Custom Drainage Systems

Custom Drainage Systems (Matt Miller) performed approximately $12000 of exterior regrading and drainage work around this Falls Church residence in Feb 2022. He provided useful suggestions for controlling water infiltration around the below grade part of the house foundation including: amending, tamping, and regrading the soil around foundation, patio, and under deck; installing oversize gutters and down spouts; burying down spout pipes for proper flow; and reconstructing a brick walkout basement stairwell drain for improved flow. These suggestions were all documented in a simple but comprehensive contract proposal; nothing hidden. Matt was friendly, informative, and true to his plan. Work was performed cleanly and as scheduled, weather permitting. After excellent work at my own home, I recommended his services for this location.

Custom Drainage Systems (Matt Miller) performed approximately $7200 of exterior regrading and drainage work around my principal residence in Dec 2021. He provided useful suggestions for controlling water infiltration around the below grade part of my house foundation including: replacing and resetting a window well; amending, tamping, and regrading the soil; and rerouting and burying down spout pipes for proper flow. These suggestions were all documented in a simple but comprehensive contract proposal; nothing hidden. Matt was friendly, informative, and true to his plan. Work was performed cleanly and as scheduled, weather permitting. I was impressed enough that I recommended his services for subsequent work at other locations.

Excellent!

It's been about 18 months since the work was completed, and I can confidently say the outcome was fantastic - Matt designed a comprehensive solution that involved a new and better gutter system with a higher capacity, relocation of a downspout, and installation of catchbasins and two underground high-velocity drain pipes that take the water well away from the home. He and his crew were prompt, professional, and very hard working. The work site was always clean. Once installed, he made a few necessary adjustments to fine tune the solution. Our outside water management now works great, and our basement soon dried up and has been bone-dry ever since. All without ever touching the foundation or basement itself. Matt also has background and experience with trees and landscaping and was very sensitive to our concerns about carefully routing the underground pipes in the vicinity of some very large trees. Every interaction we had with Matt reflected great integrity and trustworthiness for Custom Drainage. If you have a water/drainage problem, make sure you get a quote from Matt before you make your decision.

CDS made an initial visit for a sizable job, but was slow in following up despite multiple requests for a proposal. While we would have expected the courtesy of a return call to let us know if they were not interested in our business or they were delayed, we did eventually receive a high quality proposal. Matt is very knowledgeable and was a top choice in our selection. However, the significant delay in his response meant that we needed to select another provider.

Matt did an excellent job with our large drainage project. He carefully scoped out the project and we talked through a variety of options before agreeing the preferred solution. It was a project that lasted nearly four weeks, but Matt promised that he would stay on the project everyday once it was started until it was completed. Matt kept to his word, and we were very thankful that the job proceeded steadily. His small team was friendly and efficient, and they took great pains to be careful and thoughtful about what they were doing. They were very considerate of the neighbor's lawn, which we had to access for part of the project, and they cleaned up thoroughly and did a nice job in restoring effected lawn areas. It has been a pleasure to see the water from the recent heavy rains flow away to the creek rather than ponding in our yard and driveway! Again, Custom Drainage did a great job, and we recommend them highly.

We had water leaking into our basement. Matt came out and spent an hour and a half looking at the property and talking with me about what was needed and the work he would do. He was extremely helpful and patient about what needed to be done. We also had a large tree in the same area we wanted to remove. Matt provided me with a detailed estimate including a hand drawn sketch of the work to be done. I asked for an email with the full plan and estimate in writing which he said he would email to me within a few days. I received the email as promised two days later with the full information. We had one issue which Matt resolved to our satisfaction and we agreed to use Custom Drainage for the work. We were told the work would begin within about a month. Two weeks later Matt called and said they were ready to go. They spent four days working on the job including a full day removing the large tree. The work looks great and most importantly does what it was supposed to do in keeping our basement dry. We had a few small issues we followed up with Matt on and he was extremely responsive and took care of them. In the end were were extremely pleased and would not hesitate to call Matt again.

Matt responded to my phone call the same day and was able to come out the next day to look at our sump pump. He is friendly, professional and I've learned a lot from him about grading and drainage. When we needed someone to fix the leak in our basement he provided a very reasonable estimate and we haven't had water in the house in the three years since the initial work was done. I have recommended Custom Drainage Systems to friends and neighbors and will continue to do so. We will definitely call Matt for future work if we need anything done.

