DCI Landscaping

The work couldn't have gone any smoother or faster. Once the utility companies gave the go ahead that everything was clear the work started promptly at the start of the following week and was completed in less than 24 hours in early March. On a side note, the heavy rains in May were not an issue. The drain prevented any water from pooling which gave my wife and I piece of mind.

Dave and his crew were great. Professional, prompt, and skilled. My house sits on a sloping lot so Dave and his crew had to move in 24+ tons of CR9 (crushed runner stone) to level out the patio area. It only took 4 days for the patio area to be backfilled and leveled and the patio pavers placed. The playground area took 2 days. Regrading, topsoil and seeding took 1 day. We were not in any rush to get done, I was just amazed at how quickly his crew accomplished so much. It did take us a month to get on his schedule because Dave and his crew are in high demand, but again we were not in any rush. Dave gave us exactly what we wanted and gave his expert advice when needed. It was pleasure working with him and his crew. I highly recommend DCI Landscaping for anyone who needs a paver patio or drainage work to be done. At this point Dave has done all of the patio work in our immediate neighborhood with no complaints and lots of praise.

This is to Dave Irwin. Dave: I've been trying to get in touch with you for a year. I've called and sent emails. Please give me a call. Hope all is well. Thanks. Dan Lipstein

This is to Dave Irwin. Dave: I've been trying to get in touch with you for a year. I've called and sent emails. Please give me a call. Hope all is well. Thanks. Dan Lipstein

Everything looks great! We have had a standing water problem along our property line for years. Dave created a plan to help divert the water coming from the neighbor's yard and keep our yard dry. We now have a stone runoff area and a raised bed to help keep the water flowing properly. My husband and I were very impressed when we saw the completed job. We would definitely recommend DCI Landscaping to our friends and neighbors.

The patio / retaining wall and fire pit turned out beautifully. The drawn out plan was close to the finished product but the finished product turned out even better than the drawing. Other factors that were provided that led me to my satisfaction of this company: -Began work early -Considered water drainage very important in design -Reviewed each step to ensure satisfaction of placement to ensure I was satisfied with the design -Finished on time.

We were very impressed with Dave's landscaping knowledge and service that he and his team provided. The biggest problem that we wanted to correct was the pond that would form in the backyard after a heavy rain. It would take at least a week for this to dry up and it would start to smell with the stagnant water just sitting there with no where to go. With a hill in the back yard and the grade, I was skeptical that it would be resolved. Dave knew exactly what to do with the french drain system, grading, and pop up drains. We had an extremely heavy thunderstorm about a week after the work was finished and about a hour after the storm, there was no standing water and almost dry. I couldn't believe it. The system works great! I also have not had any water in the basement since he buried all of the downspouts and built up the grade around the house so the water flows away. We also had a very short sump pump pipe that would basically drain the water right next to the foundation. Dave installed a pipe in the ground for the sump pump to empty into and that water gets drained far away from the house. Much better. Dave really has an eye for flowers and shrubs and really helped us out with what to plant where. He considers when it is going to bloom, what the colors are going to be, and where in the yard it is going to do well. We were really impressed with his knowledge and taste when helping us with flowers and other plantings. He also seems really passionate about what he does and it is reflected in his work. I was also very impressed with his team and they all worked very hard, were friendly, and did an outstanding job.

