- Report: #893465
Complaint Review: Regional Waterproofing & Excavating - St. Catharines Ontario
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Regional Waterproofing & Excavating
20 Parkhill, Unit # 2 St. Catharines, L2T 1V7 Ontario, Canada
Phone:
905-397-7682
Web:
www.regionalwaterproofing.ca; www.regionalconstruction.ca
Categories:
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Regional Waterproofing & Excavating Regional Construction & Restoration Services; 1683023 Ontario Inc.; 1671343 Ontario Inc. Dishonest and complete lack of integrity St. Catharines, Ontario Canada
We contacted Regional Waterproofing & Excavating as there was an intermittent flooding issue in the basement (occurred about once a year). The best looking ad in the Yellow Pages was amazing, I was ready to give up my first born.."we find the root of the problem and fix it" "restore and add value to your property" "no band-aid solutions" etc., looked great and it comes with a 30 guarantee to boot. I called them immediately.
Before I continue I should share a few personal facts to help paint this picture. My wife was really pregnant (almost ready to pop), our house is a one bedroom bungalo, her family from out of town was planning on visiting once our child was born and hoping to stay with us...somehow, and half the basement is a recroom area with a small room off it which we were going to use as an interim bedroom and baby's room while we figured out a more permanent living situation. On with the story.....
The owner showed up, barked some commands at his subbordinate, in this case his wife, she took some measurements and he gave me a quote that I found a bit high. After sweating over it, I reflected on the guarantee that is transferrable through sale and this calmed my nerves. I gave them the go ahead....two weeks later the work started..
Things started out fine. Then little, greasy things began to surface. I went to open my garage, but oops, the underground power line had been severed somehow (Regional), and NO ONE advised me. When I phoned up to enquire what happened, I was given "I thought they told you". Nope, in fact they back filled over the damaged power line making it extremely difficult to find. I asked when they could make repairs, and the owner fed me "read your contract sir, that's your cost to deal with". I can deal with making repairs, but tell me about it. How could they know they damaged the line you ask? Well, they were using the outlets inside the garage to run their power tools and I gave them the code to open and close the garage door at the end of the work day.
NEXT, they charged extra to remove part of my concrete driveway. It was in the original estimate to remove this, but I guess 4-5" thick is way beyond regular thickness. Fact is 4" is a standard thickness for concrete in this installation.
I requested they install a sump-pump in a cubby hole near the rear of my basement, even put it in writing. They phoned me recommeding it be installed in the rear corner, which I agreed with as they are the 'experts' and I would just have to deal with the inconvenient installation point, whatever, as long as it's dry! Then I received at least two more calls while I was at work advising they will install it in the opposite corner of the house, in the electrical room. I thought great, but I stated "as long as you're sure" and "you're the expert".
They made a horrible mess of the sump-pump installation. It was not flush with the floor, left quite a mess for me to deal with, they didn't silicone the holes in the foundation the discharge pipes were going through, oh and they cemented the discharg pipe so it would discharge directly into the excavated part of the concrete driveway thus spitting the water right back into the weaping type/sump-pump system (mind you, there was gravel now...try pouring water into a glass filled with gravel if you want an illustration of how this does not make any sense).
I did a little visual inspection of the installation to this point which consisted of weeping tile around the foundation connected to a sump-pump at the front right corner of my home. Well, the weeping tile tapered up a lot then the connection to the sump-pump pit. I wrote a well worded letter, for real it was nicely written, not accusing anyone of anything malicious. The letter requested the owner explain why it was being installed like this as water does not run up hill, at least to my knowledge (wasn't written quite so sarcastically).
It further requested no further work be complete prior to discussing and explaining the installation. Well the owner phoned up and literally yelled at my pregnant wife while I was in the shower. She was so scared when she gave me the message. I called the guy back and he yelled at me. I calmly reminded him that he's the expert and it was not making sense to me. Shorly after, the weeping tile was installed lower in this area.
