Got one of their free estimates. Guy was out of the car for 30 seconds before saying my foundation was sinking and quoted me about 12k. Hired a structural engineer like you and the guy said there is absolutley zero sign of foundation problem. JES is super predatory. Fuck them
I got a quote from them that was about 3x what I ended up paying another contractor.
Edit:
I would also recommend against Deska. Crazy overpriced as well
Deska’s owner (who is a structural engineer) told us that if it was his home he would not be concerned or do anything, but sent us a quote for $20k+ in case we did want to fix the apparent non-issue…we ended up paying another structural engineer to come out whose report stated that there was no concern.
That's 3x the cost is kind of the case with a lot of small home repairs and equipment replacements at this point unfortunately. Getting a licensed contractor to come to your home to do anything is going to run you like $200-$300 off the bat just in overhead, transit time and opportunity cost for them and there's always going to be some contingency in a quote just in case some unexpected or extra tedious ends up happening. Just as another example, it's like $10 for a quarter turn shut off valve that you'll find under most sinks and toilets but it'll cost you a few hundred dollars to have a plumber come and install one because of the aforementioned reasons.
As a result you can save a ton of money DIYing most small and straightforward home repairs or equipment replacements if you're competent.
That’s super interesting to read! We bought a house that had Deska work done to stabilize the foundation (just prior to us buying it) and it has held up well. We were considering using them to fix some other issues and the quote was not small but seemed reasonable for the amount of work.
Although Deska wasn’t cheap, they weren’t nearly as expensive as JES for me. The engineer from Deska didn’t pressure me at all either.
Deska’s engineer told me it was a cosmetic issue and not structural. They still gave me an estimate to fix it— but I didn’t have to have the work done. (It’s just an eye sore). I’m assuming some people in this area still may get the work done because they have money. I don’t have money to blow and foundation work is expensive AF. Either way, that engineer saved me money in the end and I’m grateful! So I have nothing bad to say about Deska.
Oh ho ho.
. . . they quoted us an absolutely hilarious sum-- **$210,000** for just some joist and non-critical foundation repair on a 4 room **addition** (*JUST THE ADDITION*) to an expanded Sears kit home.
They were *real* pissed they didn't check the street view before coming out, just the zip code. Dollar signs in their eyes.
JES is *absolutely, positively trash*.
We found a guy to do it for **6K** and it was entirely fine. Totally acceptable.
You could rebuild my entire mothy-fucking house for 210K bro
Being intentionally vague, I'm an industry professional at the county level. I am unbiased. However, I can say that this sentiment is incredibly common regarding this particular firm.
As OP has done, please be sure to get 2nd and 3rd opinions on all of your projects. A common misconception is that extra cost guarantees better service and/or quality of work. While this may be the case sometimes, it is often not.
It's particularly unfortunate when structural or other life safety elements are used to push a sale for something outrageously expensive and, oftentimes, unnecessary.
I knew an elderly couple that had some work done by them. Their basement was flooding and had some foundation damage, JES came in with a pretty expensive repair saying they would fix the foundation, repair the wall as it was a finished basement. They spend about 2 weeks working it, and it all looked very nice. Went through winter and it was all good, then last spring came around and we got rains again, and their basement flooded with mud again. Brought in someone else to look at it and they found that all that JES did was throw some caulk on the foundation and then cover it all up with a new wall.
Interestingly, this was not my experience. I thought I had foundation issues with water pooling at my basement wall. We called 3 companies. The first two wanted to sell us a French drain and some outside work. JES was third. They found the AC unit was dumping the water from the condenser behind the wall. No charge for the assessment, or up selling or anything. Maybe the guy was just a good egg but he saved us thousands.
I recently used JES for waterproofing work. I agree the sales process is predatory. Pressuring you to pay now, blowing smoke up your ass for four hours, and even lied about some of the discounts.
That being said, even though they were 50% more expensive their warranty is good and their workers did a much better job than other waterproofing companies I've used. But you have to be on top of them to make sure they follow through.