Drainage, drainage, drainage. Dave Irwin, owner of DCI Landscaping, fixed an extreme and chronic drainage problem that I'd already spent about $20,000 on with 2 other contractors in past years (2008, 2009 for the first, 2012 for the second). He did it for what I consider to be a very reasonable price for the effort. Dave is thoughtful, hardworking and you'll be lucky to get his help if you have drainage problems. My house's water issues are extreme and infamous, even for a neighborhood known to have underground springs emptying out into yards and the street after heavy rains. When I bought the house in 2006, the sump pump ran only after heavy rains, as they're supposed to do. After a major storm (Hurricane Irene?), some underground springs must have gotten diverted. My pit has filled with water ever since. Worse, I'd get water in patches of my unfinished basement after routine rains, and an inch of water after heavy rains. Now, my sump pump runs about every 30 seconds, every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in a doomed effort to keep water from pushing into my basement. Pick the driest, most arid, parched days of the summer, and my pump still kicks water into a nearby storm drain. I go through a sump pump about once a year; the cast iron ones may last slightly longer. These pumps aren't designed to run continuously. The cast-iron ones are noisy, so if I have sleeplessness, I can hear it from my bedroom. In fact, if I don't hear it, I get worried, because I will have water seeping through my foundation within a day without pumping. Every time we had heavy rains, I'd get very anxious about the consequences. Efforts before DCI Landscaping were of mixed success. The first aforementioned contractor dug a trench across my unfinished basement floor to empty water from the back yard into the sump pit. Over time, all the ground water around my house pushing on the foundation walls found this perforated pipe and now empties continuously from it into the sump pit. The second contractor (which was highly rated on Angie's List) did a so-so job by tying in some (but not all) downspouts underground, but a poor job at grading around my deck and relaying my patio; they were sloppy, rushed, and I was distracted, so I found problems weeks after they left the project. In Summer 2015, Dave came out and immediately made some disgnostic comments about my yard's poor draining situation. He installed some french drain in the backyard, tied in downspouts and positive grading away from my foundation, to relieve some of the ground water from pushing on my foundation and to effectively drain rainwater. The real challenge was the never ending sump pump cycles, which nobody ever said could be fixed. Dave confidentally said he could fix it by installing a pipe that would run water out LOWER than the level of the pipe bringing water in. His team hand-dug a 5-foot deep trench carefully around gas lines and water mains, bore through concrete and put in a new pipe into my sump pit. Then, I just needed to have my pump lifted, so that the float only kicks in during heavy rains, when Dave's new pipe is overwhelmed by water pouring in. But after Dave finished the installation, when I called a plumber out to lift the pump, he told me the new pipe wasn't low enough, that it wouldn't work unless it was lower than all the other pipes emptying into the pit. I called Dave back, and without a single word of argument, Dave said he'd redo it!! So, a week later, they redug the whole trench, and went in lower. Dave stands by his work, and proved it. As of today, if my pump doesn't run on a dry day, water will now exit out the new pipe, downgrade toward the street away from my house. I'm getting the plumber back out this week to lift up the pump. Dave has restored peace of mind for me. I'm no longer worried about my basement staying wet and getting moldy.

When Dave first came out, he was prompt and new exactly what I wanted. I had others come out but they couldn't see my vision, which was just really simple and would give me room to make the back of the house my own. I just wanted to old crappy concrete gone, the annoying stump gone, and new pavers and some mulch. He was prompt to provide me with an estimate and we decided since I was saving for a wedding to reconvene in early 2015. He contacted me in early 2015 and we tentatively said to start in April - depending on weather. It rained, which delayed the start but Dave let me know when they would start. He made sure his crew new what the plans were and was there to see the project off. His staff was efficient and polite and did a great job with the pavers and the fence. My only comment about the fence is that there are no cross-bars on the gate, so it now sags and is slightly warped, so I'm not sure what to do about that. Overall everything looks great and my friends and family are impressed with the transformation. The end of the job was a little rocky as I noticed a couple places in the concrete walls that had holes in them that I was worried about soil sloughing off and through, but Dave came out and filled them in with concrete. We also had some misunderstandings at the end of the job, which were sorted out, but not in the most professional of manners so that unfortunately left a bad taste in my mouth. I did recommend him to my cousin before all of that and she had no issues with him.

First I would like to say how polite and hard working the whole crew at DCI are. Dave, the owner, was thorough and made sure that he explained everything that was to be done and how to care for the lawn for the best results. He also answered all of our questions (and there were many) to our satisfaction. Upon completion of the job the whole area was cleaned and left the way they found it. I will have no problem calling on DCI again for any needs in the future and will recommend them to all of my friends.

David and his team first built a brick retaining wall in our front yard in 2014. Then in May 2015, we had a huge stone patio/wall built in our backyard. He also re-routed and installed a drainage system for our sump pump and gutter drains on one side of our house. Then in early July he fixed the front yard drainage problem. I would highly recommend him for any patio/retaining wall work, along with any drainage fixes. We spend a lot of time in our backyard now and can't wait to get a fire pit for the fall! *The price shown above reflects the work we had this year (patio and drainage).

This is the third time that we have used DCI Landscaping, we could not recommend them highly enough. Dave and his crew do a great job. They arrive when they say they will, they work until they are done, and they are friendly and very helpful. We have watched our neighbors use a different landscape company and wait weeks for the job to be finished. Their yards are a muddy mess while workers come and go a few hours a day. Dave was very competitive with his quote, we will never look anywhere else for any of our landscaping needs.

