Unprofessional tier contractor. I got a quote for 700k for a 200k job. Next time do your clients a favor and just don't bid if you don't want to do work. Read all the other reviews, this company is run by snakes. read more

We really enjoyed doing business with Dan and Alameda structural. The team is very professional and polite. Jose the foreman also did a great job in coordinating everything on-site and has been super reliable. The work was accomplished one week ahead of schedule with quality. They hear our needs sincerely and tried the best to accommodating. for example, Dan immediately brought us the heater when knowing we caught cold when gasline was cut due to shoring. I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs a foundation replacement! read more

I received a very alarming foundation report from Alameda Structural so I called another foundation contractor for a second opinion. The second contractor said most of the work in the Alameda Structural quote was unnecessary and came in with a quote that was HALF of the Alameda Structural quote. Morale of the story - always get more than one quote. read more

I am another client who found George really frustrating. I got an EBB grant, and called 5 contractors. Alameda Structural called back while the other 4 did not. That part was great. A gentleman (I think his name was Eric?) showed up to do the estimate. He was great: warm, good listener, considerate. About 1/2-way through the estimate George showed up. He seemed bored and vaguely irritated by the conversation for reasons which completely escaped me. I mentioned we were debating improving our 2nd story - would that change their recommendation? George said, "In that case you should talk to a structural engineer. Bye," and literally walked out of the house with no other word. It was baffling, and rude. read more

I just finished a seismic retrofit with Alameda Structural. Great service and response to all needs. If you have a question or concern George gets back to you immediately. His subcontractors were great as well. I had some extra painting and sheetrock work done. The men that worked on my home were extremely polite, hard workers, quite knowledgeable. And dog friendly! the only caveat, their "finish" work is ok. They are best at the non pretty work. read more

George and his team managed by Jose, replaced the capped brick foundation under my home in Berkeley as it was slowly failing. They did an absolutely outstanding job. They not only managed to start three weeks earlier than scheduled (at my request), but they also completed the job in less time than planned. Their cost estimated was spot on, and both that estimate and their proposed schedule were very competitive with the other bids I got for the job. It's clear to me that they can deliver such a service because they specialize in this kind of work and have the whole process down to a science. Everything was very well coordinated with noise and hassle kept to a minimum, and the work passed all inspections no problem. Excellent work all round! read more

George is awesome! He came out recently to give a bid on foundation work at our place. We've also interacted with him before while we were buying our house in Alameda many years back. Though he would have been our first choice (his reputation for foundations is unmatched!) we didn't end up going with him due to time constraints and other factors. Despite that, recently we needed a second opinion on some framing work and so I reached out and he gladly helped us look over a contract and gave feedback. Though we aren't a current customer I'm thankful he was willing to take this time out of his busy schedule to help. We will definitely keep him in mind for our future foundation work. Thanks George! read more

Responsive offering referrals for needed support to prepare for work we may want from them. Jim

Made an appointment at the end of May for a 7/1 consultation. George Walton called to confirm the appointment this morning and proceeded to tell me he had an unexpected family related issue to attend to and wanted me to push my appointment up an hour. I work 8-5, so I could not make it and wanted to reschedule. He then tells me my project is a +$300k job, needs an engineer, my property is a difficult space to work in, my zero lot line situation is difficult and I don't have the required onsite parking to provide them. Oh and that $300k doesn't include drainage, okay? My house is on a flat lot, the zero lot line perimeter adjoins a chain link fence (not a building), there are 3 parking lots in view of the property and umm I thought we'd discuss the complexity and process at the *consultation*. He then says "What do you expect from us?" Well, nothing now. Bye. read more

Alameda Structural never saw a foundation that they didn't think needed to be replaced! Having been told by Alameda Structural that we needed a complete foundation replacement, we had another seismic company (Golden State Seismic) come out to inspect and they told us that might not be the case. The other company suggested hiring an engineer to give us an un-biased assessment and sure enough, the engineer only recommended a seismic retrofit. So glad we didn't pay Alameda Structural $60,000+ for something we didn't need. read more

