Our 100 year old house is about 1 mile from the Hayward fault. After 20 plus years of getting wild…read morebids for seismic upgrade work we went to KSF Structural and asked them to design us a new foundation. Kent was great to work with. He provided excellent drawings and a work package that resulted in almost no change orders. The bids were very tight for the work and the contractor's work crew did an excellent job. We are very happy with Kent's help on our project.

I did a whole house remodel down to the studs, that included a complete foundation replacement…read more After looking and interviewing a few structural engineers, I chose Kent, and am so happy I did. He was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire process (and trust me, it was a process lol). He provided plans and details that were easy to follow and build, was open to feedback, and provided clear communication of the tradeoffs involved. His rates are fair and work is quality. I would highly recommend Kent for your next project.

We have been working on a 2nd floor addition to a 100 yr old house. As one can imagine, there are…read moremany significant structural issues that may arise unexpectedly when opening up walls and seeing how people build things 100 yrs ago. David and Ray have been incredible since the beginning of the process, helping us navigate through all the structural concerns and always trying to find a value engineering approach - whether it was optimizing depth of foundation work, or finding ways to reinforce old windows, coming up with ways to get headers into locations where there isn't the space, and/or proposing alternative shear wall options when there isn't room to fit things. Ray, our project engineer, has been the best communicating and responding to all our questions and worries. He carefully reviews the problem at hand that arise and often will provide 2 or 3 possible options that our builder can work on. With our current project, Ray is always super prompt to resolve any issues via call or email, or video conference and if necessary an onsite visit to inspect the construction phase. He was just crawling in our crawlspace the other day and notified our builder if some items that needed to be addressed to maintain a positive continuous connection from 2nd floor down to 1st floor and to crawlspace foundation. We are now adding the 2nd floor framing and almost done the most stressful part of the project. We have done 3 major remodels in the past with other firms where it was difficult to get in touch with anybody. With Ray and David at Simplengi Engineering, it has been a very refreshing experience to have experts that promptly responds to all our concerns. Value engineering, great timely communication, attention to detail, common sense, simple and smart engineering. We highly recommend Ray and David and Simplengi Engineering for any structural work. Simply great engineering. We don't plan to do another remodel for 100+ years but if we did, we would hire Simplengi 100% for sure.

​If you want the highest degree of professionalism​, the best customer service​, and an incredibly…read morewell trained and highly ethical engineer​, who is a supreme problem-solver and someone who actually responds to your questions, then you'll be 1000% satisfied with Dave Yadegar at Simplengi. ​D​ave is a superbly qualified engineer with a ​v​ast amount of varied professional experience​, and with his knowledge and skills​, ​h​e has saved us substantial amounts of time, money and perhaps most importantly - aggravation.​ ​I​nterestingly, I have met ​two other clients​ of Dave's, and they both shared the same opinion of​ his ability.​ ​D​ave will save you time, money, frustration, etc. New construction, remodels, expansion, - commercial and residential: he will simplify your life as ​he has done for me. He is absolutely the very best. PS- a shout-out goes to Antwon Trinh and Santosh Chitturi for helping round out the team!

Erik was very prompt and responsive. It was a pleasure to work with him and his office, I would use…read morethem again in an instant. He was very knowledgable and spent time explaining the process to me. I am very confident in his work.

Zack and Eric at WMstructural did a fantastic job on my structural plans & calculations for an…read moreaddition to my home in the Oakland Hills. My addition was a little more complicated than normal since I am on a downward sloping and the plans called for a glass floor veranda and with additional cantilevered decks. They methodically inspected the existing foundation/framing before starting their plans. Also, they addressed a number of architectural concerns with the design in easy to understand terms. Very knowledgeable, professional, responsive, and economical. I whole heartedly WMstructural.

I contacted Joshua B. Kardon, PhD, SE, F.ASCE, on the advice of a friend who is an architect after…read morewe won the bidding war (for $869K) on a 1924 Craftsman home in San Leandro in 2019. It had several issues, especially a problematic (cracked) original foundation. When Joshua Kardon informed us that we might have to spend a considerable portion of the above purchase price to properly fix up the house, make it earthquake-safe, and bring it up to current codes, we decided to pass on this lovely house. (He told us that replacing the cracked original foundation and raising the basement ceiling from 75 inches height to 96 inches on the 1400-square-foot home - all by itself - might cost $200-$300,000 and take many months. The home had other issues, too.) We later purchased a smaller 1954 ranch-style home in almost-as-built condition and called Joshua Kardon again for a consultation about seismic strengthening. He designed the almost-finished project that spans the front of our home and protects it against earthquakes. Joshua Kardon selected a "SkinnyBrace" by Thor Matteson, SE, of Quake Bracing LLC as the most cost-effective way to anchor our garage and the front of the house using attic collectors and garage shear walls. Nieto Valle Construction of Hayward has executed his designs and will soon finish the garage drywall and attic insulation. Joshua B. Kardon, SE, has always insisted on designing and implementing the best possible seismic strengthening solution for us and his solution is now in place. His attention to detail and insistence on doing things "the right way" are highly reassuring and have produced great results. Josh is also very personable, patient in educating us as to why certain design strategies work better, and has a great sense of humor. I would recommend Joshua B. Kardon + Co., Structural Engineers, in a heartbeat to anyone considering seismic strengthening or any other projects requiring the services of an experienced, thorough, detail-oriented, and friendly structural engineer.

