Madden Sewage & Drainage

Our back yard is the lowest spot on our block, which has no alleys. Shaun Madden suggested what I had already had in mind - a drain to direct pooled water to our sewer main. This required them to dig a trench from beside our garage to under our deck to run the pipe. A three-man crew took two days to do this. They got here promptly and got right to work, and worked until they were done. Since then it has sometimes been a bit of a challenge to contact someone with questions about the job, but we are happy with the work they did.

They showed up on time, explained clearly what we were seeing on the camera and provided us with a thumb drive of the sewer scope inspection upon completion. Easy to work with.

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The price was very bad for the time they spent, for the amount of time they spent.

Less money for the time spent.

unknown

Couldn't be happier. Had major basement flooding issues 2 years in a row with the "100 year storms". They converted our flood control to an overhead which led to us finding out what terrible ideas the previous owners had with the plumbing. They kept at it until it was solved and never asked for a payment or anything until we were happy. They ended up digging up parts of the basement a few times until it was mitigated. The next year, the next bad storm we had seepage, luckily before we finished the basement. At the time, we were getting our lawn/patio drainage fixed and Shaun worked around our plan to redo the yard and concrete and gave us a good deal on putting in drain tile over the winter and adding another pit just for that. The big storm on 6/30/2014 put it to the test and we didn't get a drop. Wouldn't consider calling anybody else and recommend them to all my neighbors that may have water issues.

It went great. I had 3 other companies come out and they couldn't find the problem. One company wanted to break up my floor and look for where the problem was. Another company completely misdiagnosed the problem. Madden found it quickly and explained why my basement flooded with sewage like it did. I could tell he knew what he was talking about. I gave Madden information to my neighbors who will also call them for flooding problems.  I learned that just using a camera doesn't mean the company will be able to find the problem and fix it. Like any profession, it takes the skill of the person looking at the film and interpreting it to find the problem.

Absolutely recommend Madden Sewer.  While there was a scary big (to me) price-tag on the work needed for the house I recently purchased, when all was said & done I came away feeling informed, involved in decision-making, and very happy with the large & complex amount of work done and importantly the quality end result.  Shaun Madden is knowledgeable, professional, and reasonable.  He spent a great deal of time with me walking me through the assessment of the current state (while together we watched the video snake on screen), and then going through and explaining all the potential options to address the myriad of water issues with the house.  Shaun went above & beyond and also (after all the basement work was done & he'd been paid in full) he even took the time to coordinate for an electrician to come to the property to add additional wiring/plugs so the new pumps wouldn't be connected via extension cord.  Definitely give Madden a call - good to support local business & you'll get high quality service.

Quick to identify a neighbors dripping external faucet was saturating the ground and flooding through our foundation.
No repair was necessary as storage locker has completely dried out.

After getting a bid and paying the initial deposit, requests to schedule an appointment went unanswered for a month due to vacations.  I repeatedly had to follow up.  The work done ended up being more complicated than expected and they had to remove a toilet to check the sewer line.  They didn't properly reseal the toilet and the basement had a sewer gas smell.  We called and the crew came back to fix promptly, but they knew that is wasn't done properly and would likely have to come back.  They should have just told us and scheduled a follow up rather than waiting for a call back about an issue.  Overall below average experience.  

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Efficient got the problem solved quickly

The assessment was provided at no charge. Madden was prompt, professional, and willing to take time to examine the sit and answer our many questions. Shortly after this assessment, our insurance claims rep recommended that we start with a stuctural engineer rather than a plumber in order to identify the root causes of our flooding. We have been following that recommendation and have not yet needed the services of a plumber.

After he looked at the basement, the technician told my son who lives upstairs that he would have to knock out the baseboard, insulation, and drywall on one side of my basement, plus the tile, and also a section where the washer and dryer are located.  Also, I would have to pay for the repairs afterwards!  I had just spent a lot of money having my two flat renovated, and so I decided not to use this company.  I called the office and told them so.  The technician called me an hour later to explain and tell me the same thing he told my son, and also tried to tell me this job would cost $9000.  I feel this person was outrageous and trying to take advantage of me.  I called another company to get a second opinion, and they are able to accommodate me better.

