When I was purchasing my home, my general inspector noted various foundation issues in his report, and recommended that I have a structural engineer come and inspect as well. I raised this as an inspection objection, and the seller decided to hire Susan to come out and inspect. She refuted and confirmed different issues raised by the general inspector, and then the seller collected quotes for the work she recommended, and gave me a concession for that work -- about $8k. Fast forward to 7.5 years later when I was selling the home -- the buyers decided to have Susan McGourty come back out. She told them that the foundation work was not performed properly, and gave them a verbal estimate of $50k in repairs for the house, apparently without giving them any written report, which they said that she would charge for if we wanted it. We got the buyer's permission to speak with her, and she acknowledged that the original work was not done properly, saying that she knew the mason who performed the work, and that he does "good work" but that he just wasn't the right person for the job. I asked her why she quoted over 5 times the original repair cost, and she acknowledged that there were additional issues raised. I asked why she did not raised those issues 7.5 years ago, surely they weren't knew, and she became flippant at this point, saying that "I was only hired to address the issues the general inspector raised". When I objected saying that despite the seller commissioning her, it was my general inspector's report, and I'd been living there for 7.5 years with these issues, she cut me off and said simply "I work for the people who are paying me, just like you." Ma'am, you don't know me. I'm an engineer too, and actually, the customers who I work for and the people who pay me are entirely different individuals, as is the case for probably the majority of the country. But more importantly, as a PE, you should know that your obligations are to the safety, health, and welfare of the public and persons who will be impacted by the work you're performing. I was absolutely shocked at her candor and unprofessional conduct. DO NOT RECOMMEND. read more

TL:DR If you're going to buy a house, schedule an appointment with McGourty. It is worth every penny you spend and will give you information that you won't receive from anyone else in the home buying process. You're inspector will say "there's a crack you should have that looked at." McGourty will tell you if it's detrimental or not. My girlfriend and I started looking for houses about 9 months back. We finally had an offer accepted and were under contract on a house built in 1958. We had looked at houses on the same block where the floor was 6-9 inches below the foundation walls and had very obvious structural issues. This was one of our biggest concerns on the house that we were under contract on. We knew that the inspector would point out any glaring issues but didn't have the knowledge to give us the information and peace of mind we needed to move forward. We reached out to McGourty Engineering. The woman on the phone was very nice and was able to schedule someone to come out and take a look at the house. Rob came out to do the inspection and was very professional and on time. He started by giving us information on the area and offered his opinion of house based on the location, soil type, and year the house was built. He then started in the basement and walked us through the type of construction used on the foundation as well as the pros and cons of that type of system. He took measurements and offered strategies for monitoring cracks in the foundation walls. From there, he moved to the main floor of the house and gave us information on load bearing walls and what we could realistically do with the layout of the house without compromising the structure. We had plans for moving some walls that we found were load bearing. Rob offered his opinion on cost effective strategies for supporting the structure while still giving us the look we wanted. Rob then moved outside and took measurements on the walls of the house. He explained every measurement and pointed out roof drainage issues that may affect the foundation. He then moved to the attic and took measurements on the ceiling trusses to verify the information that he had given us. Rob was able to provide us with an honest assessment on the structure of the home and gave us what we needed to move forward with the house and the projects we had in mind. We will be reaching to McGourty again for any structural information or plans we need in the future. read more

Tl;dr: McGourty saved our house from being structurally unsupported. And their work was independently validated two years later by a second engineer. We had a support post in our basement that had no support below it. It was so unsupported, you could jiggle it. We contracted with Complete Basement Systems to do the repair work, but decided to go with an independent engineering team to look at their plans and our basement to come up with their own repair plans. It would include drilling a new helical pier, and two new posts. It turns out this was the smartest decision we could have made. Susan first came out to look at the basement and conditions and make recommendations, and then had her son Rob come out to make the measurements and plans. I am not a contractor or an engineer, and had very little knowledge of how basements are set up or how houses are supported when they have basements. Rob drew up the plans, and Complete Basement Systems decided to go completely off the rails and start making their own repairs that were out of scope with the plans. Susan made multiple site visits at my request, and even hashed it out with the CBS foreman to tell him why he was wrong, and specifically why they called for the repairs they did. Once the work was finished, Rob came out to do a site inspection and look everything over. He was supremely disappointed. The team at Complete Basement Systems had done a number of thing so incorrectly, they had to return to the house, tear out all their previous work, and do it again. We also had to hire an independent welder, because the person from Complete Basement Systems who did the original welding possibly did it with his eyes closed. The process took much longer, but we felt relieved that it was done right with the guidance from the McGourty team. Here's where it gets interesting: We are in the process of re-finishing the basement. Now that the house has been reinforced and it has settled two years later, we needed a bunch of drywall repaired and new floors put in. Our contractor was worried about some cracking in the concrete pad that was uncovered when the existing carpet was pulled up. So the contractor called out a structural engineer to look at everything, including the new posts we had put in. The engineer completely validated all the work, including the specific calls the McGourty team had made, and said the house--despite the cracking, which occurred in the process of the previous work--is fully settled and stable, and that leveling the floor should cause no problems. It was a huge, huge help to have Susan and Rob on this job. Without them, we would have accepted whatever solution Complete Basement Systems had decided to put in, and our house could have been structurally compromised again when the house shifted or settled years down the road. They are competent, experienced, and very easy to work with. 10/10 would recommend. read more

