Needed an urgent foundation inspection, and Nathan provided exceptional service. He is very thorough and knowledgable in his trade! Great experience over all! read more

I live in a four units condo in San Francisco and we wanted to have an inspection performed after recently observing cracks in the building foundations. Nathan promptly responded to my email questions and we scheduled an onsite appointment within a week. Jakob came for the inspection and was extremely thorough and very knowledgeable. He provided a detailed report ahead of time with risk assessments and potential repair options. He even took the time to do a follow up to review the report with us and further explain findings and suggestions. The overall experience has been smooth and pleasant. I would highly recommend BEAR Engineering to everyone looking for true professionals. read more

The team at Bear Engineering are super responsive and were able to explain and communicate complex foundation issues in a way that was easy to follow. Their report was super detailed and provided a range of options and suggestions. Highly recommended! read more

Dave came on-site our 60 year old house and did assessment of my foundation. He was professional, responsive and helpful in every way. His final report was detailed and provided an honest assessment. As follow up, Nathan answered all of my questions. Definitely recommend their services. read more

We recently had Bear Engineering do a complete foundation inspection of our house to determine if our redwood tree was causing damage. Good news it hasn't. Nathan and his wife Tiffany were easy to communicate with from our first email exchange. They showed up to our home on time, and they were thoughtful about taking off their shoes when they came inside to take some measurements. The report they prepared was very thorough and easy to understand. I would recommend them without hesitation. read more

Nathan from Bear Engineer was a real professional. I had several Yelp request go out to get a bid, and Nathan from BEAR was stood out from the rest. We wanted to get an expert and professional opinion with a detailed inspection on a hillside home we are purchasing. He took his time, explained all the details, and provided us with a detailed report quickly to so we make our purchase decision. I had work with other people at other firms before, and have to say Nathan was far better. Give Bear Engineering a call. They do good work. read more

We haven't used their services (yet), but Nathan has been very helpful in our initial communications. He was very forthcoming and knowledgeable. They were actually recommended by another inspector who didn't handle the scope of our request, which was to understand more about the location of house within a landslide and fault zone, as well as near a liquefaction zone. I wouldn't hesitate to hire him should the need arise. read more

This is a review for the Foundation inspection service and the virtual consultation offered by Bear Engineering. We worked with Nathan for the virtual consultation. The appointment setup was painless. Over a Zoom call, Nathan walked us through the inspection reports and carefully explained everything the inspector had noted. He was very thorough, clear, and concise; he explained complex civil engineering concepts clearly and highlighted what we might need to look into and what wasn't an issue. I loved the additional data points that he provided of cracks and foundation movement from other inspections around the area to give us an idea of what to expect. For the onsite inspection, we worked with Tiffany and Matt. We had to get the inspection done on very short notice and Tiffany helped accommodate our request despite a late request. Matt was the onsite foundation inspector we worked with. From the get-go, he was professional and explained what he wanted to inspect around the property, the steps and procedures he would follow, and how much time he would need. The entire inspection took around 2hrs, during which Matt took detailed pictures and measurements inside the house, the exterior and also did a thorough job of inspecting the crawlspace. After that, he proceeded to give us a thorough debrief and explained his findings to us. He also spent a good 30-45 minutes after, answering our questions that assuaged a lot of our concerns. We received a report about 5 days after the initial inspection. We absolutely have to highlight how superb the report was; they explain all the findings in very simple terms, provide excellent recommendations, and even a few pages worth of resources and contacts. TL;DR If you need a foundation inspection, contact Bear Engineering. read more

We booked BEAR Engineering for a house in escrow in San Mateo. My client was concerned about the slopping and cracks. We were referred to BEAR engineering by another company as BEAR engineering is able to perform slab foundation inspections (not many companies are able to do it). We booked easily through calendly on their website. The inspector was thorough in explaining the process and what the final report would entail after she finalized the inspection. Naturally, my Buyer had questions and the inspector answered all her doubts and concerns upfront. In the end, the inspector summarized all the findings and explained them thoroughly, not only noting the findings but also providing possible and viable solutions for the problems. She was patient and thorough in answering the Buyer's concerns and we really appreciated that! Her knowledge of the local area was also really helpful in what to expect with the foundation and property. Awesome company! read more