Shortly after the work was completed and after I paid an additional $4000.00 in total, I received my written guarantee. This isn't worth the paper it's written on. And I quote "THIS GUARANTEE IS A 30 YEAR GUARANTEE. ALL MATERIAL IS COVERED IN THIS GUARANTEE, PLEASE NOTE LABOUR IS NOT. THIS GUARANTEE IS TRANSFERABLE UPON THE SALE OF YOUR HOME. ALL WORK WAS COMPLETED BY 1671343 ONTARIO LIMITED. THIS GUARANTEE MUST BE KEPT WITH YOUR CONTRACT AND RECEIPT OR THE GUARANTEE IS VOID.
It should be noted that my name, address, and/or all other particulars were left off the guarantee, thus what property is it for. Further to this, if you read that guarantee again, it's basically stating the materials used have a manufacturer's guarantee and in no way guarantees the installation. Well I guarantee they did some work..............
Here's where things get fun. A couple months later there was a huge rainfall and surprise, my basement flooded, approximately 1/2" of water. I called Regional and the owner came over. He advised they'd likely need to install another sump-pump in that corner of the basement (original corner), and some internal drainage tile would need to be installed in the basement floor. Great I paid all that money and have that fantastic guarantee! He got back to me with an additional estimate for that work. I lost it at this point and told him I wasn't interested.
After much deliberation I contacted a second, much more reputible company who eventually completed similar internal work, but they actually honour the intent of the guarantee. Happy with them!!
I had a third party come by to check out what the problem was with Regional's installation. After excavating two parts of the foundation, it was discovered the the weeping tile around the majority of the foundation was the better part of 2' (two feet) lower than the connection point to the sump-pump. This means that there needs to be more then 2' of water for the sump-pump to start doing it's thing....I wonder if this is the problem???
I decided to try and recoop some of these costs...keep in mind I was now nearly $22,000.00 into an originally estimated $11,000.00 job. I approached a lawyer and yatta yatta come settlement conference time, their slick Toronto lawyer acting on behalf of Regional Waterproofing's Insurance company, claimed I was the problem. They called me a flat out lier, and they even began producing witnesses whom I never spoke with or met, but they claimed I demanded things of them. I was advised to "take whatever small settlement they offer as court could cost me possibly $10,000.00 or more if I was unsuccessful.
To sum up, Regional has no integrity, their work is shoddy, the owner is a bully, and their guarantee is garbage - I'd be embarrassed to pass that guarantee along to someone purchasing my home. Sorry for such a long read...but hope this helps.
Before I continue I should share a few personal facts to help paint this picture. My wife was really pregnant (almost ready to pop), our house is a one bedroom bungalo, her family from out of town was planning on visiting once our child was born and hoping to stay with us...somehow, and half the basement is a recroom area with a small room off it which we were going to use as an interim bedroom and baby's room while we figured out a more permanent living situation. On with the story.....
The owner showed up, barked some commands at his subbordinate, in this case his wife, she took some measurements and he gave me a quote that I found a bit high. After sweating over it, I reflected on the guarantee that is transferrable through sale and this calmed my nerves. I gave them the go ahead....two weeks later the work started..
Things started out fine. Then little, greasy things began to surface. I went to open my garage, but oops, the underground power line had been severed somehow (Regional), and NO ONE advised me. When I phoned up to enquire what happened, I was given "I thought they told you". Nope, in fact they back filled over the damaged power line making it extremely difficult to find. I asked when they could make repairs, and the owner fed me "read your contract sir, that's your cost to deal with". I can deal with making repairs, but tell me about it. How could they know they damaged the line you ask? Well, they were using the outlets inside the garage to run their power tools and I gave them the code to open and close the garage door at the end of the work day.
NEXT, they charged extra to remove part of my concrete driveway. It was in the original estimate to remove this, but I guess 4-5" thick is way beyond regular thickness. Fact is 4" is a standard thickness for concrete in this installation.
