

Because of the hard winter the driveway concrete slabs became uneven and leaned towards our home. Because the ground was frozen whenever it rained the water poured into our basement from under the door step and under the basement window sill. A friend who is a home insector gave us Foundation Systems of Michigan phone number. In the meantime, we joined Angie's List to find out for ourselves. That's when we decided to make the appointment. Eric (polyLEVEL specialist) came to our home and walked us through the process of leveling the driveway. He also checked our basement for cracks in the foundation. I cannot say enough about the professional attitude. Dale and Blake leveled the driveway slabs and sealed a seam where the slabs and house join.  Eric, Dale and Blake take pride in their jobs and are very educated about the job they perform. Dale performed a job pre walk-thru and post walk-thru. He also suggested that I could watch them do the work!  It took about two hours.  They cleaned up the driveway. After the job was finished I was told if there were any questions or issues to call.  I would definitely recommended this company.

From the salesman to the installation, excellent work! This was a tuff job because the crawl space is very low and the crew did a great job. Thanks to Dale and Adam I will use them again when needed

I called Foundation Systems of Michigan to inspect a bowing/cracking basement wall.  They inspected inside and outside the house and suggested the installation of PowerBraces to address the issue.  They were very clear and thorough in explaining the issues and repair options.  After doing some research into the company and proposed solution, I went ahead with the proposal. Communication after the inspection and before the installation was clear and thorough.  The installation crew arrived on time and did an efficient, clean job of installing the PowerBraces.  The crew leader communicated regularly with me during the job to explain the nature of the work and resolve any questions that I had. The braces appear to be working as intended as I can see improvement in the bowing/cracking that originally prompted me to arrange the work.  Overall I am very pleased with the work performed.

Allen came out to the house to do the free estimate. He went into the crawl space, took pictures, and gave my sister and I a detailed description of what needed to be done along with the cost for it all. We were able to finance one year same as cash - that helped us out tremendously. A four man crew arrived one week later and they completed the job in just over two hours. Pictures were taken again so we could see all the finished work. They were nice guys, they worked hard and cleaned up after themselves! FSM did the job they said they would do.

There were a few mis- measurements when the digging began but they took the time to tell us,correct it and do the job satisfactorily.  Left the property just as promised.

The inspector and service tech each were very thorough.  For a project that I was not comfortable with they explained each and every step along the way.  I did go with the right company !

The best group of guys I have met in the contracting business...