Nathan provided us an honest remote service based on a general inspection report and an 5 year old foundation report. It helped save a more costly onsite inspection. He was prompt and transparent. read more

I had a fantastic experience working with BEAR engineering. We had them perform an inspection on the foundation and drainage of our older home. You can easily navigate their website to see exactly what they will do, how the data are documented and when shared, and the cost. You can schedule an appointment on line too. Jakob came out on time and promptly explained and executed the inspection. He took care to wear a mask, took measures to keep things clean, as the inspection includes the crawl space. We sat down to review the immediate concerns which included standing water! We receive the very through report in 7 days. The report include details pictures, diagrams, recommendation, risks of their findings. The report also include pages of references to other business who's services you may need as a result of the findings. I highly recommend BEAR Engineering. read more

Bear Engineering provided exceptional service in preparing our drainage and foundation inspection report. We met with Nathan in the morning at our home. In addition to a thorough inspection of the drainage and foundation, he spent considerable time teaching us many concepts to help us maintain our home going forward. We found Nathan's services to be extremely trustworthy -- Nathan was upfront with potential issues he observed, and presented us with clear recommendations. Nathan also made himself available over email for any follow-up questions, which was perfect, as we had more questions regarding drainage plans. He responded in a timely fashion, even though he had already delivered the report and we had already paid for his services. Overall I would highly recommend Bear Engineering for your drainage and foundation inspection needs. read more

Pretty solid service. I was lucky to get a last min appointment with them next day. Matt helped the onsite inspection and he was very thorough and being super honest about the situation of the house that we plan to bid. We got the report on the same day. Thumbs up! read more

We first got in touch with Nathan / BEAR engineering through recommendations from Peace of Mind Structural. Nathan is super responsive and very knowledgeable in foundation inspection and drainage issues. He understood that we are first-time house owners and have all kinds of basic questions, and provided extremely flexible service for us to send pics/video chat and discuss over the phone call, which worked out perfectly. He also sent us a neat report and gave advice for us to continue monitor the house and patched the minor cracks. read more

I whole-heartedly recommend Nathan and the foundation inspection services of BEAR Engineering. They were informative (their web site is educational), responsive, communicative (e.g., email exchanges, appointment scheduling, names of contractors), and their onsite inspection included a written report. Now, we have some insights on the issues at our three-unit townhouse and have actionable information for proceeding with cracks on a concrete masonry wall that appeared to be load bearing. Before contracting Nathan, we were challenged with a problem that appeared too small to gain the attention of structural engineering firms. Nathan explained the measurements he took. Along with a walk-around of the area to point out remedies to improve water drainage, we now have some items to address. Throughout, Nathan was helpful and professional. read more

In the work that engineers do, mistakes can be dangerous and costly. For safety's sake their work requires thoroughness and care. Their efforts will be time consuming and can be expensive. Most engineers are reluctant to have it any other way. They are obliged to be conservative. The world is moving ever faster and there are occasions when a quick approximation is called for to determine a direction for a project, whether it is feasible, or whether an investment would be wise. In these circumstances a different kind of engineer is called for, one who is flexible and acts quickly but can provide a considered judgment inexpensively. We had such a project in our front yard in San Francisco where the Department of Building Inspection needed an on site review and a considered estimate of whether a short slope in back of the public sidewalk was stable and safe, without the need for borings, soil testing and a lengthy report. We hired Nathan at Bear Engineering who on short notice, for a reasonable price was able to inspect our slope, find it safe and issue a brief letter saying so. It was enough for the Department of Building Inspection and we are happy. read more

Randy at BEAR Engineering did a great and thorough job inspecting our home from ceiling to foundation. He is easy to work with, so knowledgeable, and open to questions and explanations. He provided a very detailed engineering report with photos, work descriptions, resources, and contractor references. Randy went above and beyond when we contacted him re followup actions. read more

Worked with Nathan @Beer Engineering on a foundation inspection. The scheduling was smooth. Nathan was very patient with answering our questions and provided a detailed report with suggested next steps, budgetary estimates and a list of recommended contractors. Highly recommended! read more