I requested they install a sump-pump in a cubby hole near the rear of my basement, even put it in writing. They phoned me recommeding it be installed in the rear corner, which I agreed with as they are the 'experts' and I would just have to deal with the inconvenient installation point, whatever, as long as it's dry! Then I received at least two more calls while I was at work advising they will install it in the opposite corner of the house, in the electrical room. I thought great, but I stated "as long as you're sure" and "you're the expert".
They made a horrible mess of the sump-pump installation. It was not flush with the floor, left quite a mess for me to deal with, they didn't silicone the holes in the foundation the discharge pipes were going through, oh and they cemented the discharg pipe so it would discharge directly into the excavated part of the concrete driveway thus spitting the water right back into the weaping type/sump-pump system (mind you, there was gravel now...try pouring water into a glass filled with gravel if you want an illustration of how this does not make any sense).
I did a little visual inspection of the installation to this point which consisted of weeping tile around the foundation connected to a sump-pump at the front right corner of my home. Well, the weeping tile tapered up a lot then the connection to the sump-pump pit. I wrote a well worded letter, for real it was nicely written, not accusing anyone of anything malicious. The letter requested the owner explain why it was being installed like this as water does not run up hill, at least to my knowledge (wasn't written quite so sarcastically).
It further requested no further work be complete prior to discussing and explaining the installation. Well the owner phoned up and literally yelled at my pregnant wife while I was in the shower. She was so scared when she gave me the message. I called the guy back and he yelled at me. I calmly reminded him that he's the expert and it was not making sense to me. Shorly after, the weeping tile was installed lower in this area.
Shortly after the work was completed and after I paid an additional $4000.00 in total, I received my written guarantee. This isn't worth the paper it's written on. And I quote "THIS GUARANTEE IS A 30 YEAR GUARANTEE. ALL MATERIAL IS COVERED IN THIS GUARANTEE, PLEASE NOTE LABOUR IS NOT. THIS GUARANTEE IS TRANSFERABLE UPON THE SALE OF YOUR HOME. ALL WORK WAS COMPLETED BY 1671343 ONTARIO LIMITED. THIS GUARANTEE MUST BE KEPT WITH YOUR CONTRACT AND RECEIPT OR THE GUARANTEE IS VOID.
It should be noted that my name, address, and/or all other particulars were left off the guarantee, thus what property is it for. Further to this, if you read that guarantee again, it's basically stating the materials used have a manufacturer's guarantee and in no way guarantees the installation. Well I guarantee they did some work..............
Here's where things get fun. A couple months later there was a huge rainfall and surprise, my basement flooded, approximately 1/2" of water. I called Regional and the owner came over. He advised they'd likely need to install another sump-pump in that corner of the basement (original corner), and some internal drainage tile would need to be installed in the basement floor. Great I paid all that money and have that fantastic guarantee! He got back to me with an additional estimate for that work. I lost it at this point and told him I wasn't interested.
After much deliberation I contacted a second, much more reputible company who eventually completed similar internal work, but they actually honour the intent of the guarantee. Happy with them!!
I had a third party come by to check out what the problem was with Regional's installation. After excavating two parts of the foundation, it was discovered the the weeping tile around the majority of the foundation was the better part of 2' (two feet) lower than the connection point to the sump-pump. This means that there needs to be more then 2' of water for the sump-pump to start doing it's thing....I wonder if this is the problem???
I decided to try and recoop some of these costs...keep in mind I was now nearly $22,000.00 into an originally estimated $11,000.00 job. I approached a lawyer and yatta yatta come settlement conference time, their slick Toronto lawyer acting on behalf of Regional Waterproofing's Insurance company, claimed I was the problem. They called me a flat out lier, and they even began producing witnesses whom I never spoke with or met, but they claimed I demanded things of them. I was advised to "take whatever small settlement they offer as court could cost me possibly $10,000.00 or more if I was unsuccessful.
