Matrix Basement Systems

Matrix basements has a great product. They had a basement designer come over to the house and give us an estimate. I talked about what I was looking for in a basement and they designed and then built it. The overall process was several weeks. We did end up making some changes to our design along the way so that took some time. When our basement was complete it was what I expected.

We hired Matrix in April 2014 to finish approximately half of our small basement — about 400 square feet of space. While we are satisfied with the finished product, we wish we had gone with another contractor we had been considering. Our project was filled with delays, poor planning and terrible communication.
We chose Matrix over another contractor because we were intrigued by the material that is used, and it’s ability to prevent mold and provide better insulation. One considering Matrix should be warned: the at-​home «free consultation» exactly mirrors the high-​pressure sales techniques you would encounter if you got suckered into a timeshare presentation.
When our start week arrived, they delivered materials to our garage and we assumed work would start the following day as promised. However, after we called them on the start day, they reported that they did not have a carpenter ready to begin. We ended up having to wait three days longer into the following week.
Early the next week, the carpenter made progress quickly, but after two days of work, he informed me as he left the house that he was required to go back to finish another job the following day. Each day passed and he did not come back, and we received no communication as to when he was to return.
During our entire project, it was more of the same: delays for the carpenter having to go to another project and for not having materials that were needed (poor planning). (There were also delays due to our city inspections, which was out of their control.)
During all of this, we not once received an unprompted phone call from the project manager with a status update. When we would call the project manager, we would always get his voice mail. The response communication we would get was a TEXT MESSAGE from the carpenter. It is absolutely appalling that a business thinks it is appropriate to regularly communicate with customers via text message. Additionally, twice I confronted our project manager about our disappointment in the delays and lack of communication, he had no response or apology.
Our salesperson and project manager both quoted us a completion time for our very small space at 1 — 2 weeks. Our basement was finished in 6 weeks, plus additional time for scheduling the final inspection.
While we are satisfied with the overall product and workmanship, we would not recommend choosing Matrix.

Incredibly long estimate process — my husband kept pushing to get the estimate which ended up being exorbitantly high compared to the «clipper» which has steadily advertised decreased prices over the years — to $ 5,999 now! More like $ 52K, this co. should know most houses in Chicagoland lost value and to invest $ 52K in home improvement is not cost effective. It seemed like the whole sales pitch was delay tactics by trying to show you videos and 3D mock ups even though we clearly conveyed we want an estimate, quickly. After reading other comments about 3 and 4 hours, we got off easy with 1.5 hours. Luckily my husband was born on the «day of the hard look», has a no nonsense attitude and repeatedly stated we do not want to spend hours with him. It seems like a good product however the bait and switch and long sales pitch combined with out of the ballpark prices really seems like poor business ethics.

Stay away.
I signed up for an estimate at Ribfest in Naperville. I spoke with one Loren from this location. On the day of my appointment they called me to tell me that my appointment was cancelled due to my not confirming that I had an appointment. When I referenced the email that I had confirming my appointment, I did not hear back from them again.
I decided to give them another shot, so I called them back for an estimate. I mentioned that they did not get back to me previously, so they sent the Director of Sales to my house for a meeting. The meeting was supposed to be between 60 and 90 minutes. The meeting ended up being 2 ½ hours. The guy, Brian, was nice and we had agreed on a date that he would have drawings and a quote to me. He came out on 9/​16, and was supposed to have the quote to me on ⁹⁄₁₉. I had to call back to see what happened to my quote. So I called back on 9/​23, and was told that the President of the company would call me back the next day.
I have not heard from anyone at this company since then.
If I can’t even get a response when trying to purchase something from them, I wonder what kind of service I would get after I paid them!

Awful! The consultation was 3.5 hours long, though I was told it would be 60 – 90 minutes. After 3.5 hours, we were told for a 600 foot basement, it would cost $ 22,000 for just walls, a sprayed ceiling and electrical drops. No carpet or any extras. I would rather go with drywall and if it leaks in our basement, it would be cheaper to replace the carpet and drywall than these walls. Still, this walling system does not solve if someone needs to get through to something behind the wall.

We finished our basement with Matrix, they did a great job. We would definitely recommend them — they do quality work, they clean their job site every day, and they completed the project on time. We’re very happy with the finished product.