Re: Accessory dwelling unit…read more Houmam assisted me in designing and engineering an ADU (garage conversion). My situation was unique and very complex because of Zoning and building size. Houmam made sure what I wanted to do was possible by calling the City Of Long Beach prior to even charging me for a consult or a proposal. Although, initially, everything seemed straightforward, there were quite a few bumps in the road, and it was frustrating for all parties involved. It took about eight months for final approval because of the complexities but Houmam saw the project approval through to the end and made sure even after approval, that I had all of the info needed. He continues to be available to answer questions and follow up. He was patient and understanding with all of my questions and concerns. I look forward to updating this review with a picture of the completed project once it's done. I recommend HMS without hesitation.

Houmam was super helpful! Called him up and we were immediately able to schedule a time for him to…read morecome out and look at the crack in the garage slab of a potential home I wanted to purchase. His expertise in concrete foundations was clear when he easily explained the root cause for the crack in the slab and what the potential fixes would be. Because of him I was able to get some money back in credit from the sellers. Now I have the money to actually fix the crack.

Called for a consult after getting two very different quotes for foundation work after buying a new…read morehome. Jeff answered quickly and made time for our residential consult the next day. Arrived on time, was very polite, and very detailed in going over his assessment of our home and even the proposals the other contractors sent us. For significantly less money than the work proposed, he was able to put us on the right track and avoid costly work that wouldn't have addressed our principal concerns. Will definitely be calling Jeff again if we need any future structural work.

Jeff came out on short notice and gave me expert advice on my foundation in need of repair. I…read moresought out his engineering expertise, as I wanted to know how to get it fixed the right way (not too much, not too little), before contacting contractors for work. I had a few check it out before I saw him during escrow and they all had wildly different opinions. He patiently broke everything down to me in terms I could understand, and paused to check understanding along the way which I appreciate. I recommend Jeff highly for this, thanks!

First used Castillo Engineering six few years ago. They provided structural calculations for an…read moreADU. This time I asked for plans and calculations on a major interior remodel. The estimate for price and completion was more than fair. Plans required minor corrections during the construction process, as expected; but Castillo had an engineer call my contractor directly within 24 hours. Plan corrections were provided by next business day. All and all, a fair price with good customer service.

I had a really good experience with Castillo Engineering. I hired them to do the engineering work…read moreand plans for my ADU in Long Beach. Julie, the project manager moved quickly with the plans. We had some delays by the City but that was expected due to Covid and I live in a Historic District. The plans were approved by the City with very little modifications. I would recommend using Castillo Engineering.

Jeremy was informative, responsive and customer service oriented. I first called him when I noticed…read morecracks in the stucco on the outside of my house and hairline cracks on the interior drywall. He came over and did some quick measurements and was able to tell us which direction and roughly how much our foundation was settling. He explained that in our area, clay-rich soils expand and contract with the wet/dry seasons and our issue was likely due to poor drainage in our backyard that allowed water to pool and seep under the foundation prompting one side of our house's foundation to settle (sink) incrementally over the years until the tension started to cause the cracking we observed. Based on the amount that our house had settled he said we were right in the gray area between just needing to improve our drainage and monitoring for further settling, or going the more expensive route and having helical supports installed under our foundation to prevent our foundation from settling further. Jeremy was not pushing us in either direction, just presenting us the information and allowing us to make our own decision. After doing a significant amount of research on foundation settling, we looked into getting some quotes and Jeremy provided multiple contractor references. We had four contractors come out and found that they each provide free quotes that included measuring with advanced equipment to determine precisely how much the foundation has settled (only around 1-2") throughout all sides of the house. Their mapping was more detailed, but fairly consistent with what Jeremy had originally told us which provided us some level of comfort that they weren't manipulating the numbers to sell us on needing more piers. There was one contractor whose measurements came in more significant than all the others, but it was not one of the contractors that Jeremy had referenced. Even though we weren't an extreme case, for peace of mind to stop the house from having any further settling, we ended up going with a contractor that Jeremy had referenced who had proposed a middle-ground approach using a limited amount of helical supports and expanding polyurethane foam to support our problem area. We were very happy with their work and it was a solid reference from Jeremy. Jeremy did also offer to help us draw up plans and assist with permitting if we opted to go that route, but due to the smaller size of the job, we chose not to pursue that option. There is a lot to navigate with evaluating foundation issues and deciding what route to take for each individual situation. It is helpful to have a knowledgeable resource like Jeremy who helped get us started and provide some helpful guidance along the way. Thanks Jeremy. *Note - photos are of third party contractor referenced by Jeremy to give Yelpers an idea of what final work ends up looking like.

I had some areas of the house that were getting slightly misaligned and called Jeremy to come and…read moreinvestigate the reason to make sure there wasn't a foundation problem. Jeremy and his crew are extremely knowledgeable and thorough in their analysis. Furthermore, he explained to me in great detail with various drawings what was happening to the house, with the final conclusion that there wasn't a significant issue at the moment. His explanations were detailed and easy to understand. I would highly recommend Jeremy if you have any questions about house settling or foundation issues, and would certainly call Jeremy again if I have any further structural concerns.

