I had drain tile installed from a company suggested by Angie's List. The basement is dry, but there are a few things I can caution you about. First, use an established company. If the company goes out of business, the warranty is worthless. The one I used is out of business now. They attached a hose outside for the water to drain from the sump pump. There is quite a bit of water coming out. My neighbor reported it to the city. After a city inspector came out, I was told that this is not allowed in the city, only the suburbs of Chicago. He said to contact someone who is licensed by the city to correct the situation ASAP. Many of the companies who provide basement waterproofing are not licensed. It is good to check on this before you hire them to do the job. Now, we are paying a sewer company 2600.00 to direct the water into the Chicago Sewer System from two sump pumps, which is what the city code demands. Also, it is a good idea to get a back up pump. If electricity goes off during a storm, the pump will continue to work. Another thing that was discovered is that in order to get a clean cut in the concrete floor they have to use a "diamond cutter". I couldn't find anyone that uses one in Chicago. If the cut is not clean, cracks in the cement floor can be a problem which can lead to other difficulties such a radon seepage from under the foundation. We did get some cracks, which they tried to seal but there doesn't seem to be much choice as no one offers a clean cut, at least not in the Chicago area. Once the cracks appear, you can't really seal it and what was once a smooth concrete floor does not look as good with cracks in it.
Installing a fence. Check and double check references. I used, what I thought was a reputable company that I had used before, only to discover that there were new owners. The men who came only spoke Spanish. They started the job that was supposed to be completed that day, and had to leave because they needed to plug in their equipment. When I came home, I found the fence torn down, but nothing in its place. They neglected to tell me that they would need to use my electric. They left wide gaps in the fence when they did install it. One fence is not straight and another was too tall. I was there when they discovered it. I tried to stop them as they dug a trench in the ground to push the fence into so it was the proper height. With the language barrier, they chose to ignore me and continued. In another area, I did get them to put another piece of wood in to fill a large gap. Nail were sticking out. It was a bad experience. A representative came out to look and insisted that there was nothing wrong with the job. They kept harassing me about paying the bill. I finally gave up and paid it anyway. I was fearful of the response if I didn't pay it. I had to hire someone to dig under the fence and put bricks there to prevent the wood from rotting from being jammed into the dirt. One cannot imagine the things that can go wrong until they do. It was that experience that prompted me to join Angie's List.