M Scott Home Improvements

Overall I have not been satisfied with our waterproofing because the wrong approach was recommended and we have spent a lot of money only to find that our basement continues to leak.

Mike came to provide a free estimate just a day or two after I filled out an online request which was great. I liked his no-frills attitude and on-site quote within a few minutes of reviewing the house. He recommended outside waterproofing even with our semi-detached home in mid-town Toronto where we have a narrow alleyway. Digging would have to be done manually but his crew finished the job in only 3 days and I was impressed.

When I first wrote my review I stated that it was based only on my experience working with Mike and his crew, not based on the quality of the work as it had not yet rained and we couldn't test it out. I had planned to write an update after a couple of rainfalls. Very disappointingly we found out quickly that water continued to leak into our basement with the heavy rainfall through June (and continues now).

After several consulations and failed attempts at remedying the situation through simple fixes such as ensuring our eavestroughs were cleared, one of his guys took down part of our basement wall to assess the problem. Within half an hour it was clear that our lowered basement had not been done to code (from years ago long before we ever moved in). The exterior waterproofing was not doing anything to fix our leakage and had he looked at this at the beginning Mike would not have recommended exterior waterproofing at all.

Although it is not Mike's fault that our basement was not lowered to code, it is his responsiblity to assess the situation as best as he can before proposing a solution. He did come down to our basement and could see that it was lowered. Being such an old home (100 years) I think Mike could have done his due dilligence and suggested a quick check by looking behind part of the wall, which is what he ultimately did anyway. I had told him that we planned to finish the basement after the waterproofing was done so taking down part of a wall at this time is no issue at all.

I will not be able to comment ever on the quality of the exterior waterproofing seeing as we need an interior fix now to solve our leaking issue. Selling someone on an incorrect solution means you should be held at least partly responsible or accountable. My husband and I are truly frustrated with this experience and strongly suggest anyone with a lowered basement to know what they are dealing with before going with the exterior waterproofing route. We are hoping to recover some of our expenses from Mike to put towards an interior fix now.