Crawl Space Encapsulation in Bowie, MD

"Our house was starting to make noises and I noticed drywall cracks. At first I assumed this was from my dinosaur footed stomping children but these symptoms kept getting worse and so I decided it was time to start researching options. After a few google searches and reviews I reached out to JES and a few competitors. Mike Mele came out and sat with me and I explained to him what we were experiencing. He walked me around the house and showed me what was happening and where. He tested with a laser level and proved that the back side of our house was sinking and then we went into the crawl space. Mike inspected all of the support beams and showed me exactly where there was separation from the beams and how it was affecting the house. I was given a presentation of what JES could and would do. Mike explained to me that their system does not guarantee the house being level, but that the house would not sink any further. Price was fair compared to competitors, and after being offered a 3 year maintenance plan, I requested adding the 5 year maintenance plan instead. JES said they would contact me every 6 months to slowly adjust the jack beams as needed. Deposit paid, contract signed. Permitting took around a month or so. I have nothing nice to say about the county I live in. They are slow and as they are government entities, inherently and completely inept. I was put on the schedule after a few follow up emails between JES and myself. Install was hopefully a 2 day period, IF, the county finished inspections. Day 1 of install, our installer, foreman Abdul Kargbo came out and got to work. He was ready by the afternoon with intentions of the inspector coming the next day to confirm the footer digs were correct. Next day, a Friday the inspector never came, even though he was scheduled, and the crew sat all day and did nothing all day waiting for him to come. Tuesday, the inspector finally came, albeit late, and approved the footers and Tuesday Abdul and Roman came back to do the work. They worked well into the evening to finish the job. Abdul requested a review and I told him that once the final inspection was approved, I would give one. I IMMEDIATELY noticed a difference in the way the floors felt and sounded. Items that were prone to shaking in cabinets were no longer making noise. Floor creaks that were annoying, but that we had gotten used to were gone. The house felt far more sturdy. My kids incessant stomping no longer shook pictures on the wall. The next day I called Mike back to let him know how everything went and that I was happy. I asked him about the final inspection timeline. Mike asked for a review and I told him the same thing I told Abdul. Once final was approved I would do so. Here begins frustrations for us. I don't hold JES entirely responsible for this however because the county staffed with government workers, I think JES could have been more aggressive on our behalf with the county. I understand JES has a delicate relationship with the counties and have to balance customer expectations with the ability to continue to operate at the behest of the counties they operate within. The county claimed they didn't have an engineering letter. These are basically liability transfers that keep the county inspectors from putting their necks on the line, but still enable to to collect the money. Within the packet that was posted to my door were all the engineering packet that showed the math, plans and a letter with a certification stamp. We had to go back and forth with JES and the county ourselves to get this moving faster. I do not believe the county didn't have this letter, or at bare minimum have enough to approve the project. I do know the county is inept. County approved the project in spite of them saying they didn't have plans. Which were included in the packet taped to my door. Due to my disgust with government, JES still gets a 5 star, regardless of the frustrations we had to deal with. Thanks Mike, Abdul and all the JES crew. It was great working with you. See you in 6 months for the check up!"