Madden Sewage & Drainage

Madden sent two technicians to provide us with an assessment of water damage found during the inspection for a potential home purchase.  They informed us in advance that a visual estimate could be given free of charge, but if they needed to run a  camera there would be a cost.  I told them immediately that we wanted to run the camera because we wanted a full assessment of the drainage system.
They found the source almost immediately with the camera - one of the drain pipes needs to be regraded because it is too flat and perhaps slightly tilted upward rather than running down to the city sewer pipe.  This meant water was just sitting in it, allowing seepage into the old brick foundation of the building.  Upon request, they ran the camera through two other locations to make sure there were no other issues and to check the state of the drain system in general.  
The entire time, the technicians allowed us (2 realtors, 1 seller, 2 potential buyers, and one general contractor - not a small crowd) to look over their shoulders and explained what they were seeing.  They also gave feedback and explanation as to what was found and made recommendations for future improvements without coming off as pushy or making the improvements seem like necessities.  As the potential buyers, this is exactly the information we were after in addition to finding the source of the water found during inspection.
They also did a visual inspection of a couple of locations of the building that were not designed to keep water out of the basement well.  While the technician was hesitant to give us an estimate because this final inspection was something that is typically done by another person in the company, he did agree to provide a ballpark figure so that we could have a number to work with in negotiation.
Madden provided us a solid quote for two things - the drain pipe regrading and one of the improvements.  They also provided us a ballpark estimate noting that it was worst-case scenario (based on our request)  for another two items that included waterproofing part of the foundation and installing a drain tile system and second sump pump.  The latter ballpark estimates were provided after explaining that we were looking for the numbers as a tool to start negotiations, as they typically do not like to provide quotes for items until they've been thoroughly assessed (as is typical for any business).
Overall, Madden was professional, thorough, and clearly knowledgeable.  They were also flexible to our needs, which was very important to us given the situation.

 UPDATE: We did use Madden for regrading the drain pipe.  They were prompt and efficient.  The work was completed in less than 1 day with several workers present.  My husband, who was a land development engineer for 7 years, periodically checked on their work.  From what he saw, he was pleased with the quality.  Given the new grading of the pipe, there should be no water sitting in the drain pipe.

I have used Madden in the past and have always been pleased with their work and prices. They have cleaned my sewer pipes several times and had previously replaced a section of sewer pipe. Over the last two years Madden had cleaned the sewer twice and they told me there was a bow in the pipe that would have to be addressed, but they were able to clear the pipe both times. The section of pipe that they were working on was the section leading to the toilet stack. Being the procrastinator that I am and also not wanting to spend $4000, I put it off. Late in March I started getting seepage from the basement floor whenever we would flush the toilet. If someone took a shower it was like a river in the basement. When Madden came out in April they attempted to clean out the pipe again but were unsuccessful. Using their camera they showed me that the sewer was blocked and the section of pipe that was sagging had gotten worse and would have to be removed. 
Madden was able to get a crew out the next morning to remove ten feet of sewer pipe and replace it. My toilet was functioning again by 3pm. When they broke through the concrete floor in the basement they found a lake under the floor. Water had not just been seeping out of the pipe but apparently flowing. They drained the water, removed and replaced the pipe and returned the next morning to close up the floor. The old pipe had been all two foot long sections, Madden used two 4-foot sections of pipe and a two footer which meant less joints.
When the two man crew was done they did an excellent job of cleaning their work area. They took all of the old pipe and debris with them and disposed of it. The guys were very nice and explained what they were doing throughout the process and also answered all of my stupid questions.
The people in the office were also very courteous and helpful. I felt that Madden Sewers was very generous in allowing me to pay half the total bill up front and the rest in two installments.
Considering that it was my procrastination that caused the urgency of the situation, Madden did an outstanding job from start to finish. 

