Preserving a Historical Home in Ballston Lake, NY

Monday, September 26th, 2016 by Sheryce Stewart

Challenge

Mr. and Mrs. H's home is a framed structure built over 150 years ago. They began to notice that their stone foundation was bowing in about one and a half to two feet, in some places the wall was actually collapsing. After calling around the homeowners found three different companies that they wanted an estimate from. The first company never bothered showing up for the scheduled estimate, and the second company said that the project was not included in their scope of work. By the time Jon Roz, System Design Specialist for Adirondack Basement Systems got out to their home for an inspection they were frustrated and believed that they would not be able to repair the home that had been in their family for many generations. Jon spent many hours deciding what would be the best option for the homeowner and kept in mind that the project needed to make sense monetarily and had to be as invasive as possible. The homeowners wanted to have the peace of mind that their home was structurally stabilized and that the foundation was in good enough shape to support the upper levels. Jon’s biggest challenge was making sure that this project was well designed, planned, and then executed. Jon knew that if this project was done correctly it would have immediate results and satisfy the homeowner.

Solution

Mr. and Mrs. H completely realized the severity of the foundation problems they were experiencing and believed that Adirondack Basement Systems (ABS) could provide a permanent solution. ABS installed 13 PowerBraces to permanently stabilize three of the four basement walls. The installation resulted in the foundation being lifted back toward its original place. This project was completed in 5 days and the home’s foundation is once again stable and secure.

"Review received from the homeowners"

Question	Response	Comments
Overall satisfaction with our company	5	Every crew that came were very professional. They were all polite and respectful. They all answered my questions and addressed my concerns.
Experience with call representative	5	They would get back to me in a timely manner with answers to my questions and concerns.
Salesperson and sales presentation	5	Jon was very nice and polite. He was very informative and listened to our questions and concerns about the project. He would get back to us in a timely manner with answers and solutions to our questions and concerns.
Our installation crew	5	They were very professional and took the time to go over there process and answer any questions and address my concerns.
The cleanup process	5	They cleaned up and left the area ready for the next crew.
What made you choose our company (Why did you choose us over the competition?)	N/A	Adirondack Basement Systems were the only ones who got back to us and took an interest in our problem and offered a solution to it. No one else called back, or wanted to come look at our problem. They were all to busy.
May we use you as a reference	Yes
May we use this review in our marketing/website	Yes
Are you interested in any of our other services	N/A
How likely are you to recommend Adirondack Basement Systems to your friends and family?	10

Project Summary

Project System Design Specialist: Jon Roz

Certified Structural Installer: Sean Fredricks

Certified ShotLock Installer: Tony Hafford from TC Hafford Basement Systems, Maine

Project Manager: Christopher McCabe

Project Summary: (13) PowerBraces, (7) SmartJacks, (1) Supplemental Beam, 2 Windows, Spray Foam Insulation, ShotLock Installation

Picture showing the original foundation walls and the PowerBraces installed to permanently stabilize the foundation.

Original dirt floor before floor pour.

Drainage Matting laid out underneath concrete floor to form a vapor barrier. This way the drainage matting will block the moisture from rising up through the concrete.