The Basement Defender Story
The Basement Defender was created by Chicago native Roy Spencer, a successful entrepreneur. For 45 years Roy has been the founder of the leading basement and foundation repair company, Perma-Seal Basement Systems, in Chicago.
Roy developed the Basement Defender device using his 45 years of waterproofing experience. Our goal is to address homeowners’ frustration that their sump pump can and will fail without warning. There needed to be a more proactive approach. Therefore, Basement Defender notifies homeowners of sump pump issues before a disaster hits and takes that constant worry away.
The Story Behind the Basement Defender
For years, homeowners had no reliable way to know whether their sump pump would actually work when it mattered most. That changed when a longtime professional in the basement waterproofing industry saw the consequences of pump failures firsthand and decided there had to be a better way.
A Man, a Truck, and an Idea
Disappointed by some of the business practices he encountered in the basement waterproofing industry, a young and hard-working entrepreneur named Roy Spencer set out on his own in 1979.
Starting with little more than $1,700 and an F-150 pickup, Roy founded Perma-Seal — a company built on providing lasting waterproofing solutions and treating customers the right way. The venture was an unqualified success, and over the 40-plus years since its founding, Perma-Seal has repaired more than 400,000 homes.
Yet despite that success, Roy remained deeply troubled by what he continued to see. Basement floods can be devastating to families and often lead to tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs, not to mention the irreplaceable keepsakes and sentimental items lost along the way.
Even more frustrating was how often these floods could be traced back to a single, preventable issue — a sump pump that failed without warning. That reality led Roy to a simple but important question: What if sump pumps could be automatically tested every day, before a failure caused damage?
Not long after, Roy partnered with an engineer and an innovative manufacturing partner to bring that idea to life.
Basement Defender:
The Solution to Faulty Pumps and Flooded Basements
Basement Defender™ is the first and only patented system that monitors your sump pump and actively tests it every day.
In fact, it doesn’t just test your sump pump; it also tests your backup pump, and battery, while monitoring temperature and humidity levels in your basement or crawlspace. The system also stores this information and your pump’s performance history, giving homeowners unprecedented visibility into how their system is actually performing.
Most importantly, if Basement Defender detects an issue, it sends an alert directly to your cell phone, allowing you to take action before a failure occurs. Instead of reacting to disasters, Basement Defender leverages real diagnostics and data to deliver proactive protection.
Basement Defender: Providing the Confidence Homeowners Deserve
With the Basement Defender in place, homeowners no longer have to feel anxious when torrential rains and rising floodwaters threaten. They can know that their sump pump system is ready to keep their home dry and protect what matters most, because it was tested that very morning. Since the advent of the Basement Defender, not a single basement or crawlspace, protected by the Basement Defender has flooded due to a failed sump pump.
The entire Basement Defender team is grateful for the opportunity to bring this kind of confidence to families across the country. To date, more than 10,000 homeowners have relied on Basement Defender for peace of mind, whether they’re at home, at work, or away, and we’d be honored to help protect your home, too.