George (or someone else from Alameda Structural) is out there trying to claim that these comments are Fake. I am a real person with no alter motive or insidious agenda to slander This company. I am expressing my right to freedom of speech to tell the good people of Yelp my personal experience with said company. These events happened whether George wants to believe it or not. Yelp viewers: please utilize all sources to make the bar decisions for you and your home and family's well being. read more

( services were provided in October 2015 but I am referring a co-worker so I thought I should write a review) We fielded 4 bids for our foundation replacement. Alameda Structural was not the cheapest, but they were not the most expensive either. But George was definitely the most punctual in terms of calling back and responding to e-mail. Honestly, he put everyone else we spoke to to shame in this regard. We were quoted 4- 6 (or maybe 8) weeks, they were done in 5. Our house was not on a hill or anything so there was minimal complications in this regard. The crew was nice, punctual and as clean as they could be considering the task at hand. WHen they were done they transformed the job site back to our home and left little to no trace of them being there. Fast forward to the present, we hired a retired city inspector as a consultant on a renovation project we are doing and when he and his colleague saw our foundation it almost brought tears to their eyes. They pointed out all the things that were done right and how beautifully executed it was. The part of me that wasnt laughing was glad that we went with Alameda Structural. read more

I called Alameda Structural because a car ran into my house, very messy. Alameda has done two jobs on our street, that I know of, and everyone is happy about their work. So, that made them an easy choice for at least a call. Brian contacted me back and was straight up that this was not their kind of work and gave me a referral to American Technologies, Inc. (ATI). ATI is on it. Within an hour of my call they have scheduled an estimator and they are already coordinating with my State Farm adjustor. This tells me the Alameda Structural runs in the company of professional people who know what they are doing. From years of personal experience in the construction business I can tell you this is a critical strength. When I do get around to my foundation work, I will be calling Alameda Structural. read more

I won an Earthquake Brace & Bolt Grant from the state and went to get bids for the retrofit. The first bid I got was from Alameda Structural. Eric tells me "you can have this work done, but you might want to get the foundation replaced first because you're going to need a new one in the next five years". Uh what? Excuse me? My home inspector the previous year told me that I have 60 years left on this thing! Thanks for nothing, home inspector. A structural engineer agreed with Eric's assessment that the foundation was rolling out (which by the way, no other retrofit contractors pointed out while they were giving me bids) and that I only needed to replace the long sides of the house. As someone with slight OCD and an incessant need to research, I found all of the best contractors to get bids from. George, the owner came out to my house a couple of times, just to make sure that he got everything correct. In the end, they won my business with their honesty and all of the glowing reviews that I received from former customers. It's a little unnerving to see your house missing most of it's foundation and only being held up by what looks like a giant Jenga game. But the crew did an amazing job of getting the foundation partially replaced, retrofitting the areas that remained and added some munch needed drainage. They went above and beyond to make sure that all of the work was top quality, even fixing some dry-rot at no extra cost. The final price was the exact price as the bid. I can't recommend them enough. If anyone needs any type of structural work I would only trust Alameda Structural to do it. read more

My wife and I bought an old property in Rockridge at the end of 2013 with a daunting list of issues to deal with including the requirement for full foundation replacement and a whole host of rot and termite issues. After meeting and receiving bids from at least 4 companies we knew Alameda Structural was the best for our project. George and Brian were prompt in responding to any questions we had about what was to us an intimidating task and were quickly able to put our minds at rest. The work started in Dec 2013 and Eric did an amazing job leading the team on site. The crew were professional and courteous and got the job done on time allowing us to move in in early January. We cannot thank the team enough and would recommend them to anyone who has this type of project to do! read more