We have been having drainage problems in our back yard 3-4 times a year with every heavy downpour. The water would roll down our back yard over an old wooden retaining wall and flow right into our pool - dragging dirt and small stones making a muddy mess for me to clean up that would take a week until water was back to normal. This year finally decided to do something about it. We contacted Dave Irwin owner of DCI along with 4 other contractors from Angie's list for their inputs and estimates. We know we wanted a solution to the drainage problem we just didn't know for sure or have an idea of exactly how we wanted it done or what we wanted in the end. Out of all the contractors that came out to look at the problem and offer solutions - Dave was by far the most envisionary of them all. He was very easy to talk to and he did a terrific job explaining exactly what he would and could do with the little input we provided him of what we where looking for. He sent us a drawing of the project, product examples and the supplier we could visit and look at exactly what he would be using. He also sent an estimate that was more than fair for the work, service and materials he was providing for the job. To say the least we went with David and his plan and crew over the other 4 estimates and plans we received. His crew showed up when they said they would - they were friendly and they worked hard. The end project was more than my wife and I envisioned or expected when we started this process. We would highly recommend DCI to anyone anytime without hesitating. The next project we have - we are calling DCI. DCI installed an awesome 80ft long approx. 2.5ft high retaining wall, pavers, fire pit and accent lighting. It turned out beautifully. Along with drainage resolution that is beyond what we thought could be done. It has rained hard a few times the past few weeks and our pool would have been a muddy mess more than once. I can't begin to explain how happy I am with DCI and the awesome job they did.

We couldn't be more pleased with the professionalism and quality of work. Dave was very responsive and answered all our questions. I would recommend this company and will definitely use them again.

Called three times left two voicemails and email before I got a call 5 days after first initial contact. At that time it was a short email which stated this which I copied and pasted below. Place is called DCI landscaping I contacted for shrub removal and mulching he states he does not do any of that all though the reviews I read that were good talked about him laying sod and removing bushes? Anyway this guy seems real sketchy don't let the A rating fool you sorry you fall victim to first impressions..which is not a good one and I see others here complaining of the same thing. Thanks for the email. We do drainage and hardscapes exclusively. No mulching, grass cutting etc... Thanks

If every contractor were are as solid as Dave, home improvement would be a pleasure. I needed a major exterior makeover of a house I bought that had been vacant for 4 years, and was very neglected. I knew roughly what I wanted to do, but needed guidance. Dave couldn't have been better. He showed up immediately, listened carefully, and proposed several options and suggestions with good pricing guidelines so I could make my own decisions. He gently nudged me in the right direction, but was entirely professional and moved right on if I shot down his idea. He remained as enthusiastic about the project as I was from beginning to end. His initial price was very competitive, right where it should have been. Things only got better from there. Dave's crew worked tirelessly dawn to dusk to deliver a flawless project in difficult weather conditions. We made several changes, adjustments, and improvements while the work was going on. Dave was quick to make the changes, totally flexible, and didn't nickel and dime me ONCE for any changes. He also never tried to upsell me or sell me into changes. He truly let me build what I wanted built, and his end goal was clearly to see the best finished product. One significant change was made due to a conceptual issue. Dave immediately removed and re-installed a significant portion of the work, and assumed all responsibility for the correction when others might not have. When I needed to consider a design change on the fly, Dave would respond immediately, and show up at 8am the next morning to discuss in person. Dave also went further to finish out the entire surrounding area to make sure that the complete project looked beautiful. The end result was a perfect job, great price, and an unusually great experience in a business where that is uncommon. I couldn't give DCI a more positive recommendation. A genuine guy, great to deal with, and takes a lot of pride in his work.

I originally contacted Dave at DCI in early 2014 to provide a quote for laying sod in my back yard. At the time he made some recommendations that he said would help improve water issues in the yard, including burying a water pump spout and cutting away some obstructions. I was impressed by Dave and satisfied with his price, but a change in circumstances required me to postpone the project. Today (2/10/2015) I contacted Dave again to ask if he would be interested in providing an updated quote. After finding the initial proposal, Dave at first said specifically that he would honor that previous quote and there was no need for him to come out for a second estimate. I began to ask a question relating to the work, and Dave interrupted me to say that he was no longer interested in performing the work because he was "too busy." This was within thirty seconds of telling me that the proposal from last year would be honored, which implies he had been willing to do the work. No possible timeframe was given in which Dave would be less "busy," and my impression was that I was simply being dismissed for reasons I'm still not clear on. I realize a customer who disappears for a year and then calls back is probably a red flag for a business such as Dave's, and ultimately he's probably making a (mistaken) assumption that I am never going to have this work done. If that's the case, he would have been much better served telling me as much up front before leading me to believe working together was still an option and then taking it back. I can only say through this site that Dave was less than two minutes from having a commitment from me to do this work as soon as possible. As it is, it seems I'll wish him the best with his work (fortunately it sounds like everything's going very well) and look for other providers interested in my business.