I contacted Alpha Structural for concerns about the recent development of uneven flooring…read morethroughout the house, and today they sent out Ken Crown for a free inspection. After pointing out the areas of concern to him, Ken offered a couple non-serious possibilities for the phenomenon, and was able to assure me there was no threat to either the structural integrity of the house or the cement slab foundation - and pretty much bottom-lined it, saying there's really nothing to worry about. I really appreciated Ken's easy-going demeanor, and sensed zero interest in him trying to sell me a repair service that wasn't needed. Ken is just an honest guy offering his experienced opinion - in no doubt, putting yet another homeowners' unwarranted concerns to rest. Would be nice If all companies sent inspectors who operated the same way as Ken.

No,! we called these guys out for some water mitigation and talk about egotistical know it all with…read morethe price four times more than the next guy. Terrible attitude and the office staff was just as bad or worse. After I told him I would never do business with them. I'm pretty sure they sold my information and now I have all kinds of people bugging me about similar jobs. Run from this company

Chris came to advise and measure for a drainage system and was incredibly knowledgeable and…read morethoughtful about the project. His expertise and experience is valuable to us. In addition, we have to commend him for previous work. He is completed on our property on foundation work, including a retrofit. We will always have Chris come to the rescue. Way to go Chris.

I went with Alpha Structural for my seismic retrofit and was not disappointed. They were openly…read morecommunicative with me throughout the whole journey as I had a lot of questions along the way. The whole team was hands-on deck in going over any concerns I had while providing updates through every step of the process. On the day of the installations, supervisor Eny and his team of Ronaldo, Daniel, and Casimiro did a great quality job in less time than I thought it would take. I'd highly recommend this company for any foundational projects you may have! At least get into open communications with them and you'll learn a thing or two.

I didn't have a great experience with ProStruct. The manager who handled my case, Irvin, was nice…read moreenough, but otherwise, I would advise looking elsewhere. I specifically requested a civil engineer to look at the drainage situation at our house, along with the waterproofing at our exterior doors. Their web site states that they have civil engineers on staff, and I therefore thought they'd be able to help. In my case, however, they sent a structural engineer and he didn't have a whole lot to say and was apparently unable to comment with any level of detail about the concerns I had regarding drainage or waterproofing. It was honestly just an $1100 waste of time.

I worked with Prostruct Engineering on a residential interior wall removal project. I was very…read morepleased with their professionalism and services. The project manager, Nithin and project success associate, Joshua were always in the loop of communication. In the process, Nithin was very responsive to answer questions and make necessary drawing changes according to the requests. The project was done in a timely manner with reasonable cost. Overall I was impressed with their performance, quality, schedule and cost!

Aws is the only structural engineer I'd hire for my house projects. He's down to earth, very calm…read moreand professional. His quote was also reasonable for the project. It's been a long while since I got an engineered plan from Aws for a small project for my house, the projects has been dragging out for many reasons but he's been so patient to answer all of my questions. I almost feel like I've been bothering him too much with countless questions, but he's always there to quickly solve your problems. I'm really hoping to finish the current project soon and hire him again for the big adu garage project.

My need was to have a consult on whether or not to tear down a small structure but needed to…read moredetermine if it was structurally critical or load bearing. Just a short consult but Aws was very responsive and reasonable cost to come out and provide expert opinion. And he is knowledgeable and personable too! Recommended for projects large or small.

I'm building a hillside swimming pool...it's a night mare process…read more Needs...Soil Reports, Structural Calculations, Piles, Structural Observations, City Spacial Inspections...many more to come. Kobe engineering made the job process quicker and sufficient and very affordable. I highly recommend Kobe's Specialties. My very experienced my pool builder (Yaku Pool Builder) could be able to process building my pool so smoothly with Kobe's high quality Customer Service. I thank specifically Daniel who took all my text messages, phone calls & emails with in timely manners & excellent services.

I can't recommend this team highly enough. I'm building a new home with several complex challenges,…read moreand they worked through every detail with me to ensure city approval. They never nickel-and-dimed me and were genuinely committed to bringing the vision to life. This team truly cares about both the project and the people behind it.

EZ Plans is a highly toxic environment. Mark and Raymond Joelson scream and berate clients and…read morestaff alike. There has been a huge shake up there with one of the main partners leaving under very atrocious and shocking circumstances with the other partners We got stuck in the middle because not knowing this individual no longer worked there, we emailed him at his EZ Plans email address. That's when the yelling and threats began from Mark at EZ Plans. After being yelled at and screamed at, we decided the client relationship had been irreparably damaged and that we could no longer work together. We reviewed the contract and deliverables and determined that only 2 of the 5 had been delivered. That means 60% was not delivered. In an effort to part amicably, we asked only for a 50% refund of the money as we will need to spend it with another firm but were told the money was non-refundable. Next they formally terminated the relationship (which we had already done) but kept my 80 year old mother's money. My 80 year old mother has now filed a small claims suit asking for a full refund along with punitive damages.

It was a pleasure to work with Ez Plans team for the design of our custom home. Michael Song and…read morehis team are very professional, patient and highly skilled at what they do. Starting from our wish list for the architectural design which eventually ended up much more beautiful than what we had imagined, their willingness to accommodate our requests , sometimes even last minute changes, has stood out. They were very diligent in working with the HOA and also with and the city to get all relevant permits approved.