Contact

About

About The Owner

 

In 1984 Matthew Miller, with the assistance of an engineer solved his first wet basement by controlling the flow of water outside the house. Since then he has solved thousands of wet basement and wet yard problems. He studied horticulture, turf management, landscape design and construction at NOVA then went on to take the advanced landscape design courses at George Washington University. While going to High School and College he worked as a landscape foreman for Hills Nurseries in Arlington, VA. In 1983 he started Neighborhood Landscaping and Lawn Service then later established Neighborhood Gutters and Downspouts.

 

Matthew Miller

 

There is an overwhelming demand for solutions to wet basement and wet yard problems, many companies try, but very few can provide lasting solutions. Due to this high demand, he sold the landscaping and gutter companies and established Custom Drainage Systems.

 

He uses all his background and experience to analyze and correct difficult drainage problems. This puts him way ahead of the competition. He does educational drainage seminars for Home Inspector associations, garden clubs, home owner associations etc. and he will be glad to talk to you about your drainage problems.

 

When not solving drainage problems he's a weekend rock star as the drummer for “Still Surfin” a Beach Boys tribute band. He also enjoys rock climbing and watching old movies.

 

 

 

 

About the Company

 

45% of what we do is solving wet basements. When homeowners have a wet basement they don't know who to call so they call a waterproofing company. The waterproofing companies usually install sump pump systems and use high pressure sales tactics to sell them. Most engineers and home inspectors say “ don't install a sump pump except as a last resort”, instead, have a landscaper correct the grading and drainage around the house to keep water out. The fact is most landscapers don't know how to solve a wet basement. That's where we come in. We specialize in Drainage work. Over the years we have honed our corrective grading and drainage skills for maximum results.

 

The basics are:

  • Grading
  • Burying pipes from spouts
  • And upgrading gutters and spouts

 

As people become educated they prefer grading over sump pumps.

 

The details are:

  • What type of soil we use, how much we use, how often we tamp and what we use to tamp with for best results.
  • How much soil we remove, how deep and how far out for best results. The careful way we transplant or install new shrubs in the work area for maximum survivability.
  • How we raise or install new window wells to retain the added soil or raise heat pump slabs.
  • The way we replace or modify patios, walks and drives so they slope away from the house and prevent them from settle again.
  • And to many other details to mention.

 

Another 40% of what we do is solving wet yard problems. Each spring thousands of homeowners in Northern Virginia have areas in there yards that stay soggy. We dry them out with custom designed French drain systems. Another problem is erosion due to heavy runoff. Each problem is different so we design a solution to solve that problem.

 

The other 15% of what we do is solving all kinds of other drainage and landscaping problems.

 

The most important step in correcting a drainage problem is to understand the problem, know why its happening and the plan of action taken to correct it. Most of my customers have already paid a landscaper, handy man or so called drainage company hundreds or thousands of dollars to solve the problem. The reality is they can make it worst. To often I see a remedy to solve a wet yard is used to solve a wet basement and instead of the homeowner having a damp wall, he now has an indoor swimming pool. Don’t let this happen to you.

 

This is where my knowledge and experience comes in. With over 2 decades of trial and yes error I know what it takes to solve drainage problems and what makes them worst. So if you have a roof leak, call a roofer. If you have any other rain water or ground water related drainage problem call Matthew Miller at Custom Drainage Systems. I do charge a small consultation fee to analyze a drainage problem, draw up a diagram showing the solution or different options and provide a written estimate. The fee applies to the cost of the job if we do the work. 

That’s it in a nut shell.