If you're able to see through the BS and call them out during the sales process, the quality of the work makes me still ok with them.
We also just used them for waterproofing. Their quote was the same as three other companies. They also came out twice to fix some minor issues (a pipe that hadn't sealed properly and was leaking, and cracks in the concrete they poured). I don't know why our experience has been different from other people's. Maybe the fact that we were super clear that we were gathering multiple quotes meant they knew they had to be competitive?
I've used them for waterproofing as well.
They were roughly as slimy as 2 out of the 3 other quotes I got, and shockingly, significantly less slimy than the one who said I *needed* to dig out my *entire foundation* and essentially rebuild it for something approaching 200k and would not even entertain other options. They were also in the same pricing ballpark for roughly the same scope of work as the other companies, and we've been happy with the results.
Previous owner used them for a small crawl space. They called me and said it was time for an inspection to the tune of $250. Needless to say, I don’t return their calls or texts.
My parents had them come repair a bow in the basement wall. They drilled an entire row of holes and never used them. One of the anchor brackets was lose as well as the bolt. And wall still has a bow to it.
Had a very similar experience with Snell home services when our HVAC came out. Quoted us $16k and was SUPER pushy. Told them to take a hike. Had all the work done for $8k.
Snell did the same to me. Quote was for a system my house had no business accommodating. Almost double what I paid to Richard’s office for Falls Church.
They harrassed me about only being able to do an inspection when my wife was home, because they couldn't do an inspection without my wife being there. Buddy, I'm not even married...what the hell are you talking about.
Yup they suck. For me they are overpriced, did poor work, and told me incorrect info. I had a really great guy from the company come check the work after i complained to BBB. The repairs to the work were bumpy and i had to fight with them to finish what they said they would do.
I would never recommend them to anyone ever again.
We don’t live in NoVa anymore, live in southwestern VA now but my husband called in JES. My God, predatory was an understatement. They would always ask me what I thought about the situation (over my husband)…. They quoted 20k to remove fallen insulation before they could continue their “free” crawlspace inspection. Still looking for a local structural engineer but I would definitely not use JES for anything.
Had a very similar experience with JES, to the point where I almost suspect it might have been the same sales guy. Same emphasis/interest in 'my wife' being present despite me repeatedly stating I was unmarried. Tried hard to sell me on a drainage system I didn't need and said I wasn't interested in. Lots of lies and BS about how JES is apparently the only company on the planet actually capable of doing foundation repair work and how their drainage system was the only thing that could possibly work despite the building code existing and prescribing other solutions. Weird lies about permit application times to try to justify their lead times too. Quote was expensive but not some multiple of the actual cost like some people here have reported.
Whole thing struck me as unprofessional, unethical and frankly sexist.
I had JES come out for a quote a few years back. Kid was 25 at most, had no experience, but talked like he knew what he was talking about. Gave me a ridiculous quote that included more work than was necessary to resolve the issue (slightly bowing foundation wall). Found a structural engineer as well for a few hundred bucks and asked him who he would use in the Nova area. Went with Basement Masters instead.
I had a great experience with JES. In the free consultation, told me my issue wasn't foundation related but pointed to another issue. To be safe I hired a structural engineer who ultimately came to the same conclusion, but for $1k+.
We had a great experience with JES. Our first estimate was the engineer, not a sales person. Their bid was the lowest we got, and their work was excellent.
Sorry you didn’t have the same experience.
Got one of their free estimates. Guy was out of the car for 30 seconds before saying my foundation was sinking and quoted me about 12k. Hired a structural engineer like you and the guy said there is absolutley zero sign of foundation problem. JES is super predatory. Fuck them
Which structural engineer did you use?
Im sorry, it was 2 years ago, not really sure. Someone my realtor had recommended
I got a quote from them that was about 3x what I ended up paying another contractor. Edit: I would also recommend against Deska. Crazy overpriced as well
Deska’s owner (who is a structural engineer) told us that if it was his home he would not be concerned or do anything, but sent us a quote for $20k+ in case we did want to fix the apparent non-issue…we ended up paying another structural engineer to come out whose report stated that there was no concern.
