Best Alternatives to Groundworks in New Hampshire
If you have a Groundworks quote on the table, the most useful thing to know first is that no waterproofer in New Hampshire publishes fixed prices, so the only honest comparison is quote against quote. As a rough national anchor, This Old House puts basement waterproofing at roughly $3,000 to $7,000 (national, 2026), while Modernize estimates $8,000 to $16,000 and describes Groundworks as pricing at or above the industry average (national, 2026). This page is editorially independent. Every figure below is dated and tied to a source, and every alternative is here on a verified strength, not because we dislike the national option.
Our findings follow our published methodology, the Bedrock Standard. We do not sell rankings, and we do not state a competitor weakness we cannot source.
Give Groundworks its due first
Groundworks is a legitimate choice, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. It carries a high 4.9 across 567 Google reviews (June 2026), the largest verified base of any full-system provider we cover. It installs a patented national product line (IntelliJack piers and wall stabilization, AquaStop drainage), funds real product engineering that a single-branch local shop cannot, and offers in-house financing and a nationally backed transferable warranty. For a homeowner who finds national scale and a standardized product line reassuring, those are real advantages.
The honest counterweight is the consolidator model. Groundworks is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA; its nearest branch, in Hooksett, NH, was formerly the independent company Rescon. Warranty service runs through the national company rather than a local owner. Per the Better Business Bureau national profile for Groundworks, LLC, 741 complaints were closed in three years (accessed June 2026), the largest category being Service or Repair at about 69 percent. Two caveats: that count is national, spread across more than a hundred branches, and complaint volume scales with company size. Even so, when nearly seven in ten complaints concern service or repair, the fair question becomes who comes back, and how fast.
- Largest verified review base of any full-system provider here (4.9 across 567, June 2026)
- Patented national product line (IntelliJack, AquaStop) with R&D behind it
- In-house financing and a nationally backed transferable warranty
- National scale: deeper bench for unusual structural jobs
- Out-of-state consolidator (HQ Virginia Beach, VA); nearest branch is the former Rescon in Hooksett
- Warranty service routed through the national company, not a local owner
- 741 BBB complaints closed in three years (national profile), about 69 percent service or repair (June 2026)
For the two head-to-head breakdowns most homeowners ask about, see 603 vs Groundworks and Groundworks vs Erickson.
What the work actually costs in New Hampshire
Use these as ranges to read a quote against, not as prices any company has promised you. Each row is labeled national or NH and dated.
| Job | Range | Scope and source |
|---|---|---|
| Basement waterproofing | $3,000–$7,000 (national, 2026) | This Old House, Groundworks review |
| Basement waterproofing | $8,000–$16,000 (national, 2026) | Modernize, Groundworks (at or above industry average) |
| Foundation repair | ~$2,803 average (NH, Exeter, 2026) | Today's Homeowner, wide variation by job |
| Crawl space encapsulation | $6,200 average, range $4,030–$8,990 (NH, 2026) | crawlspacecosts.com |
| Radon mitigation | $800–$2,500+ (national, 2026) | National Radon Defense |
Homeowner-reported quotes are a different kind of evidence. On r/newhampshire (2026), one homeowner reported about $16,000 from 603 Basement Solutions for an interior drain and sump, about $40,000 from Erickson Foundation Solutions for what the homeowner described as the same scope, about $12,000 from Basement Improvements LLC for a drain, sump, and new slab, and about $43,000 from TC Hafford Basement Systems for a bigger scope (interior drain plus a new four-inch slab, a wall membrane, two sumps, and a SaniDry dehumidifier, which is not apples-to-apples) (thread). These are individual reports, not company price lists, and the spread is exactly why you get written quotes and compare scope line by line.
Full-system waterproofing on the Seacoast
If your job is a whole-basement water problem (a perimeter drain, a sump, vapor barrier, dehumidification), the strongest local independents sit on the Seacoast and southern NH.
603 Basement Solutions is locally owned in East Kingston, holding 4.9 across 250 Google reviews (June 2026) with the cleanest deep-review distribution of the group: 243 of 249 rated reviews are five-star, just 2 are one-star. It is the only local of the three Exeter-pack waterproofers that publishes a named whole-basement system (the Forever Dry System) and a transferable guarantee, and it folds radon mitigation into the same conversation. It fits the homeowner who wants local accountability and a documented system to check before signing.
Reliable Basement Waterproofing in Plaistow carries the highest star rating in the Exeter pack (5.0 across 165 Google reviews, June 2026) and a spotless BBB record (0 complaints in three years). It fits the homeowner who weights a perfect rating and a clean record most, and is comfortable that it publishes no named system or warranty terms online (ask at the quote).