I would highly recommend BEAR Engineering for their services! We had a 10 day inspection contingency and Nathan and Tiffany came out and got the job done. They were extremely thorough, going in the crawl space and measuring the evenness of the floors throughout the house, inspected the exterior, etc. After their inspection and data collection, we sat down and they showed us their findings with data and pictures and made recommendations. We were sent the complete report with afterwards. I did have some follow up questions which Nathan responded to quickly with comprehensive and clear answers. Home buying can be a lot of work and nerve-racking. It's important to work with knowledgeable professionals that can get the job done. read more

Im writing this review as a verified customer to show my appreciation for Nathan and Tiffany's terrific and thorough job providing a report of our foundation structure. Thank you. read more

We are very pleased with Nathan's work! Other than the fact that his prices are very competitive, he was on time and was very thorough and professional. His advise was very precise and helpful. Honesty is rare to find in this field, so if you are looking for an honest professional that will not try to sell you stuff but rather give a true opinion, look no further! read more

We've had Nathan inspect foundations on properties for us on a number of occasions. He is easy to work with, arrives on schedule, and delivers the reports within the time frame promised. The reports are very comprehensive and include lots of helpful info on how much any needed corrections might cost (ballpark since it's just a report) and also include breakdowns and additional info that helps with understanding the findings. We look forward to working with BEAR Engineering in the future! read more

Great experience with a remote consult. It was very easy and effective to schedule online, share plans and pictures in advance, then have a detailed Q&A live. read more

We called BEAR engineering to come out last minute and inspect a property that was pretty out of the way. Nathan was professional, thorough, and honest. We definitely recommend him. read more

Nathan and his contacts made our home purchase possible- he was the first one to detect an issue in the foundation and recommended a quality engineering firm to fix it. Nathan took time to measure foundation for strength, stability, inclines, and also gave me the 1 major thing to fix in my crawlspace. A+ would hire again/recommend without hesitation read more

I had Randy come over to visit my foundation. I had made a reservation the day before and Randy arrived at 9am the next morning, and exactly on time. Randy was extremely thorough in inspection every part of the home, crawl space, and the outside areas that I've never even know existed. He spent over 2 hours doing a deep dive on the property. And the same day at 9pm, Randy jumped on a Zoom call with me to go over every picture that he had taken. I'd strongly recommend Randy to anyone that is curious about their foundation and settling conditions. Good job pal! read more

Came out promptly and assessed our foundation issue and gave us an estimate to repair.

Nathan did a great job of providing through inspection of our foundation. We are planning to have some work done in our basement, Nathan also gave us some tips on how to go about doing the remodeling. The pricing was reasonable and we had the report in very short time. read more

Quick and thorough service by Nathan and co. We received great advice on his well written and informative foundation report. I highly recommend him. read more

Nathan and team were very professional and thorough for our foundation inspection. They documented their findings in a nice report, went through it with us, and delivered the report quickly. Nathan has also been helpful when I've emailed follow up questions. They do it right! read more

Nathan helped us a great deal in performing an inspection at a short notice. Foundation inspection wasn't recommended by home inspection but we noted some cracks in walls and sloping grounds and decided to have it done by a foundation expert. Nathan provided a detailed and unbiased inspection; he gave us confidence in knowing that the house is structurally sound and suggested steps we could take to minimize any further movement. Highly recommended read more

Nathan and Tiffany provided a foundation and drainage inspection for our newly purchased home and gave professional recommendations for any work that needed immediate attention and work that we could hold off on. We really appreciated their honesty, thoroughness, and knowledge since this was an area of home buying that we were new to. We highly recommend using Bear Engineering!! read more

I am currently in the process of closing on a home as a first time home buyer. I have been looking on the internet for what are somethings I should be looking out for. Given the place I am currently buying in has old homes with foundation issues, after some research I came across BEAR Engineering. I reached out to schedule a consultation with Nathan and send some pictures and old home inspection report prior to our meeting. Nathan asked me couple of questions before meeting which I really appreciated because that made our consultation call very productive. Nathan addressed all my questions in very detailed manner and gave me good data to compare the house I am building to other houses in the area. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable knowing more about the foundation of the house and my next steps. Would highly recommend working with BEAR Engineering if you are trying to get a home and need to know what's really going on with the structure/ foundation of the house but don't really find home inspections all that helpful. read more

