Total Basement Finishing, A Blackdog Affiliate

The team at Black Dog Basements was a joy to work with. The project manager did a great job communicating and worked hard to keep things on schedule. There were no surprises and in some cases the team exceeded expectations. Thumbs up.

Mike, Dan, and Bruce were fantastic. They were proactive, communicated in an extremely timely manner, and the quality of work is very high. They clearly take pride in what they do, and it shows. They fixed several issues for us after the fact, and left us satisfied with the job as a whole. You may pay extra for this crew, but you truly get what you pay for. Thanks again, guys. I’m keeping your contact info for future projects.

My house was built in 1730 in the historic district in Marblehead, Massachusetts. When I called Black Dog to come and give me an estimate to finish my basement, the floors were dirt, the walls cruddy, dirty fieldstone, the ceiling was a messy network of pipes for heating, plumbing and electric wires. Black Dog worked with me and helped me with a vision: to preserve the antique character of the basement, while making it a comfortable beautiful finished space. And so we launched the project. They did everything they said they would and they did it on time. They were an absolute pleasure to deal with. Their network of Black Dog approved sub-contractors were very competent, precise, experienced and also an absolute pleasure to deal with. This project was a great deal of fun. Of course, they obtained a permit and managed all the town inspections. Mike Thomas of BlackDog was the manager of the project. This guy is fantastic—upbeat, accommodating, on time every time, a man of his word. He delivered, big time. My basement is exquisite — one of a kind. The project was flawless and without a single snag. I highly, highly recommend BlackDog and Mike Thomas. The results are spectacular.

We cannot begin to express how much we love this new basement remodel. Our kids just love their new play room and it is so lovely to have a space to work out. Mr. Brian and Mr. Ken were amazing to work with directly and Mr. Jose and his crew were amazing and fast. Got what we paid for and it came together a lot quicker than imagined.

Very satisfied with the entire process. From design to completion the job was professional and completed on time. Would highly recommend them!

We purchased our home in 2018 with a basement that was finished by TBF prior to our purchase (the previous owner left us the paperwork). The basement finishing total cost came out to $16K for a 275 sq ft area. They used the EverLast wall system with metal studs which looked terrible and the workmanship was not good at all, as some of the panels did not align correctly and the drop ceiling tiles were not level.

Within a year of us owning the home we had water permeate through the walls and eventually come up through the flooring. I ripped up the flooring and took down the corner walls to see what the damage was. I had to rip the entire finished side down because of the extent of the damage. In doing so I found a ton of left over construction debris behind the walls and in the ceiling tiles. Worst of all, after I refinished the basement myself I found out that TBF NEVER closed 3 of the permits they had opened on my home!!!

I strongly DO NOT recommend this company for finishing your basement. Their work ethic is terrible and the quality of the basement is below average at best. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pictures they show on their site are not of their work.

Wanted to share our nice experience dealing with Total Basement Finishing (Black Dog affiliate) and their contractor Contractor Nation! We finished our basement in 2010 using Basement Systems of New Hampshire. We used them because they used EverLast wall panels which is waterproof and mold and mildew resistant. In December 2021, we noticed something that looked like water damage in two small patches in the basement walls. We called New England Basement Systems (Basement Systems of New Hampshire had sold to New England Basement Systems some years back).

We found out that New England Basement Systems had sold their business around mid December 2021 and no one there could tell us who took over the basement finishing part of their business. Frustrated, we did a Google search and found that Total Basement Finishing (TBF) was in the same business of finishing basement using EverLast wall panels.

We called TBF and explained the issue on hand. Stephen Cavanaugh of TBF came to our property and did the initial inspection. Then in another two weeks we got a phone call from Mike Thibodeau of Contractor Nation letting us know that he will be coming to take care of the wall panel. Mike came out and did an excellent (and patient) job fixing the patches in the wall panel.

To note, TBF did all of the above at no cost to us, no questions asked!! EverLast wall panels have a 50-year warranty and TBF honored the warranty even though they did not install our basement in 2010.

TBF did a fantastic job finishing our basement and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. Work was high quality, done professionally and on time. It was a very positive experience with Ken managing the project (outstanding project manager) and Lucas and team doing the bulk of the work (high quality work). We were particularly pleased that Ken and team were genuinely interested in a making sure that work was highly satisfactory to us. Great team and a great company! Highly recommended.

We are really pleased with the space, and appreciate the quality of the work done. We were especially happy with how clean the crew left the space each day. That said, the project was poorly managed and communication between us and the company, as well as between the project manager and the workers (including specialists like the electrician) left a lot to be desired. We had to manage the company more than I would have liked given the amount of money we were paying for the project.