It's nice to see that there are still good, honest businesses out there that care about their customers and the work they do. This business is amazing! George is great and all his employees are phenomenal. I can't sing their praises enough. Anyone that owns property that needs foundation work, these are the people to go to. They bust some serious ass! Having your foundation completely re-done is not cheap and quite the undertaking. But, I feel like I got more than my money's worth and the construction crew worked like a well oiled machine. They were extremely efficient and knowledgeable. Everyone was very professional and hard working. If I had to do it all over again, I would not hesitate in working with Alameda Structural. Pass it on.... read more

in 2005 I got 4 bids to replace my entire foundation. 100yr old house on a flat site. George's bid was not the lowest, (I would never take the lowest bid, you're just asking for trouble), but he was the only one who didn't argue against putting in a perforated perimeter drain to take care of my mucky crawl space. And that's why he got the job. I'm an architect and have seen a lot of construction. His foreman was sharp and the crew was efficient. They had the whole thing done in two weeks. It was shocking. My neighbor had 2-3 sides of his foundation repaired, and it took more than a month. The best part is that my crawl space has been bone dry ever since, no matter what the weather is doing. read more

I found George to be extremely professional and honest with us about seismic retrofit for our foundation in early 2011. Our house is a small (800 sq ft) 1922 bungalow with the original foundation, and it needed to be bolted and braced. George crawled under the house when he came to do the estimate and spent a while drawing out exactly what he'd do in front of me, explaining without condescension or attitude how bolting and bracing works, and what specific things we'd need to do for our house. We were probably one of the simplest jobs he's gotten but as a new homeowner I really appreciated the education about the structure and process. His staff were prompt, friendly, and neat - and we got everyone's cell phone numbers the first day of work in case we had any questions. One of the workers commutes from San Jose and has been working for George for 10 years maybe? I don't recall the exact numbers but it seemed that George treats his employees with respect and they are loyal. That's important to me, because another contractor I got a quote from tried to badmouth Alameda Structural's employment policies when I told him we were going with George. I will also note that I never expected to choose the lowest bidder. But we thought Alameda Structural would do the best job and they also happened to be the cheapest, so we did. The only thing that keeps this from being five stars is that they used shorter bolts for one section of our foundation because the crawl space wasn't high enough to put the long bolts in the drill. My husband pointed out that they could have drilled part-way, then put in the long bolts, then drilled the rest of the way. In the end, it's not a huge deal, but one of those things I'll chalk up to the difference between being the homeowner and being the contractor. I've recommended Alameda Structural to my friends and just noticed a lawn sign in my neighborhood, which made me smile and reminded me to post this review - it's been a while but I am still extremely happy with the work and sleeping well at night with our house securely fastened to its foundation! read more

We have done a lot of work over the years and this is one of my husband's favorite contractors. We always trust them and he is extremely honest and knowledgeable. If you need foundation work done I would not hestiate to use Alameda Structural. They came to us highly referred and we have been extremely happy with the team there. read more

Alameda Structural replaced approximately 50 linear feet of foundations and installed new shear walls at our home in Oakland. Our house sits on a hillside, which offers its own set of challenges, and some of the foundations are original to the property (90+ years). I work in the commercial construction industry and can say that both the office and field team were a pleasure to work with. George (the owner) was honest from the get-go and worked very well with our engineer to resolve a number of issues on the fly. He did this and still honored his original contract bid on the project, which is unheard of in the construction industry. Jose (the foreman) was one of the hardest workers and led his team by example, all while keeping the space extremely clean and being mindful that the house was occupied during construction. It may not have been the largest foundation job, but they completed all the work in 3 weeks time. The inspector from the City of Oakland was very appreciative with the quality of the work and even said that Alameda Structural is one of the best in the area. Needless to say, we passed our final inspection in less than 10 minutes. Lastly, I personally met with 5 different contractors to bid the job before selecting Alameda Structural. All of these contractors came highly recommended with many positive reviews on Yelp. We ended up selecting Alameda Structural because they were competitive on all fronts (cost, schedule, availability) and asked the right (tough) questions upfront to get the job done right. I cannot recommend George, Jose and the rest of the fine folks working for Alameda Structural, they are the best! read more

I can't say enough about my experience with Alameda Structural. I had a partial foundation replacement and earthquake retrofit and shear wall build for my 1924 duplex. George the owner is SUPER responsive and SUPER prepared. He came by a year ago for a quote and was the only contractor that was prepared with diagrams, notes etc. I could tell the attention to detail is there. He advised me to hold off on areas that didn't make sense to do financially or could be done inexpensively in other ways which was great to have that advice as well. I decided to hold off until this Jan 2018 and had the work completed and was not let down. He also helped with my earthquake insurance documentation (for 20% discount) when the job was complete. Floyd was the on-site foreman and did an outstanding job as well. They coordinated with special inspectors and my GC and left the place in great shape. I'd highly recommend them. Esteban read more