See how each lines up against the national option in 603 vs Groundworks, and the full local order in our Seacoast waterproofing ranking.
Foundation and structural repair
Foundation work splits into two jobs. Crack and leak repair is the common, lower-cost case. Structural repair, settlement and bowing walls fixed with helical piers and wall anchors, is the higher-cost end and the place Groundworks is genuinely strong with its IntelliJack line. For Exeter specifically, Today's Homeowner reports an average around $2,803 (NH, 2026) with wide variation by job type.
Erickson Foundation Solutions is the clearest structural alternative: a family-owned Hudson firm and a Foundation Supportworks dealer (helical piers, wall anchors) with the deepest review base in the area (4.8 across 676 Google reviews, June 2026) and a clean BBB record (A+, accredited 2015, 2 complaints in three years). It fits the homeowner who wants national-brand structural products with a locally owned company answering for the warranty. Compare it directly in Groundworks vs Erickson.
Jackson & Company Foundation Repair in Hampstead has been a focused foundation specialist since 1985 (4.8 across 20 Google reviews), the specialist pick for crack and concrete-structure repair on a smaller, clean base. Arta Foundation Repair in Londonderry (4.8 across 52 Google reviews) handles foundation repair, crack repair, concrete leveling, and water control, with review themes on reasonable pricing, a genuinely local option for repair and leveling. See the Seacoast foundation ranking.
Crack-only repair
If a single poured wall is cracked or a bulkhead is leaking and the rest of the basement is dry, a full perimeter system is more than the job needs. Crack-X is the Manchester-based specialist for exactly this: epoxy and urethane crack injection (the Crack-X process) with a 10-year transferable warranty on most wall cracks (4.8 across 51 Google reviews). It is the lower-cost, focused, locally accountable call for a single crack, and it does not do structural piering, so a settling or bowing wall points to the structural providers above. The matchup is laid out in Crack-X vs Groundworks.
Seacoast dealer with depth
TC Hafford Basement Systems in Wells, ME serves much of the NH Seacoast as a Basement Systems dealer (TripleSafe, WaterGuard, SaniDry), carrying the largest review base of any Seacoast-area waterproofer in this set (4.7 across 342 Google reviews) with notable crawl space encapsulation depth in its reviews. It fits the homeowner who values a deep dealer track record and broad scope and is comfortable with out-of-state ownership.
North Seacoast and Strafford County
NH Dry Basement is an established waterproofing and ventilation company in Barrington, in Strafford County (4.9 across 76 Google reviews, June 2026). It fits a homeowner in the north Seacoast or inland toward Dover who wants a well-rated local independent closer to home, on a smaller review base than the Exeter-pack leaders.
Crawl space and radon, briefly
Two distinctions save homeowners money here. For crawl spaces, moisture encapsulation (a sealed vapor barrier, drainage, and a dehumidifier) is a different purchase from insulation and weatherization (air sealing and insulation for energy). The NH encapsulation average is $6,200, typically $4,030 to $8,990 (NH, crawlspacecosts.com, 2026). For radon, the EPA action level is 4.0 pCi/L, and New Hampshire DHHS guidance considers radon-in-water reduction between 2,000 and 10,000 pCi/L, per the NH DHHS radon page. Granite bedrock makes radon common, and the state recommends testing every home. A radon system runs $800 to $2,500+ (national, National Radon Defense, 2026); one homeowner on r/newhampshire reported about $1,600 for an outdoor pipe-and-fan assembly from Advanced Radon Mitigation & Water Treatment (thread). Advanced Radon holds the deepest verified radon review base in the set (4.9 across 304 Google reviews).
How to compare any alternative to a Groundworks quote
Sources
- This Old House, Groundworks review (basement waterproofing pricing, national), accessed June 2026: thisoldhouse.com
- Modernize, Groundworks (pricing estimate, at or above industry average, national), accessed June 2026: modernize.com
- Today's Homeowner, Exeter NH foundation repair (average cost, NH), accessed June 2026: todayshomeowner.com
- crawlspacecosts.com, New Hampshire (encapsulation average and range, NH), accessed June 2026: crawlspacecosts.com
- National Radon Defense (radon mitigation system cost, national), accessed June 2026: nationalradondefense.com
- NH DHHS, fixing radon / mitigation (radon-in-water reduction guidance), accessed June 2026: dhhs.nh.gov
- Better Business Bureau, Groundworks, LLC national profile (complaint record), accessed June 2026: bbb.org
- Homeowner-reported quotes (waterproofing scope and value), r/newhampshire, 2026: reddit.com
- Homeowner-reported radon quote, r/newhampshire: reddit.com
See the full local picture in our verified rankings: all NH rankings, or start with Best Basement Waterproofing in the NH Seacoast.