Sent an e-mail to the address listed on their contact information page to try to set up an estimate. Left my contact information but they never called or returned my e-mail.

Mr. Miller appeared to be very knowledgeable and trustworthy. In reality, the work he did was not sufficient to solve our drainage problems, and when it rains heavily, our house will flooded if I do not go out in the pouring rain and bail water and shovel out a trench to drain it away. Mr. Miller said personally and in writing on his contract that he guaranteed his work would function as designed, and would revisit the site up to four times to make corrections at no cost to me. However, when I phoned him to let him know that his work did not solve our drainage problems, his office number (the same one listed above) was disconnected, and when I emailed him and called his cell phone, I was told that his company was "out of business" and therefore could not honor the guarantee. I am shocked and disgusted to see that he is back and operating under the same business name and address and phone number as before. I continue to have drainage problems, to the point where I must be home to personally redirect water during heavy rains. If I don't do that, my home will flood.

After the good reviews here on Angie's List I attempted to call this company multiple times about a drainage issue. The telephone number never answered and when it went to voice mail the automated voice said no messages were being taken as the voice mail box was full. Then I sent an e-mail, and then another. No response after 10 days.

Matt Miller made an appointment convenient to my schedule and arrived promptly and prepared to evaluate my water drainage concern. The concern had to do with runoff from a neighbor's drainpipe crossing a mulched bed of mine and washing away topsoil everytime a good downpour occured. He patiently collected information, made sure he understood the problem completely and came to the conclusion that I didn't need his services. He recommended that I could solve my problem through a do-it-yourself landscaping fix involving a rock and grass bed strategically placed on the border of my and my neigbor's yard. In all, Mr. Miller was informed, professional and generous with his time and proved that he was more interested in helping my solve my problem than in generating work for himself. I would, without hesitation, call on Custom Drainage Systems in the future.

Steve was very professional and helpful in discussing our options for addressing the drainage issues in our yard. He emailed us a very detailed and comprehensive estimate in less than 24 hours for us to review. We emailed him back with questions about the work (we were comparing two proposals at the time) and he was friendly and responsive to our queries. He was also very patient with us as we considered the work to be done. We didn't end up having the work done at all, but not because of anything Steve had any control over. We would consider hiring him in the future should our needs change again.

Yes, it went very well. Matt spent a considerable time looking and taking measurements of my back yard and then drew a nice drawing of what he was going to do. It involved burying the pipes from my downspouts and putting in two water collection systems and then connecting it to my neighbors system. He found a problem in my neighbors system and at no extra charge fixed it to ensure that my water would drain properly. Then he finished the project off very nicely with sod and cleaned up the entire worksite. I could not be more pleased. It rained hard the next day after the completion of the project and I had no standing water in my backyard

We very satisfied with the entire process. It was a very small project relative to the type of work I believe the company typically performs. However, it was still given the same attention to detail and quality workmanship a big client is likely to receive. The work was done on time, efficiently, and the clean-up was outstanding. They actually took care of grading problem the septic repair company had left, as well as cleaning up all the mud in our drive left by the septic company. Custom Draining receives extra bonus points in my book.

First of all, it is very unlikely that you will have to use a company like Custom Drainage more than once. My home quite unluckily lives in an an area (Matt said 1 in 200 homes has issues like mine has) where the water level rises & puts pressure on the house along particular points. Matt was honest up front about trying the most effective (both in terms of addressing the underlying issues & in expense) options in his experience first & going for more expensive options only when necessary. The work went very, very well. The exterior grading & exterior drains definitely will take away any exterior water coming up to the house & the interior drain work went fabulously . . . you honestly can't tell, since we have carpeting, that they even did the work. I would definitely use Custom Drainage again even though I think we will not need to - Matt's frankness & honesty and approach is something I was very comfortable with and I can easily recommend him to any friends with similar issues

Custom Drainage Systems were very knowledgeable about the drainage system in our house. They divided the system to eliminate the problem we were having. They were very thorough and professional and took pictures of the project while at it so they were able to show us step by step what they did because we were not at home. After the work was completed, everything was perfectly cleaned up and they followed up to find out how everything was working. We will probably use them again this year for some more work.