Josh was very kind and helpful in providing feedback on an early inquiry as to how I should…read moreapproach working with a structural engineer and contractor in an aspirational project I've started to think through. His calm, kind and approachable energy is exactly the kind of professionalism you want on your upcoming project.

My wife and I have been in search for a home to purchase in Oakland CA…read more We had our eye on a beautiful home that was built in 1923. Sadly the disclosures said nothing about the foundation. My agent strongly advised me to hire a structural engineer to assist with the overall inspection. That's when I came across Kais with Oaktown engineers. Kais was very easy to get ahold of, a great value based on other engineers in the area, prompt with response, & available on short notice, a huge plus given the short window to place home offers. During the walk around process my agent and I could quickly tell Kais was not only familiar with houses in Oakland, but was knowledgeable about how the beams, foundation and structure should be settling on a home after one hundred years. I was very pleased with the information provided by Kais in aiding my wife and I's decision on the home. Sadly the home itself needed a whole new foundation, new retaining wall on both the side and front of the home and much more. I felt very reassured in my decision based on the report Kai's provided. If you're looking for a structural engineer, I would absolutely recommend them. They're also a small family business, something we need more of in Oakland. Great job all around Oaktown engineers!

Kais and Oaktown Engineers are fantastic. I needed guidance on a home purchase for a hillside home…read moreand have no experience in this subject. I had to make a quick decision to compete in the Bay Areas fast pace real estate market. Kais was able to schedule a walk with me on short notice and gave me a very thorough and detailed assessment. He patiently answered all my questions and set me up to make a very informed decision. I am grateful to have found him and highly recommend him for any structural engineering needs.

Zhang Architects Inc has collaborated with Austin and his team at Upright Engineering on several…read moreprojects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area where Zhang Architects provided architectural design services. Their team consistently delivers high-quality civil and structural engineering services with strong attention to detail, professionalism, and responsibility. They are responsive, easy to work with, and maintain reasonable turnaround times throughout the project process. We appreciate the collaborative working relationship and look forward to continuing to work with Upright Engineering on future projects.

We had great experiences working with Upright Engineering for our house addition project in SF…read moreBernal Heights. Our project located on steep slope and the structural design and cals requirements are extremely strict from DBI SF, we even went through the SAC meeting! Because Austin and his team have extensive knowledge to compliant with SF DBI's codes and requirements, we did go back and forth too many times for revision of the design or plan. the city was pretty happy with their works. Upright Engineers worked on our foundation, stairs and structural documents. Amber is very responsive throughout our permit application process, whenever there were new comments or changes from the city requirement, she responded right away and contacted the right person in the team for the request. we highly recommend Upright Engineering! Thanks

Martin and team are the unicorns of the construction world. They're top notch in every particular:…read morequality, communication, and speed from start to finish. Not only do they do absolutely fantastic work - fast but never rushed, thorough but never onerous - but they also excel at communication. Martin responded clearly and quickly throughout the project. We could not be happier with their work. The team was also cheerful - a surefire sign of a healthy work environment. The price was very competitive, and we are extremely satisfied. Our project included raising an entire section of our house, and installing a new foundation below it, with a retaining wall and piers. They also did a full retrofit on the new foundation. I wish we could hire Martin and his team for every project!

The owner stated he would be around for the project. I didn't see him other than the estimate. I…read morefound myself researching all the components of waterproofing a foundation. I felt like I had to give step-by-step directions on how to complete the project. At one point they didn't plan to put a liquid membrane on the newly poured concrete. The crew was really nice and responsive. The owner paid for a primer so I could fix the poor coverage that the crew had made with the liquid membrane. Eventually, they might be a good crew. At this point I feel like they're just practicing. They did good stucco work.

Dave and his crew (including Oscar, Jose, and many others) have completed several projects at my…read morehouse in Berkeley over the past couple years, including a pretty significant seismic retrofit project that involved installing shear wall, bolting the wood house to the foundation, and several other items to qualify for Berkeley's Seismic Retrofit grant. The crew did great work and were very friendly and professional for the entirety of their time working on my house. They also did an excellent job cleaning up when they were finished with the project, which I always appreciate and thinks speaks volumes about their professionalism. One thing I really appreciate about Dave and his crew is their expertise and willingness to make recommendations, even when some of the recommendations may have reduced the total cost of the job. That went a long way towards building trust.

Dave Ford Construction just finished a complete retrofit on my home in the Berkeley Hills. I could…read morenot be happier, period. The entire process was seamless and the work done by Oscar, Dave's foreman, and their crew, was impeccable. I cannot say enough about the workmanship, responsiveness, cleanliness of the site and how prompt and on time everyone was. When something needed to be done it was done. I appreciate the level of professionalism by Dave and Oscar and feel relieved that my home is as secure as possible. Dave works with an excellent engineer, Dan Szumski, all plans and permits are taken care of. Dave and Oscar have subsequently done more work on my home...I continue to be appreciative. Dave is incredibly knowledgeable and communicative. Moving forward, all construction jobs will be done by J David Ford Construction and Oscar.