Unbelievable! I literally have a review in writing from Alameda Structural, and instead of actually being a professional he calls it "fake news!" This is exactly what I mean by bullying! Has anyone seen this tactic used before somewhere? His unprofessionalism is obvious! Pathetic that he has to cite his grandkids! I definitely would not ever want this man or his people in my home, let alone have them rip me off as he does. Go to Jim Garner, Armando Sanchez Construction, James Pearl, or Monctclair. All of them are actual professionals! read more

Are you kidding? A contractor that tells you what they're going to do, when and for how much, and does it, on time, for the price. And then does extra work without charge, including some that we needed but didn't ask for??? We had a relatively small job: replacing a retaining wall and installing a proper drain behind the new wall. George came and gave us an estimate ($200 of the low bid and significantly less than the high bid) and also walked the house and gave me a sense of what else might be needed (mostly work that would be done by other contractors -- not as an up-sell ...) Once i signed the contract, George was clear when they'd start, and a day prior Brian called to be sure we were set to begin and to remind me to let our neighbors know of the work. I asked him to look at a little extra work making cosmetic repairs to a different wall, and he said they would. Work started and was done in a week, as George had promised. On the last day (after I thought that Brian had forgotten), I came home to discover that the extra work had been done. Was there discussion? No. Was there an additional charge to the bill? No. Just done. Separately, we had unrelated brickwork that needed to be done (resetting loose bricks and fixing large cracks in mortar at the top of our stairs. I was getting bids for this work, but yesterday, more than a week after Alameda had finished the wall, I came home from a trip to discover that much of the brick work had been done. I had no clue who'd done it and discovered only after calling around that Pancho -- our crew chief -- had noticed the need and come back to do the work. Again, no discussion and no bill!! Like I said, are you kidding?? Would definitely recommend and will definitely go back if we ever need additional structural/drainage work done. Best contracting experience ever. read more

We had Alameda Structural add 8 new foundation piers to our house. We obviously had a lot of apprehensions going into this, and a major concern was the potential for other damage to be caused to the driveway, the patio, etc. Alameda Structural made the entire process completely painless. They were in and out incredibly fast, and didn't leave a trace behind. It required none of my attention. These guys really know what they are doing. read more

I heard good things about this company but when I called for an estimate they blew me off. First they never called me back. When I finally talked with someone they told me they dont do work in Dublin but said if I had engineering plans they would take a look. I sent the plans, did not hear back so I called again, when I finally got someone on the phone they told me the plans were not sufficient and would not do the work. I'm under the impression these guys are really busy - so busy they pass up $40,000 for 2 days of work that we had done with another company. Its too bad because we were trying to stay more local with our job but ended up using a company out of Sacramento (who by the way did an excellent job). I think these guys prefer to work with contractors versus direct calls so you may not want to waste your time. read more

I had bad experiences with George in the past when he came over to inspect a retaining wall. He overquoted me over twice the amount what another company did and was very arrogant in his demeanor. I will never ever use this company no matter how good the quality is. I've also been told by others in the industry that he's a big time Trump supporter, and doesn't play well with anyone who doesn't prescribe to his screwed up politics and view of the world. read more

I had my 100 year old house retrofitted by Alameda Structural earlier this year. They were wonderful to work with. George, the owner, comes himself to not only draw up the initial bid, but he stops by almost daily to make sure everything is going as it should. We had to do the additional sheer walls and bolting from the outside, which meant removing and replacing a lot of the shingles as the downstairs was already finished, which added a lot of work to the project, but they were the only folks of the companies that I got bids from who were willing to work it out that way instead of ripping up my offices. His crew are all very nice to work with, put up with a lot of questions and concerns gracefully, are dog friendly which is especially groovy, and everything got done on time. They took care of pulling the permits and got that done as reasonably as possible. Even though we found that a portion of the foundation also had to be replaced once we opened everything up, I thought they were ultimately fair when it added cost to the job. Thanks Alameda Structural! Bonnie read more