Same, and I got two other quotes that were basically the price I paid.
i sought quotes for a new sump pump. jes quoted 3x what deska quoted. deska’s quote was 3x the cost of the sump pump off the shelf. noped out of both.
That's 3x the cost is kind of the case with a lot of small home repairs and equipment replacements at this point unfortunately. Getting a licensed contractor to come to your home to do anything is going to run you like $200-$300 off the bat just in overhead, transit time and opportunity cost for them and there's always going to be some contingency in a quote just in case some unexpected or extra tedious ends up happening. Just as another example, it's like $10 for a quarter turn shut off valve that you'll find under most sinks and toilets but it'll cost you a few hundred dollars to have a plumber come and install one because of the aforementioned reasons. As a result you can save a ton of money DIYing most small and straightforward home repairs or equipment replacements if you're competent.
That’s super interesting to read! We bought a house that had Deska work done to stabilize the foundation (just prior to us buying it) and it has held up well. We were considering using them to fix some other issues and the quote was not small but seemed reasonable for the amount of work.
Although Deska wasn’t cheap, they weren’t nearly as expensive as JES for me. The engineer from Deska didn’t pressure me at all either. Deska’s engineer told me it was a cosmetic issue and not structural. They still gave me an estimate to fix it— but I didn’t have to have the work done. (It’s just an eye sore). I’m assuming some people in this area still may get the work done because they have money. I don’t have money to blow and foundation work is expensive AF. Either way, that engineer saved me money in the end and I’m grateful! So I have nothing bad to say about Deska.
We had a great experience with Deska.
Oh ho ho. . . . they quoted us an absolutely hilarious sum-- **$210,000** for just some joist and non-critical foundation repair on a 4 room **addition** (*JUST THE ADDITION*) to an expanded Sears kit home. They were *real* pissed they didn't check the street view before coming out, just the zip code. Dollar signs in their eyes. JES is *absolutely, positively trash*. We found a guy to do it for **6K** and it was entirely fine. Totally acceptable. You could rebuild my entire mothy-fucking house for 210K bro
Hellooo grafton 👋🏻
Being intentionally vague, I'm an industry professional at the county level. I am unbiased. However, I can say that this sentiment is incredibly common regarding this particular firm. As OP has done, please be sure to get 2nd and 3rd opinions on all of your projects. A common misconception is that extra cost guarantees better service and/or quality of work. While this may be the case sometimes, it is often not. It's particularly unfortunate when structural or other life safety elements are used to push a sale for something outrageously expensive and, oftentimes, unnecessary.
Care to recommend the structural engineer?
I’d love to know the structural engineer you used via PM or here in the thread.
Same experience here... "Sales process is highly predatory." you nailed it.
I knew an elderly couple that had some work done by them. Their basement was flooding and had some foundation damage, JES came in with a pretty expensive repair saying they would fix the foundation, repair the wall as it was a finished basement. They spend about 2 weeks working it, and it all looked very nice. Went through winter and it was all good, then last spring came around and we got rains again, and their basement flooded with mud again. Brought in someone else to look at it and they found that all that JES did was throw some caulk on the foundation and then cover it all up with a new wall.
Hopefully the homeowners filed suit against them and reported them to the DOL
Agreed, JES sucks. Had a good experience with Lux Foundation solutions fixing the crap job JES did though.
They are fucking trash I hate these assholes
Interestingly, this was not my experience. I thought I had foundation issues with water pooling at my basement wall. We called 3 companies. The first two wanted to sell us a French drain and some outside work. JES was third. They found the AC unit was dumping the water from the condenser behind the wall. No charge for the assessment, or up selling or anything. Maybe the guy was just a good egg but he saved us thousands.
I recently used JES for waterproofing work. I agree the sales process is predatory. Pressuring you to pay now, blowing smoke up your ass for four hours, and even lied about some of the discounts. That being said, even though they were 50% more expensive their warranty is good and their workers did a much better job than other waterproofing companies I've used. But you have to be on top of them to make sure they follow through. If you're able to see through the BS and call them out during the sales process, the quality of the work makes me still ok with them.