Work performed was excellent. One tree died by July and DCI did come out and replaced it, in December. My only complaint about DCI is a failure to respond to email and phone messages. Don't know why there is a problem. David is great to deal with face to face. Has great ideas.

I would like to clarify that I did not recieve a phone call from this company until Monday, after I left this review on Angie's List. You should not have to wait 2 weeks for a phone call.

I had a fantastic experience with DCI Landscaping. Dave came out to the house and was very easy to talk to and gave me a lot of great ideas. He gave me a drawing of what the final product would look like. All of his communication was timely. The job was completed in a very short timeframe and Dave himself was onsite. I have showed pictures to many of my friends who are now considering DCI. The clean up was efficient. From beginning to end, it was a very good experience. I would definitely use DCI in the future and strongly recommend this company. Class act.

The additional river rounds were no issue and went well. They look fine and work as planned to keep the dog in and other dogs out. The paver cleaning was a problem in that some effervescence and staining from fertilizer didn't clean, even after a couple of attempts. David, the owner, decided that the best solution was to replace the pavers, which they did the following Friday. Now I have a new walk and great edging around my fence. I'm not sure what caused the problem with the pavers, but the cleaning solution didn't work as it should. David and his crew were very professional and made a couple of attempts to get it to both his and my satisfaction before offering to replace the walk. They've done work for me in the past, including some multi-day hardscape projects, and there's never been an issue before. His solution was excellent and I am a very satisfied customer who will be using DCI Landscaping again for additional projects.

Dave was a no show. Not even a phone call.

Dave Irwin visited the home, listened to our needs and gave recommendations for the project. My wife and I were impressed with his professionalism and the plans for the project. DCI did a nice job installing the drainage, re-sodding, building a stone pathway and a poolside garden. We had a couple of small issues with one part of the lawn looking a bit patchy and an additional stepping stone needed at one location on the path. Dave had his workers re-visit and address those small issues. Now, five months later, we have a beautiful lawn and are very pleased with the quality of service and work performed.

I am THRILLED with the work. The entire project start-to-finish took only 3 days. I came home to find the job done, ALL debris cleaned up, the yard seeded and straw put down where the earth was disrupted. The work is impeccable! Dave and his crew are awesome - highly recommend them!

The landscaping for our project was something we had been planning for almost 6 months. It was the last major project we needed to complete in order to significantly improve the curb appeal and make our yard manageable. As you can see from the ?before" pictures, when we purchased the home, it had suffered from yard neglect for some time. What had once been a beautiful yard was overgrown with numerous trees, shrubs, and an infestation of weeds. It proved extremely difficult to manage due to the steep slope and uneven grade of the property. While it is something we would have loved to tackle on our own, it had become so unmanageable that we decided to pull the trigger and enlist the help of a professional. Since we are, in essence, the entrance to the neighborhood, I wanted something that would not only help the curb appeal of the property but the neighborhood in general. Dave was the third contractor whom we consulted to provide a design plan and estimates for the project. From the moment Dave came out, I had a feeling that we were going to be using his services. I usually go by the "rule of three" and typically will take the middle estimate. Needless to say, Dave's estimate was the cheapest of the three and, overall, his design was most impressive. Dave has a true passion for the business and it shows in both his consultations and his work. Even after signing the initial contract, we had some additional minor work that we wanted Dave to tackle. He was more than receptive and did not "nickel and dime" us for the additional work providing it free of charge. After some weather delays, DCI set out to work quickly on a Monday regarding and stripping the overgrown vegetation that plagued the property. After two days of regarding and eradication of the overgrown vegetation, the crew set out building the retaining walls. We were initially skeptical regarding the placement of one of the walls, however, Dave encouraged us to be patient and insisted we would be happy in the end. The walls were followed by the installation of a layer of commercial landscape fabric to help keep invasive vegetation at bay. Dave and his crew then planted a TON of new perennials, trees, bushes, and various ground cover. This was followed up by almost 15 yards of dark colored wood mulch across the entire project. The crew finished up on Friday morning by replanting grass where it had been damaged by the heavy equipment and providing detailed instructions on maintenance, watering, and upkeep. Overall, DCI exceeded our expectation ten-fold. We couldn't be happier with the final project. I can't tell you how many neighbors have expressed their appreciation of the project. Two weeks later, cars are still slowing to take a look and congratulate us on how amazing the project turned out. It is almost overwhelming. I would not hesitate one bit to recommend DCI for your project and we plan to use their services again in the near future to reconstruct a block patio and take care of some minor drainage issues we have.