Update: the work finally got done and it is beautiful. Their reputation as the gold-standard for this kind of work is clearly deserved. Upgrading to 3 stars, with the 2 star penalty for the totally ridiculous year+ it took me to get them to actually do the job. The simple answer to the owner's question of "how can we do better" is to honestly and accurately inform customers about what to expect, and then deliver. No secrets there. read more

Steve came over today and spent nearly 2 hours thoroughly explaining not only the situation of our home, but a history of building construction since the 1930's. With illustrations and insightful metaphorical explanations, I got a better understanding of the way soil moves and changes with the seasons and over time. He also did a great job of understanding the effects of water and soil movement. I've had four other contractors come over to my house, and this was by far the best in the area at understanding concepts of my foundation clearly, without being made fearful of potential outcomes. This information helps clarify and understand my home a lot better, and I'm so grateful for the detailed explanation with a friendly disposition. I now have an elevation reading of my entire home, a better understanding of my floor and foundation, and know some steps to get towards a more stable foundation for my home in Concord. After struggling with other companies in this area, I'm definitely confident in engineered soil repairs to be our solution. Thanks Steve and ESR! read more

They do great work but they're prices are outrages. You're better off with a similar contractor from wherever area you live in

ESR is totally professional from start to finish. The engineering, work crew, concrete foreman, and follow-up is first-rate. A full set of drawings are provided upon completion with any required city permits handled by ESR. Highly recommended. read more

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This is not a review of the quality of work; I would not know as never even managed to get a quote. However, the quality of their customer service warrants no stars. I requested a bid soon after the rains in the winter of 2022 led to a landslide and unstable hillside in my back yard. I was told that before anyone would come out I needed a Geotech engineering report. I got one (paid $10k). I then called back and was given an appointment for about 2 months later. Fine. I understand being busy. The day before my appointment, I was told it needed to be pushed an additional week. Again, fine. After the ESR Chief Engineer reviewed my property, I was told he would be able to quickly get me a quote. This was Oct. 19. After about 1 week I tried to contact the person to find out when I could expect the quote. I left VMs, sent emails, and spoke with someone at the ESR office. Finally, on Nov. 2nd I got an email stating only "I will get it out shortly." Then nothing. After a few more VM's, on Nov. 8th I got an email: "I'm working on it now." I heard nothing after that email. Given I received a quote from a different company for more than $150k, I don't think mine is a small job that is not worth the time or effort, and if so, I should have been told. So again, nothing to say about quality of work, but the quality of service is atrocious. read more

We contacted ESR for a potential crack in our foundation and scheduled an appointment with Zack to conduct the inspection. We were thoroughly impressed with how meticulous Zack was all around and under the house. He spent about two hours identifying every little thing and offered thoughtful solutions to every issue he identified. The first company to conduct an inspection cost us $250 and they stayed for about 15 minutes. ESR was a free inspection that was much much more thorough. I would highly recommend ESR to anyone and in the event we need repair work done in the future, they will be our first and only call. read more

We called up ESR after we noticed some cracks in our walls and around our windows. Getting an appointment was easy, getting a bid... thats a completely other story. Chris, their lead engineer came out and measured our house for level. He said it warranted new footings. He also recommended a vapor barrier, even though the wood under the house was completely dry. He said we would get us a bid in a week. A week passed. Nothing. I emailed him. Another week passed, nothing. I called him and left a message, another week passed, no response. I called the office and asked if he was there. Nope. I asked if he still worked there, they said yes. I asked where my bid was, they asked if he had even come out. WTF. I called again a week later asking for the bid and still nothing. They said he would work on it on Monday. A week after that we got a formal bid in the mail. The cost was outrageously high. Suffice to say we sought out other bids. Had they come back with a bid when we were originally told we'd get one, and they actually practiced good customer service skills, we might have gone with them. But to fight for a bid, no way. Totally unacceptable, totally unprofessional. If they have enough work, then why seek out potential jobs. Seems something went wrong here. We had our job done by another firm that said ESR's bid included a lot of unnecessary work. We're glad we went with someone else. read more

I changed them from a 1 star to a 3 star because they eventually got the job done and it looks decent. See below for my original review. ESR is in charge of garage/driveway repairs to multiple homes in my community. To my knowledge they have had to do multiple units at least twice and so far they have done my unit 3 times and counting! The first time it wasn't satisfactory to my HOA, the second time it cracked and started breaking apart within weeks, and the third time it is full of hard bubbles. The person who called me actually said they didn't look at the finished product inside the garage when it was done so they have to schedule another time to look at it! Really?? At some point they will be doing it a fourth time but they don't seem to care. I'll be happy to change my review if they ever get it right and stop doing poor work! read more

