IN & OUT MAINTENANCE SERVICE INC

My backyard was a disaster. Overgrown bushes and tree stumps precluded my family from enjoying the space. On a good recommendation from a family member, I called up Jim Davis and spoke of my needs. He came by the NEXT DAY. In a matter of minutes, he was able to diagnose exactly what needed to be done, in what order and how long it would take. He also quoted me a very fair price, all inclusive. My wife and I pulled the trigger on the project. Jim said his crew would be out there the following Tuesday (this was on a Wednesday). Over that next weekend, Jim had the foresight to bring his workers by to show them exactly what needed to be done so they would be prepared. And on Monday (a day early), he and his crew arrived. In short order, they worked like master craftsman in removing what needed to be removed and then constructed the retaining wall. Then, yards and yards of dirt fill was moved. Jim's crew was very careful and respectful of mine and my neighbor's yard, taking great care to minimized any wheelbarrow damage to the grass. After two full days of work, our backyard looks amazing. Perfect sod, well-constructed, reinforced retaining wall. They even came back a week later to re-roll the sod to make it extra smooth! All the while, Jim was ever-present, keeping an eye on his workers and even providing me with phone calls to give me status updates. He is personable, friendly and passionate about his work. This is a gentleman whom I would trust to do any landscaping, big or small. He's already lined up to do work for my parents at their home. And they are choosy people, too. I recommend Jim Davis and In and Out Maintenance Services with highest regard!

Called for landscaping to alleviate the basement seepage south side of house. Charles said had experience, recommended drain tile installation. Showed him the pvc pipe used this in neighbor?s house and he told me that it would look like that. Requested that he grade area, lay plastic, and layer with large stones to help with runoff control. He agreed to regrade, but convinced me that plastic not necessary and pea gravel would do. Consulted him north side of house and he said he could treat that problem by digging a trench in the concrete driveway and installing same design as for the south side. He also agreed to connect sump pump outlet to this drain tile. Started the job within the week. Didn?t use pvc pipe, but cheap plastic tubing. Even connected it to cheap downspout extension I had bought at Home Depot. Dug up my cable lines leaving them sitting on top of ground. Prompt in replacing my downspout extension and re-burying cable lines. When asked about possibility of plastic drain tiles allowing water to freeze in the winter, Charles assured he?d never seen that happen before. Rained. Catch basin near the rear downspout south side got so much water that large hole developed around it. Basement seepage continued. Water from the pop-up emitter connected to drain tile on north side flooded my driveway. (Strangely, no water came out of the pop-up emitter connected to the drain tile on the south side of my home -that should have been my clue that something was seriously wrong.) Came back to repair hole and extend drain tile farther from the driveway. North side, pipe into which fed downspout and sump pump kept leaking. Charles had not connected sump pump per my carpenter?s directions, tried to tell me some leaking should be expected. Came 3 times to add more sealant to seams. Leaking diminished but never stopped. Winter -water in drain tile did freeze and sump pump started spraying all over driveway. Had to pay $350 for temporary fix of pvc piping across driveway to back yard. Rained. Because drain tile was right next to foundation and only just below surface, and they had not re-graded, but raised it by adding pea gravel, and did not remove a large planting but instead went over roots with drain tile, water not reaching the emitter but rising up next to the house until flowed in through the window, flooding basement. Forget seepage?now I get flooding! Where they sawed up driveway patching looks very unprofessional. Did not put drain tile down the middle of tdriveway per the contract, but right next to the house. Now have to hire someone to re-do the entire project. Charles offered to give an estimate for him to do it! Of course I would never hire this company for another job. I have been told that the work I had needed done would have cost a lot more than Charles charged. So I guess the old adage of ?you get what you pay for? is really true in this case. I threw away $1700 that this old widow can?t spare.