As a contractor, very hard to find a structural engineer. Contacted them. Received no response so I called again. Left a message asking for just a response if they can show up to one of our jobs or not if they are too busy. I finally received a call stating that they didn't receive the first message. Walk them through the job of what we wanted. Told them I'd make it easy a draw it out and email them. No response again. So I text asking if they had any question or anything I can help out on. Once again..... ignored. Very unprofessional. Use Level engineering. Quick, great, and painless. read more

If you're concerned about a structural problem with your home then I would highly recommend McGourty Engineering. Susan came by our house and walked us through all the areas we were concerned about. She is extremely knowledgeable and gave us tons of valuable advice for a very reasonable price. Most importantly, she's not interested in selling you a large engineering project so she was extremely honest and transparent about what she thought was happening and how we coudl go about fixing it. Definitely hire Susan and McGourty Engineering - you won't regret it. read more

We highly recommend McGourty Engineering firm. We wanted to remove a load bearing wall and hired Rob and Susan to help us through the process. We had to place an 18 foot steel beam in order to remove the wall. They helped us through the entire process and made it as painless as possible during our remodel. We would definitely hire them again and definitely recommend them without reservations. Perri and Cathy read more

My Contractor and Structural Engineer Team It started with a rust spot on the underside of a gutter along the covered porch to my house. Water that should have drained through the downspout had instead collected at the tip of the gutter and rusted through. And that's how I learned my covered porch was sagging. So in June 2020, in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, I began searching for the right contractor for the project. One contractor, who drove by my house but could only do the job in eighteen months, said I definitely should get a structural engineer involved. I still had to find a contractor, let alone a structural engineer. Timing is everything. As luck would have it, on nextdoor.com I read a rave review and positive comments about Alberto Molina, a contractor who had done concrete, tile, and other work for a Washington Park resident in the nextdoor.com network. I called and Alberto came over right away. When I asked him whether he worked with a structural engineer, Alberto referred me to Susan McGourty of McGourty Engineering, LLC. He also referred me to a client for whom he and Susan were collaborating on some structural house projects. The client generously invited me over to see their joint work. I had found my team. I hired them both. For my porch project, Alberto adhered to Susan's structural engineering specifications to pour a frost-protected foundation consisting of concrete footings dug thirty-six inches below grade as a base for two steel screw-jack support posts now installed on either side of the porch. My porch was level once again and structurally sound. Then a new porch concrete slab, isolated from the support posts, was poured on top of the old slab, As the pièce de résistance, Alberto built big, beautiful, square columns around each support post with a capital on top. If this process sounds simple, it was not. COVID-19 made it necessary to order parts usually kept in stock, created shipping delays, and produced a myriad of other frustrations, both small and large. Alberto remained tenacious, dedicated to doing quality work, and committed to getting the job done properly. He did his best to correct a flaw in the concrete pour, which failed to cover the facade of the original slab. Alberto truly takes pride in objects of his labor. Even better, he wants to make sure you are satisfied with his work. Susan was my rock, explaining the logic behind her recommendations, making site visits through the process at crucial times -- when the pre-existing wooden deck over the old porch was opened up, when the lifting work was in progress, and before the footings were poured. She made corrections I wouldn't have had the expertise to make. I couldn't and wouldn't have done this project without her. While I was at it, I had my concrete driveway replaced and a concrete pad poured in the backyard to replace a deteriorating brick area by a water faucet and crawl space. Doing all the concrete work together was cost-efficient. If, like me, you know nothing about structural concrete work, be sure to put together a good team to assist you. I did. FYI, you can reach Alberto at (720) 289-0695 (cell). Susan is reachable at (303) 691-2069 (office) or (303) 883-1064 (cell). read more

I called and left a message. They got back to me to and left a cell phone number saying to text that. After a text exchange they stopped responding. Must be busy right now, or just not interested in doing much business at the moment. I've reached out to other engineers at this point. read more

Very professional. Easy to get a hold of. Susan got right back to me about doing a structural evaluation on a home I was purchasing with my son. Rob McGourty came to the home on the scheduled day and time, and walked the inside and out with us explaining things about the construction and structural aspects of the home. He alleviated any fears we had about this particular home. He was very thorough and answered all of our questions. We did not need a written report. The verbal was perfect for our needs and the fee was very reasonable (under $250) Call them for a quote. If you need a structural engineer's opinion on a home I highly recommend McGourty Engineering. read more

I was referred to McGourty Engineering after I noticed cracking in my walls post-inspection. I had no idea what to expect, but Susan was very accommodating when making our appointment to my busy and hectic schedule, and during the visit, Rob was very thorough in answering all of my questions and giving me suggestions for repairs. I hopefully will not need them in the future, but I would not hesitate to call! read more