I highly recommend ESR for their excellent work and professionalism. They worked most effectively with my geotechnical consultant to design the most effective retaining system (stitch pier) for a landslide on my very steep downhill lot. Their work was excellent. They kept me informed on the project from start to finish. Upon completion, they left the site in excellent condition. I had my geotechnical consultant monitor the project and he had nothing but praise for ESR's cooperation and quality of their work. read more

ESR was involved with a drainage issue at our house. They impress me as extremely knowledgeable and professional. They were not the cheapest bid but I certainly feel they were the better option. Excellent work ESR. read more

We had to create a brand new foundation for an older home on a steep slope in a site where the homes on both sides came right to the property line, and the only access to the work area was by walking down steps and a footpath and then uphill to the actual building footprint. The access was worse than limited. The house is 35' deep, and it had sunk so badly that there was a 9" difference in elevation between front and back. The first foundation repair contractor we dealt with strung us along forever, claiming they had a new method that would work, and then they decided they couldn't do it after all. Another company waffled, but never got back to us, despite repeated attempts. When we contacted ESR, we got lucky in two ways. First, they could do the job within 3 weeks, because they had a large project at the bottom of our hill that had been put on hold. All of the needed equipment was right there. Second, they did a brilliant job. This included sinking piers down to bedrock (one was 20', and the others were 17-18'), mixing and pouring concrete in an incredibly small area, correcting a mistake (along with the framer) made by our engineer, whose plans were inadequate/incomplete (without charging extra for that service). Their expertise was second to none, and they were brilliant problem solvers. Our framer said we were so lucky to have gotten to work with them. We are so thankful we got to work with them. read more

Well, it isn't exactly fair to review a firm that you haven't had do any work for you. ESR did do the foundation for my house - and quite an involved job it was given the need to completely replace the sucker. They did an outstanding job in difficult conditions, were considerate and hard working, and because they are engineers were able to come up with a design that worked well. I picked them over other firms because they do large retaining wall projects so have great equipment and crews but more importantly, they were willing to re-level our house. This is a difficult and painstaking process that has high potential for damage if done wrong. They were very methodical and did it right without a single broken window. Good job guys. read more

Started as a 4 Star, horrifically dropped to a -1 Star, then finished strong at 5 Stars. I used ESR to repair a 4' tall x 100' long retaining wall at my residence. They were instrumental in a litigation process against the property's former owners. The bid was detailed and priced fair. They worked with me to create a design that would be strong and long lasting yet not break my bank account. (I obtained bids from 5 different companies) Started at four stars because communication in the beginning was not the best. Once work began, that factor greatly improved. Horrifically dropped to a NEGATIVE 1 star mid stream. The first Foreman sent to us was completely incompetent. Made an absolute mess of the job. The wall was built nearly a foot over the property line into my neighbor's lot; which decreased their property by 100sq ft. The wall was leaning out by 2-3" at every post. The pressure treated lagging was not re-treated after being cut which exposed untreated wood to the elements. The list goes on and on which totaled an absolute failure! Finished strong at 5 Stars! I have NO problems when people make mistakes. Only if they take responsibility for the mistake and make it right. ESR admitted their crew messed up and did the right things to correct it all. ESR sent out a new Foreman. John was wonderful. He ripped out the entire wall and started completely over. No patching and trying to salvage the poorly built structure. I wish John was here from the start. His crew was the epitome of professional. Cleaned thoroughly after each day of work. They even washed the windows clean of dust/ dirt each day! I tried hard to get him to talk s#!7 about the previous foreman to see where he had screwed up. John stayed professional and would only reply that he was working hard to make everything right. True professional. I'm confident ESR took a huge loss on this job as a result of the first foreman's "work". Even though ESR lost money, they honored their promise to give me a quality product. The final product is outstanding. Exactly what I expected for a $50,000 job! I am very happy with the work, and will happily recommend them. read more

The review is for an engineering report on basement leakage post home purchase. The report was very thorough and exactly what we needed. Very responsive. Not the cheapest bid but all inclusive and our first choice. read more

We just got a 90 ft retaining wall built after a landslide. ESR staff (Bill Gibson, Morgan Anderson( project manager), Vince (foreman), Roger) were all very professional. Their bid was the lowest of 4 bids. They started on time and there were no cost or time overruns. They cleaned the place after completion. They coordinated with the City for permit, with the soil engineer and best of all I did not have to retain a separate structural engineer and civil engineer. They added us as additional insured on their insurance policies. Everything went smoothly. read more

Way more expensive than other quote. Watch our for over engineering and price gouging

They repaired a sinkhole in my backyard. They worked hard and cleaned up well. The price was fair. I'm happy with this outfit.

We have had them do two separate jobs on our house. They are professional, do a quality job, show up on time and go above and beyond. Their representatives are invariably polite, know their business, are flexible, and the work site is spotless every day when they leave. They are not cheap and they might not be able to get to your job right away but in this case you get what you pay for. read more