To sum up, Regional has no integrity, their work is shoddy, the owner is a bully, and their guarantee is garbage - I'd be embarrassed to pass that guarantee along to someone purchasing my home. Sorry for such a long read...but hope this helps.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Regional Waterproofing & Excavating
St. Catharines,Ontario,
Dear Constable Mike Kowalchuk (Hamilton Police Service)
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, October 24, 2013
“The owner showed up, barked some commands at his subordinate, in this case his wife”
- Since when is it barking commands when you simply advise the assistant which in this case was his wife on what needs to be done? There is no “standard” way to do an estimate as every job we do is different.
“I went to open my garage, but oops, the underground power line had been severed somehow (Regional), and no one advised me.”
- If you look at your contract it states under “Owner’s Responsibilities” that any private: gas, hydro, bell or cable lines must be marked. This is only your private lines that you have installed. You did not do this so there for the line was cut as it was not marked so we did not know it was there.
“I thought they told you”. Nope, in fact they back filled over the damaged power line making it extremely difficult to find.
- Our employees advised you that the line was cut but because of your negligence in not following the contract it was your responsibility to have it repaired. After back filling our employees located the damaged line and made sure there was no fill around it so that it could be repaired.
“NEXT, they charged extra to remove part of my concrete driveway. It was in the original estimate to remove this, but I guess 4-5” thick is way beyond regular thickness. Fact is 4” is a standard thickness for concrete in the installation”
- On your original invoice you were charged $1242.00 for the removal of your concrete driveway which is standard price for a standard 4-5” driveway. Your driveway however was 8” thick. The concrete is taken to the local dump and the cost is calculated based on weight. This is why you were charged extra as your driveway was NOT a standard driveway.
“I requested they install a sump-pump in a cubby hole near the rear of my basement, even put it in writing. They phoned me recommending it be installed in the rear corner, which i agreed”
- You did NOT agree with the sump pump being installed in the back corner, you stated in front of 3 employees, the owner and the city foreman that you were putting your newborn’s bedroom in the basement and it could not go there as the child would never sleep. (why you would put a newborn in the basement where it is damp in the first place is beyond me)
“They made a horrible mess of the sump-pump installation. It was not flush with the floor, left quite a mess for me to deal with, they didn't silicone the holes in the foundation the discharge pipes were going through, oh and they cemented the discharg pipe so it would discharge directly into the excavated part of the concrete driveway thus spitting the water right back into the weaping type/sump-pump system (mind you, there was gravel now...try pouring water into a glass filled with gravel if you want an illustration of how this does not make any sense).”
- ABS pipes were used for the discharge pipe; ABS glue was used to fasten them together. Hydraulic cement was then used to fill the hole surrounding the pipe. (You do not use silicone).
- The discharge pipe was installed by the Ontario Building Code; the water was going into the gravel until you finished your driveway and grated it properly which would then divert the water away from the home.
- The sump pump is to be roughly 2-3 feet below ground level as it sits at the bottom of the sump pump pit. Again this was PASSED by the Ontario Building Code.
“why it was being installed like this as water does not run up hill”
- As you were advised before the installation process began, the lowest part of your home was the back corner which you flat our refused to have the sump pump installed in that corner.
“It further requested no further work be complete prior to discussing and explaining the installation. Well the owner phoned up and literally yelled at my pregnant wife while I was in the shower. She was so scared when she gave me the message. I called the guy back and he yelled at me.”
- No such incident occurred with the owner, your wife or yourself.
“I received my written guarantee. This isn't worth the paper it's written on.” “It should be noted that my name, address, and/or all other particulars were left off the guarantee, thus what property is it for. Further to this, if you read that guarantee again, it's basically stating the materials used have a manufacturer's guarantee and in no way guarantees the installation. Well I guarantee they did some work”
- Your guarantee was signed, dated and filled out except for the top portion of your name, address, city, postal code and phone number as that information is to be filled out by the home owner. “ALL MATERIAL IS COVERED IN THIS GUARANTEE”, the labour portion is never covered.
“He advised they'd likely need to install another sump-pump in that corner of the basement (original corner), and some internal drainage tile would need to be installed in the basement floor. Great I paid all that money and have that fantastic guarantee! He got back to me with an additional estimate for that work. I lost it at this point and told him I wasn't interested.”