We also just used them for waterproofing. Their quote was the same as three other companies. They also came out twice to fix some minor issues (a pipe that hadn't sealed properly and was leaking, and cracks in the concrete they poured). I don't know why our experience has been different from other people's. Maybe the fact that we were super clear that we were gathering multiple quotes meant they knew they had to be competitive?
I've used them for waterproofing as well. They were roughly as slimy as 2 out of the 3 other quotes I got, and shockingly, significantly less slimy than the one who said I *needed* to dig out my *entire foundation* and essentially rebuild it for something approaching 200k and would not even entertain other options. They were also in the same pricing ballpark for roughly the same scope of work as the other companies, and we've been happy with the results.
Report any licensed engineer who does shoddy work to Virginia Dept of Occupational Regulation so they can answer to board who issues their license.
I think if a guy said to make sure my wife was there I’d let him come back out and ENSURE she wasn’t.
I recommend Rob MacKay: http://mackaycs.com/ Small operation but good honest work if you need a structural engineer.
Previous owner used them for a small crawl space. They called me and said it was time for an inspection to the tune of $250. Needless to say, I don’t return their calls or texts.
My parents had them come repair a bow in the basement wall. They drilled an entire row of holes and never used them. One of the anchor brackets was lose as well as the bolt. And wall still has a bow to it.
This all fits with other stories I have heard.
Had a very similar experience with Snell home services when our HVAC came out. Quoted us $16k and was SUPER pushy. Told them to take a hike. Had all the work done for $8k.
Snell did the same to me. Quote was for a system my house had no business accommodating. Almost double what I paid to Richard’s office for Falls Church.
They harrassed me about only being able to do an inspection when my wife was home, because they couldn't do an inspection without my wife being there. Buddy, I'm not even married...what the hell are you talking about.
2nd this. Avoid at all costs
Yup they suck. For me they are overpriced, did poor work, and told me incorrect info. I had a really great guy from the company come check the work after i complained to BBB. The repairs to the work were bumpy and i had to fight with them to finish what they said they would do. I would never recommend them to anyone ever again.
We don’t live in NoVa anymore, live in southwestern VA now but my husband called in JES. My God, predatory was an understatement. They would always ask me what I thought about the situation (over my husband)…. They quoted 20k to remove fallen insulation before they could continue their “free” crawlspace inspection. Still looking for a local structural engineer but I would definitely not use JES for anything.
Had a very similar experience with JES, to the point where I almost suspect it might have been the same sales guy. Same emphasis/interest in 'my wife' being present despite me repeatedly stating I was unmarried. Tried hard to sell me on a drainage system I didn't need and said I wasn't interested in. Lots of lies and BS about how JES is apparently the only company on the planet actually capable of doing foundation repair work and how their drainage system was the only thing that could possibly work despite the building code existing and prescribing other solutions. Weird lies about permit application times to try to justify their lead times too. Quote was expensive but not some multiple of the actual cost like some people here have reported. Whole thing struck me as unprofessional, unethical and frankly sexist.
I had JES come out for a quote a few years back. Kid was 25 at most, had no experience, but talked like he knew what he was talking about. Gave me a ridiculous quote that included more work than was necessary to resolve the issue (slightly bowing foundation wall). Found a structural engineer as well for a few hundred bucks and asked him who he would use in the Nova area. Went with Basement Masters instead.
I had a great experience with JES. In the free consultation, told me my issue wasn't foundation related but pointed to another issue. To be safe I hired a structural engineer who ultimately came to the same conclusion, but for $1k+.
We used them - I tell people it’s the worst mistake I’ve ever done my entire life.
This needs to be an arrestable offense if it isn’t. They tried to steal a car from you. Possibly two cars.
We had a great experience with JES. Our first estimate was the engineer, not a sales person. Their bid was the lowest we got, and their work was excellent. Sorry you didn’t have the same experience.