Original quote to repair catch basin or fill in and divert connections was $3500.  Problem rose with this which required a small hole just inside the basement. They were clear, credible and professional. They brought in cameras and discovered the shattered pipe line---explaining the smell and moisture and other problems.  My general contractor happened to be there doing other work and validated their work and that they were working hard to keep costs for a major problem down.  They cleared their schedules and completed the job in 5 days.  They also reopened a drain in the floor that had been filled in.  They cleaned up well--having dug several large holes into the cement floor.  The project ended up at $8700.

I would recommend them.

Great experience!  Kevin was knowledgable and professional...it was clear he was an expert!  It was nice to feel as though we could trust him, considering the large amount we spent to take care of a sewer smell.  We appreciated how he took the time to explain things thoroughly...especially when we needed to hear it a few times for it to sink in!

The contact person was Shaun Madden, and he spent an hour talking with me, and I was very impressed with that. He came up with creative ideas on how to solve my water problems. I was also impressed with him getting back with me and actually coming out to give me the estimate because I had a 50% show rate with some other companies that I contacted. I would consider using them again in the future.

Excellent.  Could not have gone better.

I called for the service and they were able to schedule me quickly. They were prompt and cleaned up after the work was completed.

I had totally blocked drains in 2 bathrooms that were oddly unrelated but occurred within a day of each other. The guys from Madden were able to get to my place within 2 hours of my call and were able to resolve the issues in 25 minutes. Not only did they fix what I had asked them to but also pointed out some other problems with 2 slow leaking cracks that I had not seen (they were behind a pedestal and were draining into the floor grrrrrrr) and explained how best to fix them. I will be using these guys again.

They were excellent and we were very happy with the results. The prices were very reasonable as well.

Simple clean removal and installation.

They were good.

The problem was not an easy problem to solve since there was no obvious source of odor. We started with basic solutions, i.e., cleaning pits and pumps, checking visible lines for cracks, filling traps, etc. When that did not solve the problem, we scoped the lines and found cracks in old sewer lines beneath the floor. We went through two rounds of scoping and replacing pipe. After the second round, we eliminated the odor. Madden did a good job patching the slab and left the site clean and free of debris. I thought that the work was a little expensive, but they did ultimately solve the problem which was more important to us than getting the cheapest price.

The job performed was adequate although the service person was somewhat rude and didn't clean up the work area after he completed the job.

These guys are experts. This drain situation was somewhat of a mystery, left over from a rehab, who knows how many decades ago. They figured it out, made a nice mess, and completely cleaned it up all in one day.

KEVIN WAS GREAT, MADE A VIDEO TAPE OF THE CAMERA INSPECTION OF THE SEWER LINE; MARKED 4 PLACES FOR REPAIRS AND GAVE US AN ESTIMATE THE NEXT DAY. VERY HELPFUL IN EXPLAINING THE PROBLEMS TO EVERYONE WATCHING.

ON TIME AND COMPETITIVE. GOOD WORK.

I CALLED THEM FOR SEWER SERVICE ON A SUNDAY. THEY ADVERTISE 24-7 SERVICE, AND THEY NEVER CALLED ME BACK.

CLAIMED THEY CALLED TO CANCEL ONE APPOINTMENT DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER (NO RECORD OF ANY SUCH CALL ON CALLER ID); THEN CANCELLED RESCHEDULED APPOINTMENT. TREMENDOUSLY UNPROFESSIONAL, DOESN'T RETURN PHONE CALLS AND WOULD NOT RECOMMEND EVEN IN THE CASE OF A DIRE EMERGENCY. ALTHOUGH POLITE ON THE PHONE, ZERO DELIVERY IN SERVICES.

THIS GROUP ONLY WANTS TO SELL FLOOD CONTROL PRODUCTS, THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN FIXING YOUR CLOGGED DRAINS. THE PERSON WOULD NOT TAKE A CHECK AND SPENT HIS TIME ON A CELL PHONE TELLING HIS OFFICE ABOUT OTHER CUSTOMERS THAT HE REFUSED TO GO BACK TO.