Called BEAR Engineering to evaluate our 50+ y/o home after noticing some cracks in the drywall in our ceiling and walls. We are also weighing a remodel vs rebuild, so it was a good time to get an expert structural evaluation. Nathan responded right away and we set up a time for him to do his thing onsite. First of all, he was very conscientious of wearing a mask and adhering to COVID protocols. He did a thorough inspection of our home, taking measurements and photos along the way, even braving our crawlspace. Post-inspection, he went over what he saw and his initial interpretations. He followed up in a few days with a comprehensive report and remediation recommendations, including contractor referrals. Luckily our old foundation is still in great shape! On a personal level, we found Nathan to be a friendly and highly knowledgeable engineer and we would definitely recommend his services to anyone in the area. read more

Very quick to schedule an inspection. Able to provide full and unbiased assessment, and even able to give general price range to expect. Matt was very efficient, thorough, and concentrated on his work while he was doing the inspection - def not a salesman trying to persuade you to get work done. I fully trust his inspection report, which was delivered very quickly, and am grateful that he can also recommend a few companies for repairs. read more

I was easily able to schedule a remote consultation for a foundation issue, providing photos and a description prior to the consultation. Nathan was very thorough in his questions and review of the issue and provided very straight forward answers for the potential causes as well as clear and concise recommendations for repair along with the expected expense for each option. BEAR Engineering's remote consultation is a fantastic service to quickly get an unbiased professional and informed overview of an issue and what to expect repair and expense wise when you are ready to move forward. read more

We hired Nathan prior to the purchase of our home. We were relying on the results of his foundation inspection as part of our decision to purchase the home. Nathan did an amazing job inspecting the foundation of the house and the results were a lot better than expected. What we thought might be a $50,000 repair to the foundation turned out to only be a $500 repair. He provided us a detailed report of the floor elevation signs of foundation movement as well as seismic risk mitigation notes. We decided to purchase the home and are happy with everything. A month after hiring Nathan, we even had a follow up question about our home and he answered promptly within about a day. Overall, it was a pleasure working with BEAR Engineering. read more

In order to maintain my home, Bear Engineering prepared a floor-level-survey report. The report contains detail indicating the floor has acceptable tolerances. The report contains helpful explanations so a "lay man" can understand general factors influencing land, foundation and a home. Bear Engineering was patient and did not hurry the process. I had my questions answered while staying on budget. Thank you, read more

This review is long overdue as Nathan and his contractor partner at Anchor Systems helped my in-laws re-leveled their house in Aiea about a year ago. Since my in-laws are elderly, I reviewed all the contractors and bids for them and followed the project remotely from California. My in-laws' house was on top of a ravine and the house was settling unevenly to a point where at one end the house was off by 3 inches and of course cracks developed in the house over the past decade. Nathan was the design engineer and Anchor Systems was the contractor for a series of micropiles and beam foundation to prevent settling from happening again after the house was re-leveled, in addition to some concrete pathway and piping work to divert rainwater from washing down the foundation. Overall, Nathan and Eric at Anchor Systems provided the most cost-effective design and reasonable bid without over-engineering. Moreover, Nathan was always responsive to my inquiries throughout the whole process and very diligent in taking photos at every stage of the inspection and sent them to me for review. The project was done exactly as they had planned and the house was back to level after years of falling apart. When I went to visit my in-laws last July 4th, I saw that they had done a very good job with the concrete pathway which as I understand has been very effective in diverting the rain water. I would highly recommend Nathan not only for his good engineering design, but also for his responsiveness and trustworthiness. read more

We had some major drainage issues over the winter on our property and we were looking for solutions. Nathan came out and did a thorough inspection of our property including exterior, interior, and crawl space. Within a couple of days Nathan had provided a report of his inspection findings along with recommended solutions. Nathan seemed very knowledgable about foundations and drainage in general. What we really liked about his inspection and recommendation was that they were independent and not tied to any particular company who would do the work. (We had contacted one drainage specialty company who immediately recommended running french drains in our crawl space and complete sealing of our crawl space without even coming on site). Overall, I would recommend BEAR if you are looking for a certified civil engineer to evaluate your home who's evaluation and recommendation won't be influenced by the scope of the work being recommended. read more