Establishing Firm Foundation Waterproofing
reviews and complaints

This is the caution to the people who are trying to use water proofing system.

When I do remodeling, usually I will install drain tile system. When I bought the property in Merrillville 2 month ago, Robert Garcia contacted me through this Facebook. His company is called Establishing Firm Foundations Waterproofing.

I was very careful to choose any contractors but I allowed Robert to do the work. Eventually it turned out the terrible experience with Establishing Firm Foundations Waterproofing, led by Robert Garcia, that I feel needs to be shared openly. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this company.

Here are the key issues I faced:

1. The installation of the drain tile was not deep enough, which led to water reaching up to the floor level. Water is coming up on the floor. When I discussed this with Robert, his response did not address the problem effectively.

2. There was a disconnection in the drainage system involving the floor drain and the sump pump pit. Despite initially denying the existence of a problem, Robert agreed to a resolution only after being presented with evidence. But he did not want to fix it

3. Robert promised a lifetime warranty for the work done, but this warranty was never provided to us, which is a significant concern.

In summary, the level of professionalism and quality of work I encountered with Establishing Firm Foundations Waterproofing was significantly below my expectations. Based on my extensive experience in dealing with various waterproofing companies over the last 17 years, I must say that this has been one of my worst experiences. Given this, I strongly advise others to exercise caution and consider alternative options when seeking waterproofing services

I hired Robert for waterproofing and it was a big mistake. He took $5,000 deposit and started the job, but disappeared without finishing the demo. He asked for more money, saying he did a lot of work and needed more than we agreed. When I asked him to continue, he stopped demo and cleaning and didn't show up anymore. He said he's not coming back because he did enough work for the money he got.

I hired "Establishing Firm Foundations" to fix seven cracks in my basement foundation. They sealed five of them properly, but two started to leak. I called them on 05/21 to come back and fix it, as they promised. However, they missed three appointments and only showed up on 6/30. After they left, I found that they dumped construction materials in my and my neighbor's garbage cans, including tar, concrete, and rebar. I heard them talking about it in Spanish, and I took pictures of the waste. Robert was also rude on the phone and said that this job wasn't worth his time, even though it was under guarantee. I agreed to pay him more to fix an additional hole, but he still acted unprofessional.

Establishing Firm Foundations is a biz that waterproofs basements and foundations. They did a good job waterproofing my house's foundation, as the crawl space has been mostly dry since they did it on September 21. The sump pump they installed failed once in 2019, but it's under a lifetime warranty. Robert, the owner, was slow to send a crew to test it, which is my complaint. The crew did a good job testing it and found it wasn't working. They replaced it with a new one with no extra charges. But the sump pump failed again in 2020, and Robert was slow to send a crew again. I called him yesterday, and he said he'd come at 7:00 A.M. the next day, but he didn't show up. I called him again, and he said he was delayed because of another project. He said he'd come at 11:00 A.M., but he still didn't show up. I left him a message, and now I'm waiting. If he doesn't come today, I'll file a complaint with ComplaintsBoard.com.

Establishing Firm Foundations did my front stairs. They never came and sealed the concrete, which is now falling off my stairs. I want them to redo the job and seal the concrete.

I hired Establishing Firm Foundations for some repairs on my property and the owner, Mr. Garcia, told me they were under warranty and he would take care of it. I called him on June 5th to check on the progress and he said he would let me know when it would be done. But since then, he hasn't been answering my calls or emails. I sent him emails on June 17th and June 24th, and he replied saying he would let me know soon. I even sent another email on June 30th and called on July 6th, but he still hasn't responded. It's frustrating because I thought I could trust this company, but now I'm not so sure.