Matt Miller and his Crew were excellent. We had a broken drain from the roof through the yard, A tree's roots grew through the original drain pipe. Matt pointed out that it would be nonproductive to simply replace the pipe as the tree's roots would cause breakage again. He rerouted the drain as a french drain through the center of the front yard but it was discrete. We also had a sinking driveway right by the house face. We were concerned that the deluge of water in heavy rains would also pour through that depression and seep into the basement. Matt's crew patched the sink hole and advised care. They ALSO trimmed back our trees and bushes and left the yard mulched and seeded! This is their standard practice. Matt has a love of landscaping and a feel for how to prune trees and bushes "gently". Custom Drainage Systems is not the lowest or the highest cost but the estimate was very reasonable. I highly recommend them and would use them again. GCG

Excellent. Matt, the owner and manager, provided good drawings and explanation of the proposal and various options. He gave us good advice on other drainage issues too. Pricing was not the lowest--we got lower quotes--but it was still reasonable, and he was the most professional. so it was well worth paying a bit more. He and his colleagues performed the work on schedule and according to the agreement. They worked quickly and efficiently, but still did thorough and excellent work. Matt went above and beyond, incorporating changes and hooking into existing drainage systems. He planted grass and made the area look better than it looked before they began. However, the most important thing is that 10 months after the work was completed, the drainage system performed flawlessly in both yards, through multiple heavy storms, including the big storms in summer 2012 and the Hurricane Sandy rains. The yard looks much better and is not perpetually damp like it used to be. We and our neighbors would highly recommend Matt and his company, and would use them again.

I think the owner of the company came to give me an estimate. He is very personable guy and very knowledgeable. He gave me an estimate within 2 or 3 days with drawn-up sketched plans and itemized breakdown of the cost for various options. He provided five different options and prices. The estimate was pretty thorough and comprehensive.

Matt did a fabulous job. Went above and beyond what I expected. Very thorough and neat. Made sure the job was done right. I have full confidence we won't have any more water problems. He's just a good and decent business man and takes pride in his work. I really feel the best way to address the water issues is making sure water drains away from your foundation.

We had flooding in our basement which required us to rip up the entire floor. Matt came out and determined that the grading and sloping outside was not done properly and provided us with a detailed, itemized estimate for work he could do to correct the problem.He arrived when promised and was incredibly professional. We were impressed by the amount of time he spent really looking at all of the grading around the house and were even more impressed with the very detailed explanation (including drawings!) of the proposed work. He even came out BEFORE we had officially hired him to give us a "quick fix" because we were expecting heavy rains the next day and didn't want more water in the basement before the project started. He completed the work in the amount of time he had estimated and always left the work space clean and organized at the end of the day. We knew this wasn't going to be a cheap endeavor, but we have had absolutely NO water issues since Custom Drainage came out, which means we can now enjoy our basement again!

I have very rarely seen a company that is so professional, and good, at what they do. Our HOA decided not to do this project now, but we both feel that we would use no other company for this work in the future!Mr. Miller, CDS President, answered my call personally, and came promptly as scheduled to see our problem. We had 3 other companies also send representatives to come to give us proposals and estimates, but Mr. Miller was by far the most competent and thorough. He was the only professional to evaluate our property with a Laser Transit (a grading tool to precisely measure differences in land heights), and he provided us with 3 different possible solutions, with diagrams and costs for each. Mr. Miller went above and beyond to propose sound, workable solutions. And he volunteered to call VDOT to discuss a possible exception/permit to perform the best solution for us. Our issue included a disagreement with our HOA about how to proceed--they wanted to create a French Drain Dry Well to contain, not drain, the water. But Mr. Miller took the time to calculate water load/flow, and to explain to me, and to our HOA President, why this would not work. And, when queried by the HOA whether he would just do what they wanted, he declined. I have rarely seen a company with the integrity to decline payment for doing work they cannot put their faith and guarantee behind, even if it is the customer's only allowed solution. I think this is partly why CDS has a 97% success rate. I cannot say enough good about Custom Drainage Solutions, and the quality of their business approach. I give then my highest recommendation, and will call them first every time in the future!

He was great. He is very reliable and honest. Who will not take advantage of you. We also used him in 2009 that he warned us about the potential water leak in the basement that we eventually had to do. He is very knowledgeable. He has also done some work for our daughters new house.

He is extremely creative and knows how to fix a problem and keep it solved. He uses just about everything he can between underground drainage systems and french drains to make a pathway for water to flow in the direction to get rid of the damage that the water was doing and does it in a very attractive way. He is more expensive than others, but his solutions are better than others.