Waited two weeks for an appointment with George to get an estimate on a foundation project. When George finally came out to the project site he was ridged and hostile. Unwilling to listen to the customer's needs. He was unreceptive to discuss the details of the project and dictated the entire length of the field survey, in addition he gave an unreasonably high quote for the project. The communication process with George was bizarre at best. We will not be using Alameda structural and would not recommend them either. read more

My husband and I recently purchased an 1865 built victorian in San Leandro. For as much as the house had been redone, it was still on a brick foundation. There was no way we were willing to risk our dream home on that foundation while living in the land of earthquakes, so we decided to get the foundation done. Yeah, it was a scary thought for us but the price we would pay if we lost our home was far greater than the cost of a new foundation. I called several places for quotes and knew in speaking to George (the owner) of Alameda Structural on the phone and seeing reviews online that I had found the right company. George came out and did an inspection and gave me a price right away. Honestly, it was not the lowest price I had gotten but it certainly was nowhere near the highest. There was something about talking to George though that made me know this was "the guy" for the job and that it would be worth the extra money. George gave me several long pages of references and I did call quite a few. A lot of them had been from jobs he had done years and years ago, which is what I wanted. I was concerned with how the work had held up over time. I spoke to three of the references and each one, years later, still raved about the quality of the work performed. They also each stated that the work was completed on time and the price met the original quote. I also noticed that each person was very happy to speak with me, which told me a lot about the impression that Alameda Structural had made. Alameda Structural just completed their job at our house this week and we are thrilled. The quality is excellent. The workers were very professional and courteous. The job site was kept very clean. The forman, Brian, always kept me informed of everything. As if all of this were not enough, the best thing I can say about them actually came from the building inspector who told me "You can sleep well at night. These guys did a fabulous job." And for those of you who are "freaked out" over your house being lifted, I can tell you that my house is huge and old and I expected lots of cracking. I only had two cracks appear. Actually, I consider it to be only one because the second one is on a joint seam that was already very awkward. So really, I consider it to be no cracking. I could not ask for better. I recommend these guys without reservations. They take pride in their work and show great integrity. read more

Great quality. Affordable prices. Excellent service. We hired George and his crew several years back and this review is long overdue. Our experience with Alameda Structural is that they were very hard-working and honest. 5 stars. read more

Last year, I had asked George of Alameda Structural to come assess the foundation and provide a repair estimate for the 80-yr old house I was to purchase. The company is highly regarded and I'd seen reports they'd done for several properties in the area- noting that their bids seemed reasonable and that they offered different options for foundation work in some cases. Foundation replacement is a huge deal, and intimidating to me as a first-time homeowner. Added to this was the constraint that I would be not there while the work was to be done. No worries. Even though there was some accessory work requested (ie. drainage, dryrot, tree removal) these were accomplished without skipping a beat and at very low cost compared to quotes I got from my GC. In general, the business was well managed/coordinated so quotes, schedules, seismic paperwork, permits, inspections start/end times took place exactly as planned and communicated. Not only was George the no nonsense, straight-shooter as described to me by his references, it turned out that Alameda Structural lived up to its long-standing reputation as "the" go-to place for foundations. The inspectors from the city all praised the quality of their work, too. Actually I'm surprised there are so few reviews on Yelp, but I've become another in the long line of customers who recommend them. George and Alameda are a sound choice; you won't be disappointed. read more

Alameda Structural just completed our earthquake retrofit project in North Berkeley (We were recipients of the EBB Grant program). We received one other bid but Alameda Structural's bid was by far lower and was more within our expectation for the same scope of work. We are extremely pleased with the work that was done by Steve and the crew of Alameda Structural. They were on the job early and worked continuously throughout the day. They left the site clean every day. Our experience with everyone that was involved in the project that Alameda Structural brought onto our site was courteous and professional. For earthquake retrofit, these are your guys! read more

