Tall Basements

I contracted Tall Basements to underpin, waterproof, install new drains and sump pump in my 100 year-old, semi-detached, down-town house.

I chose them in part due to their technical approach to the project, which was well explained to me at the beginning of the project. The team was well organized and methodological in their implementation of the various tasks. They were always polite, professional and helpful.

I was very happy with the results and would either use them again, or recommend them to others.

Kevin and his team met with us when we could barely get any contractors in the city to call us back. We liked the fact that they focused and specialized on one thing—and at the highest level. He understood our vision and thoroughly detailed the entire process.

Once the team was onsite, they were incredibly professional: tidy, respectful, quiet (as possible, considering there are jackhammers and drilling) and efficient.

We had a hard deadline for them to finish by Christmas eve - with a guarantee that the heat would be reconnected by then- and true to his word, they did it.

I am so pleased with the space - the ceilings are so much higher than I ever imagined, it's completely tight and waterproof and the quality of their 'product' is incredible. I would absolutely not hesitate to recommend Tall Basements again.

The only reason i'm not giving a 100% rating is that, as echoed in some other reviews, Kevin can be a bit lacking in communication. For example, it took several months and many calls/voicemails and emails for his team to finally arrange to pick up their equipment and rubbish from our yard which included our old furnace. It was a bit of a pain and an eyesore but to nothing that would stop me from working with them again.

Kevin failed to live up to his promises. His incompetence in managing the project has resulted in delays, frustration and financial hardships. The project has taken 2 years to complete and we are now unable to get Kevin to address the list of deficiencies for the final inspection. Despite the fact tha the list was provided to him on December 14th and it is now Jan 24th, we have had no information from Kevin on progress or when the inspector will be booked. He continually ignores text messages and fails to return phone calls. The lack of professionalism is shocking. The lack of respect for the vulnerable place that he puts his clients is disheartening. We regret choosing Tall Basements and strongly suggest that anyone interested in renovations look to other companies.

These guys are upstanding business people which is hard to find these days. I signed a contract and paid a deposit 2 years ago but had to cancel my original contract when I found out I would not be able to duplex my house and create the basement apartment I was hoping. Kevin suggested he return the deposit until I sorted out what I was going to do. That meant the world to me and when we decide to go through with underpinning, Tall Basements certainly got the business again. Kevin suggested a Window Well and it looks beautiful and feels less like a basement when we are in the rec room. The ceilings are almost 8ft high and both Tony and Kevin returned to do a couple of very small things after we had paid the contract in full. You can trust them to get the job done and the building inspectors respect their work. Kevin helped navigate the city building department to get all permits closed. I was extremely thankful for the help.

Fantastic experience with these guys. We hired them to create a basement apartment for us, underpinning, waterproofing, new sump pump etc, creating a walk out, moving a side window, in floor heating… it was a big job. It is our first home and we had no idea what we were getting into. All I can say is that I am so thankful we ended up choosing these guys. They did an exceptional job. The basement looks amazing, everything clean lines and solid construction. The ceilings ended up a little over 8 feet, the layout flows brilliantly, and the walk out radiates with concrete work that incorporates such perfection it encroaches to artistry. Feels like a palace down there, we love it.

We found the process working with Kevin, Tony and Bravo to be super pleasant. During the planning stage, we met with Kevin often to talk about our options. He was professional, honest and really helpful with creative ways to stay in our budget (and actually save money) while making it look sharp. He is super easy to talk to and we found him to be very available, returning our calls promptly. During the construction stage, when we had questions or small issues come up Kevin, Tony or Bravo were right on it, happy to describe the process, listen to our thoughts, answer or questions or suggest modifications to match changes in our designs. A couple times, when some small issues came up, they came right away afterhours to make sure everything was alright. They, and everyone on their team, were super friendly, positive and just good solid people who we ended up trusting completely. And I have to say, after dealing with quite a few people during the course of all our renovations, it is amazing feeling to have total trust in your contractor. Wow, the stress it takes off your shoulders.

Like I said, we are super happy with the end product and absolutely satisfied with our choice to go with tall basements.

As others have mentioned, we got a bunch of quotes and theirs were right in the middle, not the cheapest, not the most expensive. I feel that is usually the best way to go. In the end, seeing their level of workmanship, we feel the prices were more than fair. All permits and inspections were handled by them and we also used their engineer to do the drawings. All aspects of that side of things went smoothly and without issue.

I have already recommended them to several people and will continue to do so. Really really good team here and definitely was the best choice for us.

I originally rated Tall Basements very low due to a lack of communication on the job and running weeks behind schedule. But, since writing that, Kevin reached out to us and made amends for everything we felt that was left unfinished. We really appreciated that.

As for the underpinning work, they did an amazing job, 10 out of 10. They worked quickly, kept everything clean and organized, and we were happy that the dumpster was removed at the end of each day. We were extremely pleased with the end result. We finally have the basement we dreamed of thanks to Kevin and his team!

Kevin and Tony from Tall Basements are smart, professional, and have a high sense of responsibility for their work. And the quality of that work is fantastic.

UNDERPINNING
We had our basement dug out and underpinned using Tall Basement’s space-maximizing approach, which was really key to us in a small semi. The work included excavating and reclaiming a crawl space beneath our addition, which provided even more space. Tall Basements also finished the basement, installed a hydronic heating system throughout the house, gutted and rebuilt the kitchen according to our architect’s drawings, and made modifications to other areas on the main floor.

