When I finally decided to do something to my somewhat leaky basement by calling around for quotes, Dave's quote came right in the middle - not the cheapest and not the most expensive. However, Dave came right on time to look at the problem, provided a detailed and professional advise on the issue and emailed a detailed quote that very evening. The other companies/persons I called for quotes showed up a day late or never at all. One guy even suggested that it would take him half a day to calculate the cost of the potential job but finally gave a ballpark quote, after I pressed him for one, of "at least $48K maybe more" even without taking any measurements - buddy didn't seem interested in the job at all so I figured he wasn't going to be feeding his kids or grandkids on my coin. The only positive about buddy was that he arrived on time to look at my basement, which is what Dave did. In retrospect, if I had known what I do now, I wouldn't have bothered wasting my time calling around for quotes; I would have just called Dave to schedule my job into his work schedule.

When Dave came over to look at my basement, he took one look and told me what the problem was - weeping tile failure - and suggested that I get rid of the existing leaky cold room. Dave came two days earlier than scheduled (Spring 2010) to start the work. He removed the old crumbling precast concrete porch, tore out the cold room, dug a trench around the whole foundation, placed a waterproof coat around the exterior of the foundation, covered the whole exterior with platon membrane AND styrofoam as an added insulation barrier, filled up the trench with 3/4" gravel, replaced my fence and patio stones, built a new footing for the new precast concrete porch, and replaced fresh topsoil in the areas that required it. Complications arose with a thicker than usual foundation footing but Dave and crew worked hard to get things done correctly. Most importantly, Dave and crew trucked away tons and tons of the clay soil that was dug out and they replaced the excavated clay soil with 3/4" gravel and finally with fresh topsoil where required - he did not attempt to maximize his earnings by doing it the easy way and backfilling the trench with the clay soil. The job took approximately 7 or 8 days and was messy as heck as we had at least three rainy days. The guys, however, worked their butts off and never complained about anything.

When a "problem" arose a month or two after the completion of the work, Dave came out promptly (and right on schedule as usual) and demonstrated that it wasn't a problem after all. When an issue arose early this year(2011), Dave came by and fixed it. I quote Dave saying "I'm not happy, this should not be happening, I'll get it fixed" - he was by in less than a week to fix the problem. My basement is now dry, it no longer has a somewhat musty odor and I can finally get it finished. I also did notice that my dehumidifier didn't kick on as often as it did in the past.

It is good to know that we have contractors in the Ottawa area who will not compromise their reputations by having too many work crews (some not even properly trained for the job) in order to maximize profits. Dave Marcotte Foundations has one working crew with Dave Marcotte in charge of that crew. In doing so, Dave controls the quality of every job he does. More importantly, Dave stands behind his work and his reputation. Now I wonder if I can convince Dave to get back into basement renovations..... perhaps in the winter......

I cannot say enough good things about Dave. He is a dream contractor. My house is 110 years old and when he started digging much of my foundation just crumbled away. It was an awful project, but he was such a pleasure. He kept me informed, he was bang on with his price. He really is great. I found him through a friend who did a lot of research before deciding on Dave. He loves Dave too.

We hired Dave to replace our weeping tile and waterproof our foundation walls after we had water coming into our basement. He was able to diagnose the problem quickly and correctly. There was a bit of a wait for him to be available, but he started before he said he would and finished well within the 5 day window that he had allowed himself to do the work. The work was done in 3.5 days - everything was done as promised. They cleaned up our yard and you could hardly tell they'd been there 4 days after starting work. After having several terrible experiences with other individuals / companies in the construction and general contracting industry, we were pleasantly surprised by Dave Marcotte's professionalism, honesty and excellent work ethic. We would recommend Dave Marcotte to anyone without hesitation.

Similar to many others facing major foundation repairs, we were confronted with a large amount of money to be spent and sought several estimates to ensure we did what was necessary, and that it was done right. When we met Dave Marcotte we were both impressed by his knowledge of foundation repair and his non-pressure sales approach. His estimate was similar other companies, but as other reviewers note, his company did things others did not. In particular, replacing the excavated soil with proper stone to ensure drainage, tarring by hand, and insulating around the foundation.

Our foundation is stone rubble constructed in 1890 that required excavating to the bedrock and cutting below to lay the weeping tile and sump pump. We did not know what condition the 1890 stone walls would be one they were un-earthed. Dave’s expertise and experience was reflected in his estimate, as it identified the work required and there were no major ‘surprises.’ Dave had understood and identified beforehand the issues pertaining to such foundation repairs.