They did a great job. It was a super easy process and they walked you though everything they were going to do. They even finished a lot faster than I thought it would take. You should definitely go with Total Basement Finishing, A Blackdog Affiliate if you need help with your basement.

TBF was fantastic right from the start providing step by step guidance on the possibilities and expenses for my basement construction. It certainly helped in our decision process and peace of mind. Once the project started, the design work completion, arranging the town inspectors for initial surveys, electrician work and finally the heavylifting work for the floors, ceiling, panels etc was done professionally, with high quality, on time and was excellently project-managed right till the end to final inspections and sign off. We couldn’t be happier and would highly recommend TBF to anyone wishing to get your dream basement. Yes, they are slightly expensive than regular individual contractors but the range of services, quality and professionalism is totally worth it.

Contacted Total Basement Finishing after seeing them mentioned somewhere. Got their packet and suspected they might be offering more than what we were looking for but figured it was worth exploring. Met by phone with their rep, Steve Cavanaugh to go through our needs. Steve came out to the house to do a thorough look at the basement. He couldn't have been more thoughtful or professional in describing how they would approach the job. However, what they would do, though fantastic (and a good value for what they were providing), was much more than we wanted to do in the space at this time given a variety of factors, including our budget. Rather than trying to convince us we should double our budget (which wasn't going to happen), Steve understood the situation and gave us ideas that might better fit our most critical needs. We followed up on these ideas and now have a plan in place for fixing the basement that fits our most immediate needs and budgetary constraints. Sometimes you find out as much about a vendor when you don't use them and this is one of those cases. Outstanding knowledge, professionalism and integrity! I would definitely recommend!

Blackdog was great, we had a small yet unique space and only a professional company like Blackdog could meet our needs at the price point we wanted. The whole experience was incredibly professional. Ken and Brian were great! The multiple options that Blackdog provided created a tailormade renovation and helped make our decision easy. Blackdog's basement finish has provided us much needed extra storage and space.

I had a very positive experience with Total Basement Finishing. My basement looks amazing! They were very reliable, doing their work right on schedule, and they were very professional. I would recommend them for anyone who wants to find ish their basement.

TBF was fantastic to work with, from the design to completion. If anyone is looking to finish their basement, this is the company to use.

Our basement is small and tricky and needed many creative workarounds. From our interactions with our project manager Ken and his crew to the final basement outcome, we had an outstanding customer experience and are thrilled with the appearance and functionality of our new space!

Was pretty painless - the two rooms they did came out pretty fantastic and they were able to work with and around existing duct work and plumbing in such a way that it looks really good and not out of place!

Black dog review

We had over 700sqft of our basement finished with TBF. They were the first and only quote we received. The second company we called for a quote basically didn’t want to come out after we had told then we met with TBF. The lady was defensive & short when we asked questions about their system - big turn off!

Our Sales rep, Jim, was very thorough. He worked with our budget to get us what we were looking for.

Our project manager, Tim, was very responsive & addressed all of our concerns, small or big!

Contractors were friendly & professional. Workmanship is beautiful, a lot of compliments from family & friends.

The bulk of project was completed within 4 weeks & entire project completed within estimated time frame of 8 weeks.

The only thing I wish we had done differently was to make the door to the unfinished area slightly larger. I believe is standard size but it is hard to fit some of the bigger objects/furniture through. This is something we had not thought of until we began moving stuff back in (especially since there is a support beam just beyond it). But given all the “stuff” going on in the ceiling (pipes, HVAC etc) not sure a bigger door would have been possible. But just something you may want to keep in mind...

This was not a cheap project - but as we say,
“Good work ain’t cheap & cheap work ain’t good!” I feel good knowing there won’t be any mold growing on our walls etc. We will definitely consider them for future renovations. I think what I liked about them the most was that they never seemed agitated with our requests/concerns & made sure we were happy with our new space.

Hope this is helpful!

Total basement Finishing did a great job on my Basement. All the process was handled smoothly, and they did even did finished ahead of time. The quality of the work done is really high and meeting my expectations. Overall extremely satisfied.

Incompetent. Needed 3 appointments to 'measure' basement (each time), but 2 weeks prior to promised implementation still couldn't get a start date. Building permit had not even be filed. When I pulled the plug, owner just belittled issues as 'not as well communicated as you would have liked' and proceeded to ask for a yet another chance. Waste of time - incompetent - do not use.