- Of course there would be a charge to install ANOTHER sump-pump in the ORIGINAL corner you were advised of. You are the one who was adamant that the sump pump could not go there in the first place.
“I decided to try and recoop some of these costs...” “their slick Toronto lawyer acting on behalf of Regional Waterproofing's Insurance company, claimed I was the problem. They called me a flat out lier, and they even began producing witnesses whom I never spoke with or met, but they claimed I demanded things of them. I was advised to "take whatever small settlement they offer as court could cost me possibly $10,000.00 or more if I was unsuccessful.”
- We did not hire the lawyer that took on the case; we passed the information to our insurance company who then took it from there.
- You lost the case as you were proven during the pre-trial to be a liar; the job was completed by the Ontario Building Code and passed by City of St. Catharines Inspectors. You also signed that you were “Satisfied” with the job upon completion and paid in full. Had you not been satisfied you would not have signed off on it or paid the remaining balance.
And on an end note:
- You stated the owner is a bully BUT.......you seem to forget you are the BULLY, as an incident that happened on October 19, 2012 in Hamilton at an Esso gas station between the owner of Regional Waterproofing & Excavating and yourself. After entering the gas station and making eye contact with each other you were asked why you typed up such a letter on ripoffreport.com, your reply while wearing your police uniform in front of several witness was “you f**ked me”. You were advised to take the letter off of the internet as it was completely false, and that you would be sued for slandering not only Regional Waterproofing & Excavating but also Regional Construction & Restoration Services (which had absolutely nothing to do with your job). You were also advised that a complaint/report was being filed with the police department as your unprofessionalism. After leaving the police station the owner of Regional Waterproofing & Excavating along with his wife went to the local police station (Hamilton), they were advised to bring all documents from your job. They returned with your file and had a complaint filed against you. After the report was finished they were disgusted with your actions and it was then passed on to OIPRD (Office of the Independent Police Review Director). We were advised that we should take legal action against you.
So we shall see you in court.
Regional Waterproofing & Excavating
St. Catharines,Ontario,
Our side of the story
#3REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sat, August 31, 2013
Dear Constable Mike Kowalchuk (Hamilton Police Service)
“The owner showed up, barked some commands at his subordinate, in this case his wife”
- Since when is it barking commands when you simply advise the assistant which in this case was his wife on what needs to be done? There is no “standard” way to do an estimate as every job we do is different.
“I went to open my garage, but oops, the underground power line had been severed somehow (Regional), and no one advised me.”
- If you look at your contract it states under “Owner’s Responsibilities” that any private: gas, hydro, bell or cable lines must be marked. This is only your private lines that you have installed. You did not do this so there for the line was cut as it was not marked.
“I thought they told you”. Nope, in fact they back filled over the damaged power line making it extremely difficult to find.
- Our employees stated that you were advised that they cut the line but it was your responsibility to get it fixed before the job was completed as it needed to be back filled. You did not get it fixed and the back filling could not be put on hold because of it.
“NEXT, they charged extra to remove part of my concrete driveway. It was in the original estimate to remove this, but I guess 4-5” thick is way beyond regular thickness. Fact is 4” is a standard thickness for concrete in the installation”
- On your original invoice you were charged $1242.00 for the removal of your concrete driveway which is standard price for a standard 4-5” driveway. Your driveway however was 8” thick. The concrete is taken to the local dump and the cost is calculated based on weight. This is why you were charged extra as your driveway was NOT a standard driveway.
“I requested they install a sump-pump in a cubby hole near the rear of my basement, even put it in writing. They phoned me recommending it be installed in the rear corner, which i agreed”
- You did NOT agree with the sump pump being installed in the back corner, you stated in front of 3 employees, the owner and the city foreman that you were putting your newborn’s bedroom in the basement and it could not go there as the child would never sleep. (why you would put a newborn in the basement where it is damp in the first place is beyond me)
“They made a horrible mess of the sump-pump installation. It was not flush with the floor, left quite a mess for me to deal with, they didn't silicone the holes in the foundation the discharge pipes were going through, oh and they cemented the discharg pipe so it would discharge directly into the excavated part of the concrete driveway thus spitting the water right back into the weaping type/sump-pump system (mind you, there was gravel now...try pouring water into a glass filled with gravel if you want an illustration of how this does not make any sense).”
