On Thursday Jan 5, 2006 we had a waterproofing system installed by
Garden State Waterproofing ("GSW"). On Sunday, Jan 8, I went
downstairs to find sewage covering much of my basement floor. I called
GSW immediately and left a message to have a crew sent over to see what
happened. On Monday, the owner of the company called me and spent
about 1/2 hour ranting and raving about my angry messages and not
offering to send his crew to see what happened. He assured me I was
smelling wet cardboard, not sewage and he told me that anyone with
"half a brain" would have emptied the basement anyway. When I reminded
him that the salesman specifically told us that we only need to move
things 5-7 feet from the wall and we did not have to raise our items
(the only reason for moving items was to give clearance for the
jackhammer, not avoid potential sewage problems) he continued to say we
should have known. We have since had a plumbing company come in and
fix the problem, which incidentally was sewage leaking into our
basement.

This post is not meant to comment on the work that was done or to lay
blame for the problem. It is to point out the kind of customer service
that you may expect to receive if you request help from this company
using the wrong tone. There is much more to this story that I'd be
happy to share if you are interested. Feel free to email me at b j p a
c k 1 at h o t m a i l . c o m.

"On Thursday Jan 5, 2006 we had a waterproofing system installed by
Garden State Waterproofing ("GSW"). On Sunday, Jan 8, I went
downstairs to find sewage covering much of my basement floor. "

There is much more to this story that I'd be happy to share if you are
interested. "

I'm sure there must be. For starter's why would you expect a company
that waterproofed your basement
to be responsible for sewage backing up into your basement? Unless
they somehow damaged a sewer line
while doing the work, which it sounds like did not happen, it has
nothing to do with their work.

The sewage backup is due to a piece of cement and a piece of galvanized
steel piping that somehow found their way into the sewer line between
the time they did their work and three days later when I noticed the
sewage. The timing seems to imply a strong possibility that they were
involved but that will be determined in due time. The point of my
message was to talk about how the owner dealt with me, not the
accountability issue.

Thanks for you input, though.

On 12 Jan 2006 12:42:34 -0800, someone wrote:

The sewage backup is due to a piece of cement and a piece of galvanized
steel piping that somehow found their way into the sewer line between
the time they did their work and three days later when I noticed the
sewage. The timing seems to imply a strong possibility....

By what mechanism do you suppose they introduced said pipe & cement
into your sewer line?

If their company doesn't think they put a pipe and a piece of cement
in your line, I can see why they would want nothing to do with you and
your (possibly increasingly hysterical and irate?) calls.

How DID they waterproof your basement anyway? I am serious, Maybe it
will tell us if there was some way for them to have placed cement and
a pipe in your line.


Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file.

someone,

If you truly have any interest in the answers to your question, feel
free to email me and I'll answer any questions that you have. If you
feel that I am just an hysterical and irate individual venting to the
world, you should move on the next thread and ignore my advice and my
posts.

I have been following this thread and also respectfully am very curious as
to how they put pipe and cement into the sewer line. Please answer here,
there are countless folks that read this NG that really want to know.
Perhaps useful advice/answers would ensue. Thanks.
Tomes

"bjpack" wrote in message
oups.com...
someone,

If you truly have any interest in the answers to your question, feel
free to email me and I'll answer any questions that you have. If you
feel that I am just an hysterical and irate individual venting to the
world, you should move on the next thread and ignore my advice and my
posts.

Tomes wrote:
I have been following this thread and also respectfully am very curious as
to how they put pipe and cement into the sewer line. Please answer here,
there are countless folks that read this NG that really want to know.
Perhaps useful advice/answers would ensue. Thanks.
Tomes

First let me say that my original intention was to comment on the
reaction that the company had to my initial phone calls rather than to
dwell on the problem itself. The owner told me that had my message not
been as angry as it was he would have sent a crew over immediately. I
realize that nobody that is reading this post knows me so you only can
take my word that my message to them was angry but fair. The bottom
line, to me, though is that the owner's personal judgement of me, based
on my message, should not have entered into his decision about whether
to handle this problem. It is important to note that when I first
called them, I did not realize that it was sewage. My initial thought
was that there was water, not sewage, covering much of the floor. So
the sewage question did not enter into the owner's reaction to my
original call. He strongly disagreed with me. It was my mistake to
bring the actual work and the ensuing problem into this thread as it
has moved this dialogue away from my original intent, which was to
comment on their customer relations.

I'd be happy to answer any more questions within this thread.

"The bottom line, to me, though is that the owner's personal judgement
of me, based
on my message, should not have entered into his decision about whether
to handle this problem. "

So it's OK for you to start the process of finding out where the water
came from by calling the business owner
and leaving angry messages, but it's not OK for him to respond in
kind? LOL Just because he happens to
own a business doesn't mean he has to take your abuse. And then you
want to take the spat
you started public and telll the world about how awful he is by
starting
this lame thread. Sounds to me like you got what you deserved.

trader,

Can we just agree to disagree? You have made your opinion more than
clear.

Bummer. I am more interested in the other aspect that was brought up.
There was a problem. Somehow it was solved. Folks here can learn a lot
from that. This is what this NG of for, really...

"bjpack" wrote in message
oups.com...

Tomes wrote:
I have been following this thread and also respectfully am very curious
as
to how they put pipe and cement into the sewer line. Please answer
here,
there are countless folks that read this NG that really want to know.
Perhaps useful advice/answers would ensue. Thanks.
Tomes

First let me say that my original intention was to comment on the
reaction that the company had to my initial phone calls rather than to
dwell on the problem itself. The owner told me that had my message not
been as angry as it was he would have sent a crew over immediately. I
realize that nobody that is reading this post knows me so you only can
take my word that my message to them was angry but fair. The bottom
line, to me, though is that the owner's personal judgement of me, based
on my message, should not have entered into his decision about whether
to handle this problem. It is important to note that when I first
called them, I did not realize that it was sewage. My initial thought
was that there was water, not sewage, covering much of the floor. So
the sewage question did not enter into the owner's reaction to my
original call. He strongly disagreed with me. It was my mistake to
bring the actual work and the ensuing problem into this thread as it
has moved this dialogue away from my original intent, which was to
comment on their customer relations.

I'd be happy to answer any more questions within this thread.

Tomes,

A plumber came in and removed the piece of cement and piece of piping
from the sewer pipe and that solved the problem. The waterproofing
company says that they are not responsible for these items clogging up
the pipe and causing the leak. The plumber feels that there is no
other way that these items got into the pipes other than somehow during
the course of the waterproofing by falling through the cleanout. So at
this point there are two diverging opinions on how the problem
originated. At this stage the insurance company is involved and
eventually my lawyer may get involved.

I hope this helps.

Thanks.

"bjpack" wrote in message
oups.com...
Tomes,

A plumber came in and removed the piece of cement and piece of piping
from the sewer pipe and that solved the problem. The waterproofing
company says that they are not responsible for these items clogging up
the pipe and causing the leak. The plumber feels that there is no
other way that these items got into the pipes other than somehow during
the course of the waterproofing by falling through the cleanout. So at
this point there are two diverging opinions on how the problem
originated. At this stage the insurance company is involved and
eventually my lawyer may get involved.

I hope this helps.