I suggest you get Andrew business cards with his name on them and have him improve his customer service. He is arrogant and is going to lose you business. read more

Did a seismic upgrade for our car port. The quoting phase was an eye-opener... one company got confused looking at the engineer's plans, but not George. Another company gave me a quote that was through the roof... really -- you guys are looking at the same plans what's the deal? Alameda Structural came in with a very reasonable price and did some work that was above and beyond... didn't charge a penny more. Oh -- did I mention he is easy to get a hold of and very responsive. Can't say the same for another company that gets a high rating here on YELP. Call George. read more

Really had a good experience working with George Walton and his crew a couple of years ago on our foundation. George is reliable, trustworthy and competent, something that (sadly) is an exception in contractors. I recommend. read more

I am another happy, real customer. Alameda's quote was the lowest I got - by almost 30k. I am in a very desirable area and often get inflated quotes, but that was such a big difference I sweated over whether there would be a quality problem. Nope. George threw in good suggestions and did not jack up the price he'd quoted. His suggestions about ceiling height and installing bathroom drains will allow the next generation here to expand in exactly the way I would have wished. The foundation on this house was at least 60 years overdue for replacement, and Chris and the crew did a ridiculous amount of work to bring the whole house up to date. The crew was fast, quiet, and dedicated, and it was a pleasure to have them around. read more

As others have said in this forum, Alameda Structural is not the cheapest, but they know what they are doing and they do it very well. I cannot stress enough how impressed we were by the professionalism of George and his team - especially Eric and our on-site manager Floyd - at Alameda Structural. It is definitely a scary thing, having the lower part of your house chipped away and put on blocks while the old, crumbling foundation is dug out and replaced! George made me feel less anxious when he came over to explain the process and then encouraged us to check out other jobs underway and even though the on-site manager at the house we went to look at during a concrete pour was crazy busy, he took a few minutes to show us what was going on and what to expect! The staff at Alameda Structural clearly takes pride in their work and they should, because they have the process down to a science. It took about 4 1/2 weeks to complete, and wow, what a difference compared to the crumbling mess it was before! I cannot stress enough the quality of the work. And the customer service is top shelf. We had one minor hiccup in the process, and even though it was after hours, both Eric and Floyd were on it immediately. At this point we are just waiting for the touch up to the stucco to be done, but I wanted to share how happy we were that we went with Alameda Structural and to highly recommend this wonderful company for your foundation and retrofit needs! read more

You won't find a better contractor for your foundation. This outfit is very professional. The owner George is straight forward and completes the project as needed and solves the unknown problems without changing his bid. All his subcontractors as well as his men are polite and courteous. They minimized any disruptions to me and my family as well as to the integrity of the house. Best of all you are assigned a project manager, that keeps you informed daily about what's taking place and if I had any preferences when there was an option to. My project manager was Brian Bouchard and it was impossible to tell if he was working for the company or working for me. What a great feeling in knowing that someone was watching out for your interests as well . In addition to the foundation, I had them do some work on a time and material basis and it ended up saving me some money compared to other bids for the termite repair. What a pleasure considering how stressful a job like this can be. LOOK NO FURTHER THEY ARE THE BEST! read more

The outside wall of our basement garage was leaning ominously, and George came out to give us an estimate, along with 3 other contractors. Only he gave us a firm bid, within 2 hours no less. I guess experience helps. It was a HUGE job -- complete demolition and replacement of the whole basement, and it went off like clockwork. They were probably not the cheapest, but they were competitive, and they found ways to fold in other work I needed for next to nothing. We love our new basement and peace of mind that a secure foundation brings. read more

Just finished a Brace and Bolt seismic retrofit with Alameda Structural. Their bid was about 60% of the other bid we got for our property during the busy Brace and Bolt season. The retrofit was not a simple process, as the engineering plans had to be revised more than once. George, Eric, Steve and the rest of the team stuck with us to find a solution that we could afford. It cost them extra time in terms of meetings and phone calls with us and the engineer. They always came and completed the work when they said they would. They handled the permitting process. And they cleaned up when they left. Excellent. Will work with them again. read more