- ABS pipes were used for the discharge pipe; ABS glue was used to fasten them together. Hydraulic cement was then used to fill the hole surrounding the pipe. (You do not use silicone).
- The discharge pipe was installed by the Ontario Building Code; the water was going into the gravel until you finished your driveway and grated it properly which would then divert the water away from the home.
- The sump pump is to be roughly 2-3 feet below ground level as it sits at the bottom of the sump pump pit. Again this was PASSED by the Ontario Building Code.
“why it was being installed like this as water does not run up hill”
- As you were advised before the installation process began, the lowest part of your home was the back corner which you flat our refused to have the sump pump installed in that corner.
“It further requested no further work be complete prior to discussing and explaining the installation. Well the owner phoned up and literally yelled at my pregnant wife while I was in the shower. She was so scared when she gave me the message. I called the guy back and he yelled at me.”
- No such incident occurred with the owner, your wife or yourself.
“I received my written guarantee. This isn't worth the paper it's written on.” “It should be noted that my name, address, and/or all other particulars were left off the guarantee, thus what property is it for. Further to this, if you read that guarantee again, it's basically stating the materials used have a manufacturer's guarantee and in no way guarantees the installation. Well I guarantee they did some work”
- Your guarantee was signed, dated and filled out except for the top portion of your name, address, city, postal code and phone number as that information is to be filled out by the home owner. “ALL MATERIAL IS COVERED IN THIS GUARANTEE”, the labour portion is never covered.
“He advised they'd likely need to install another sump-pump in that corner of the basement (original corner), and some internal drainage tile would need to be installed in the basement floor. Great I paid all that money and have that fantastic guarantee! He got back to me with an additional estimate for that work. I lost it at this point and told him I wasn't interested.”
- Of course there would be a charge to install ANOTHER sump-pump in the ORIGINAL corner you were advised of. You are the one who was adamant that the sump pump could not go there in the first place.
“I decided to try and recoop some of these costs...” “their slick Toronto lawyer acting on behalf of Regional Waterproofing's Insurance company, claimed I was the problem. They called me a flat out lier, and they even began producing witnesses whom I never spoke with or met, but they claimed I demanded things of them. I was advised to "take whatever small settlement they offer as court could cost me possibly $10,000.00 or more if I was unsuccessful.”
- We did not hire the lawyer that took on the case; we passed the information to our insurance company who then took it from there.
- You lost the case as you were proven during the pre-trial to be a liar; the job was completed by the Ontario Building Code and passed by City of St. Catharines Inspectors. You also signed that you were “Satisfied” with the job upon completion and paid in full. Had you not been satisfied you would not have signed off on it or paid the remaining balance.
And on an end note:
- You stated the owner is a bully BUT.......you seem to forget you are the BULLY, as an incident that happened on October 19, 2012 in Hamilton at an Esso gas station between the owner of Regional Waterproofing & Excavating and yourself. After entering the gas station and making eye contact with each other you were asked why you typed up such a letter on ripoffreport.com, your reply while wearing your police uniform in front of several witness was “you f**ked me”. You were advised to take the letter off of the internet as it was completely false, and that you would be sued for slandering not only Regional Waterproofing & Excavating but also Regional Construction & Restoration Services (which had absolutely nothing to do with your job). You were also advised that a complaint/report was being filed with the police department as your unprofessionalism. After leaving the police station the owner of Regional Waterproofing & Excavating along with his wife went to the local police station (Hamilton), they were advised to bring all documents from your job. They returned with your file and had a complaint filed against you. After the report was finished they were disgusted with your actions and it was then passed on to OIPRD (Office of the Independent Police Review Director). We were advised that we should take legal action against you.
So we shall see you in court.