I contacted Madden Sewer and several other providers.  Madden was one of the better priced quotes and was very responsive and willing to discuss the project up front.  However, our experience after they started the work was not great.  We were promised that the work would be done within 2 weeks, but the work lasted from April to September.  There were constant surprises and new things that needed to be done that we were not originally told would be part of the project.  Madden was not responsive to emails or phone calls at all and would take days or weeks to get back to us after having to call and/or email multiple times.  Madden promised they would come at one time, and so we made sure someone was home, and then they showed up at a completely different day and time (on multiple occasions).  When replacing the grass out front with sod, we had to make them come back to replace the neighbor's grass that they killed and they replaced it with sod that does not match the type of grass in his yard.  Madden rarely did work right the first time and I had to look over their work every night after I got home from work and come up with a list of everything they did wrong and email it to them so that they would come back and fix it the next time.  After most of the work was done we kept having flooding problems where the the sewer stacks run out through the wall and Madden had to keep coming back until the flooding was finally resolved - this seemed like something they could and should have just done right the first time.  We were frustrated and sick of having contractors in our basement for most of the year.  The only positive I can think of is that Madden did keep coming back until everything was fixed and did not request payment until we were happy with their work.

It went great.  Ontime, on budget and very professional staff.

I can't say enough good things about the first crew of guys who worked on the flood control.  The workers were very courteous and respectful of me and my property.  They worked in 90 degree weather to dig a huge hole in my front yard and to dig a long trench to reroute my gutter.  They dug the dirt by hand and removed the dirt one bucket at a time.  That has to be back breaking work!  They constructed the flood control pit one block at a time, and made all sewer connections for both the flood control and for the rerouted gutter. Clean-up was excellent.  That was the first leg of the experience.
Next a plumber, and his helper, came to install an ejector pump in the pit.  They worked in the rain and were done and gone in a very short time.  The only complaint I have is that the plumber's helper smoked a couple of cigarettes when they were here and he put the butts in my Hydrangea bush.  I retrieved them and threw them out.  Otherwise, they were quick, cleaned everything else up,  and they were efficient.
Next the electrician, and his helper, came to hook up the electricity to the pump in the pit.  These guys worked tremendously hard, once again in hot weather, to get it done.  They were very respectful of me and my property.  They only needed to dig a very small narrow trench for the conduit.  When they were done you could barely tell that they were here.
The one negative is that we were told someone would be by to lay sod on the areas where digging occurred.  It turns out that wouldn't be done this year because it is late in the season for sod, so we are planting our own grass seed.  Madden said they would take care of it in the spring if we wanted, but the area is small and is something we can most definitely handle on our own. 
I was really stressed out about having my whole yard torn up and having a pit with a manhole cover installed.  But, now I'm glad we did it.  The damage to the yard is minimal  The crew from Madden's has been great and has made it much easier than I thought it would be, and the manhole cover doesn't look bad at all.  
Thank you, Madden Sewers!

unknown

His work was done in a thoroughly professional manner.  Workers arrived on time, dod a fantastic job. Cleaned up the area and most importantly Shaun was always available and communication was excellent.  I would use him again and highly recommend him to anyone needing work on their sewer.

Overall, it was a positive experience. Shaun did a great job explaining everything they would do and how it would solve our flooding problems.   We got everything going really quickly and he said his crew was ready to start as soon as the following week.  Unfortunately the Park Ridge permit process held things up for several weeks which was frustrating.  This was by no fault of Madden but communication could have been a bit better...several of my phone messages were not answered and I found myself following up a few times.  But at the end of the day, the job was completed well and at a fair price compared to other quotes we received.

I think they are on Angie's List.  I liked that they got the job done.  It wasn't as cheap as I liked but I don't have anything to compare the price to.  He gave me recommendations as to what I could do in the future too.

Our situation was an emergency as the sewer line was completely blocked.  They provided a estimate the day after our initial call and beat 3 others bidders on price.  They performed all the work that was required from start to finish quickly and cleanly.   Top notch service and repair.  Thanks Madden

I thought the quote was all right. It was very good. I thought the price was good and they seem knowledgeable of what I was looking to do.

Very responsive and professional and would not hesitate to use them again.

Madden was great. They started the work on time, kept us apprised of the work. And after digging the massive hole in the front yard, they put it all back together and no one would even know it's there.