What makes Dave Marcotte Foundations stand out is that Dave and his crew made a difficult and intrusive job easy because they focused on only one job at a time; completed it within the estimated time and budget; were very respectful to our property; employs a very courteous and friendly staff; and Dave genuinely was concerned we were satisfied with the final product.

Furthermore, Dave is a great resource to other professional contractors, such as masons, painters, carpenters ect.. He only works with others who share his professional work ethic. After seeing the quality work Dave did on our foundation we sought his recommendations for other work and have now engaged his brother Paul Marcotte to construct our front porch, and his associate Mario to replace our basement windows. We will also have Merco back to do more repointing inside the house

Dave did an amazing job restoring to its former glory an 1890 stone foundation that neighbours now all ask – who did your foundation? followed by, can I get Dave Marcotte’s number? We would highly recommend Dave Maroctte and, in fact, have already done so to friends requiring foundation work.

Great job Dave, thanks so much!

Sean and Audrey

After receiving a number of quotes and a variety of conflicting advice and proposed solutions, I engaged Dave on the basis of a very strong recommendation from a friend who is the owner of a very reputable company in the fire and flood restoration business. I was extremely happy with the result. Dave and his team went above and beyond under challenging site and weather conditionsns. He fit me in on short notice, arrived when he said he would, and stayed until the job was complete. He diagnosed and addressed the problem, patiently answering my many questions and explaining everything to me step by step. He and his team were knowledgeable, took a problem solving,thoughtful approach and were willing to do what it took and go the extra mile to get the job done properly. He and his team were courteous and friendly. It was a pleasure dealing with Dave and I would highly recommend him and his team for any foundation issues. Than you Dave. Much appreciated! Andrew Lieff

After receiving quotes from several competing (and heavily marketed) foundation repair companies, my neighbour and I selected Dave Marcotte based on his knowledge of the trade and a very reasonable price. The work consisted of waterproofing our foundations and laying weeping tile which was done (for 2 houses) in 1.5 weeks without any breaks in the work schedule. Throughout the entire process, Dave and his friendly crew conducted themselves with utmost professionalism and integrity - even assisting with tasks unrelated to the job. Our basements are now dry as a bone after nearly 1 year since the work was done!

I hired Dave to do our foundation waterproofing after having several quotes. Not only did Dave have a very friendly approach but he was very professional and brought certain aspects of the job to light while others did not. Right away I felt very comfortable with him. Doing my due diligence I asked for references for past jobs so that I could find out for myself how he was. What I did not expect was that all of his references not only checked out but they even returned messages so that they could talk about how "great" he was. My first impression was right and I booked him to do the job. He and his crew showed up for when we booked him and even worked through some of the worst weather in Sept and finished the job when he said he would. Like all jobs there were some "jackpots" that came to light but nothing that Dave could not only handle but kept me in the loop on all of it. Although the job was very messy they all made sure that the site was cleaned up. He even had some extra top soil delivered and spread out so that I could re-sod the entire front yard. The basement is dry and our yard looks great. Thanks to Dave and Shane, the rest of his crew and all the subs that came in to help. I would have no issue recommending Dave to anyone. In fact there have been several people walking by who have asked about him because he did not leave a lawn sign because we did not have one to do so.

I am planning to finish my basement and I have decided to use a polyurethane injection to fill a non-structural foundation crack even though it did not leak. I have requested several quotes and Dave offered a competitive price. More importantly, he is very knowledgeable and offered advice in other matters as well. He did a great job and was professional throughout. I would hire Dave again and I would recommend him warmly to anyone needing help with foundation repairs.

We hired Dave Marcotte to waterproof our foundation. He was suggested to us by neighbours who had some work done by him and we are really glad that we called him. Dave is a very knowledgable, pleasant, experienced and professional person. He sat down with us to explore all of our options and helped us to decide the most appropriate way to proceed. He and his crew were respectful, careful and hardworking and they finished the job in a timely manner. We were so impressed with his professionalism and work ethic that we would hire him again in a second.

I can only say very good thing about Dave. When I phoned him, he got back to me very quickly and scheduled the work right away. He showed up on time and did the work in a professional manner. The job was well done and was really clean. I am very impressed by him. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone. Thank you again Dave!