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
Tall Basement’s approach was highly collaborative: we discussed and were involved in all decisions throughout the project. One of the things that impressed us the most, and that greatly reduced our stress, was their solution-based method of problem solving. On a few occasions we ran into unexpected issues, inevitable in a 120 year old home. When this happened, Kevin and Tony would show us the problem and return the next day to present us with two or three solutions and related prices. We never felt forced to take a particular route, and always knew we had options. In addition, Kevin and Tony met with our neighbours at key intervals during the project to keep them informed of what was taking place, which was particularly important to us.

COST
We are price-conscious, and everything cost what Tall Basements said it would. We did go over budget BUT it was because the renovation meant we could take advantage of opportunities (such as a tankless water heater and hydronic heating system) that we hadn’t heard about and which have completely changed our enjoyment of our house. (Warm floors!) And, as mentioned above, our house is very old, and a couple of unanticipated discoveries (such as a partially missing foundation wall) occurred during the dig, and had to be dealt with. They lead to additional costs but, as always, Tall Basements provided us with options.

CONFIDENCE
Ultimately, the success of our renovation came not just from the high level of quality of work but from our confidence and trust in Kevin and Tony. They were onsite every day, and always available for questions. I received daily text messages with photos of the work as it unfolded and felt fully involved in what was happening. We also benefited from Kevin and Tony’s mutual good taste via design ideas (such as opening the staircase) and materials that enhanced our original concept.

This review is already quite long, but I’d be remiss not to mention that Tony and Kevin are genuinely nice men. If you’re going to see people daily over an extended, somewhat stressful period, you should see guys like these two.

These guys did a great job for us.

My wife and I had to repair, waterproof, and underpin our basement, which had been incorrectly excavated and then covered up by a previous home owner.
It was a huge project for us, and we were pretty nervous, but the job went better than planned.

The results have been fantastic.
It’s now the bar by which we measure all our other contractors.

DETAILS:

Price:
They were in the middle of 4 quotes. Not the highest, not the lowest.
Pricing remained exactly as per quot e – they absorbed small, unexpected increases in cost.

Expertise:
They were the most informative of the 4 companies we interviewed, and were clearly go-to experts in the field. They readily answered technical questions that some other contractors couldn’t.

Advice:
Their advice on building a separate walkout through the front basement wall turned our expensive repair into an income- generating rental. We now have a bright condo-style apartment that pays for half our mortgage.

Documentation:
They sent us all documents we asked for, including insurance papers, WSIB docs, references, etc. They also took care of permit applications for us.

Quality of work:
They paid a lot of attention to the quality of their work and the results were excellent. Other contractors have often commented on the work they did.
We have an underground stream percolating past our house, and our basement apartment has been warm and dry as a bone since the work was done.

Timing:
They were on the job 8-10 hrs every day from project start until completion. Engineering company was late with drawings, but otherwise everything was on time. When unexpected events happened (like a 2 ton boulder discovered under our old foundation), they just sweated it out and worked until it was dealt with.

General:
Their team were friendly and considerate to our neighbours and kept an immaculately clean worksite. We lived in the house while the job was on, and the guys were so particular about setting up dust baffles that we had hardly any dust in the house. Most of the time, we didn’t even cover the furniture.

Above and beyond:
There were a few things that really stuck out in my mind about this job:
• Kevin and Tony spent hours talking to us answering questions about parts of our reno that they weren’t working on or getting paid for.
• When the workers discovered errors made by previous contractors, they often fixed them without charge while they were working.
• Two nights after our beautiful rental space was finished, we got hit by a 100 year storm and the city sewers backed up before our auxiliary sump pump had been delivered. Tony (who is a licenced plumber) got out of his PJs and into his work clothes and drove down to reroute the surging storm water into the street. Many other homes got flooded that night, but our new basement apartment was saved.

I hired Kevin and Tony to turn my turn my leaky, decrepit, low-ceilinged horrowshow of a basement into someplace great where my family could hang out. They did exactly that, and more. Their work was neat, efficient, and speedy. Their crew was hard-working, respectful and friendly. But what was more important to me was that they worked with me to make the very best use of the space. I tossed my own plans for new ones we came up with together, and I couldn't be more pleased. They made very smart and helpful suggestions on everything from the size and placement of rooms and storage, to building an incredibly efficient utility closet (go Tony!) so I could maximize my space. They had great ideas on how to accommodate a plumbing and electrical retrofit on the upper floors, and worked to make it happen. Their guidance was instrumental. The in-floor heating they installed has worked flawlessly and is very pleasant underfoot (I recommend it highly). The framing and finishing they did was top-notch, and other tradespeople commented to me on their good work. No reno is without nasty surprises, and I'm very happy Tony and Kevin were there to help deal with the few we encountered. But the proof is in the pudding -- five years on, my basement has been dry as a bone, even when many of my neighbours were flooded by the big storms. No hint of moisture or the old mildew smell. Just a nice space. I have recommended Tall Basements to friends and colleagues with no regrets and will do so again.

After posting my initial review [5/10 dated October 2015] on the challenges of getting personnel from Tall Basements to help close off the build permits with the City, Kevin reached out to me to begin the process to get a final inspection.

Kudos to Kevin for taking the corrective action for assisting with this. He got in touch with the engineering firm to provide revisions to the document that the city inspector had requested. Kevin also put together a package of documents (drawings, plans, reports) to ensure the final inspection went smoothly.

On inspection day, Kevin was kind enough to move a previous commitment and do the walkthrough with the city inspector on my behalf.

I really appreciate the all effort put into getting the build permits closed and finishing what we started together in a collaborative manner.