UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE. BEWARE…read more I called PJC & Associates and spoke with Kelli to inquire about a pull test needed to satisfy the city for our building permit. After connecting me with her associate Jacob Allen, confirming they can get this done, Kelli said she would send a contract indicating the pricing for these services. After receiving the contract with the attached list of fees and general services, I called and spoke with Kelli to specify which fees and services would apply to us. What we requested was a minor task that would take only about 30 minutes to complete. I mentioned specifically that before I signed the contract, I needed to know what fees applied to this pull test so I have an understanding of what I would be paying. She said the total would be around $460. I then asked her if that included a report to give to the city confirming the pull test was completed. She told me yes, this would include a report that I could give to the city. I waited two days after she sent the contract to sign it, ensuring we agreed on the cost and that I was comfortable with the expense before hiring PJC & Associates. Two days after we spoke and agreed on the cost, I signed the contract. Jacob Allen came out to our property, performed the pull test on the playground anchorage, held it for 30 seconds at a 500 lb. as instructed, and it was done. He was on our property for no more than 30 minutes to conduct the pull test.  A few days later, Kelli emailed me an invoice for $1120 and said that she would send the report I needed once the invoice was paid.  After receiving this email, I called Kelli to clarify why she had sent an invoice for almost triple the amount we discussed in our initial conversation regarding the scope of work and its cost. Kelli said the significant cost change was due to my report request, to which I responded by reminding her that the report was part of the conversation since the very beginning. I reminded her that the entire reason I called to begin with to inquire about this pull test was because I needed a report to satisfy the city for our building permit. All she could say to me was, "You signed the contract."  A few days passed. I then decided to stop by the office, hoping to resolve this with the owner Patrick Conway. I met one of his associates at reception who was very kind in walking me straight to Patrick's office and introduced me. As I sat with Patrick and began to lay out the situation and how this was clearly unethical business practice, Kellie came into the office during our conversation and once again could only say, "You signed the contract." I reiterated everything to her in person as a reminder of what was discussed and she walked back to her office. After she left, Patrick and I reached an understanding. Patrick let me know that I would pay the initially discussed $460, and they would not be sending me the report." I told him that was fine. We shook hands, and I left. Kellie, then sent me an email letting me know that Patrick told her they will not be revising the invoice to reflect our initial agreement. Beginning a business relationship with a conversation that clearly outlines the scope of work and the associated cost, only to completely change the agreed-upon terms by sending an invoice for almost triple the amount, is not only unethical business practice but also corporate misconduct.  I have been doing business with many individuals and companies over the years but this one is definitely one you want to stay far away from. If I would have known the amount of $1,120 they wanted to bill me for the scope of a 30min pull test and a report, I would have said no thank you, hung up, and called one of the many other options that have integrity and understand ethical business practice. Allow me to save you some major headaches... HIRE SOMEONE ELSE!

Was quoted 3500. for a geologic soils testing. 3 years later they quoted me 6500. for almost the…read moresame scope of work. It took the guys 4 hours in the field to do the sampling work and probably a couple of hours in the lab. Unfortunately i had signed a contract and decided to pay the ransom rather than get in a prolonged legal dispute. The results were exactly what i already knew that there was rock 4 feet under the ground. Only now i have pages of boilerplate. Government, county, permits, consultants, all pat each others back to take your money and waste it.

Working with Irvin at Prostruct Engineering was a breath of fresh air. After purchasing a new home…read moreand enduring my first winter, I was incredibly nervous to find significant water in my crawl space and cracks along the raised foundation. I initially signed a contract with Prostruct, but after Irvin reviewed my photos, he demonstrated a level of integrity that is rare to find. Instead of taking the job, he honestly informed me that my specific issues fell outside their scope. He took the time to explain what I was seeing, referred me to a geotechnical engineer who could actually solve the problem, and issued me a full refund. I greatly appreciated his transparency and professional guidance. I highly recommend Prostruct Engineering to anyone looking for an honest assessment--they clearly prioritize the customer's needs over their own bottom line.

I've worked with ProStruct Engineering on a couple of my projects for full plan sets, and I…read morecouldn't be happier with the experience. Their team is very professional, responsive, and easy to work with. The plans were well-prepared and detailed, and the city approved them with minimal corrections, which really speaks about their quality and attention to detail. One of the projects was on a hillside property, where the foundation requirements were quite intense, but their team handled it seamlessly with well-thought-out and detailed designs. See pics. They always delivered on time and maintained excellent communication throughout the process, keeping me informed at every step. I highly recommend ProStruct Engineering to anyone looking for reliable and efficient structural design services! A special mention to Lokesh, who I worked with directly -- he was very responsive, understood my needs clearly, and made sure everything was addressed on time.

We purchased an older, fixer upper and needed an engineer to look at the foundation and structural…read moresupport beams. SF Bay sent over one of their engineers whom I found to be extremely knowledgeable and presented us with options on how best to deal with the situation. We were so impressed that we hired them when it was time to do a large addition and remodel to the house. Marcus, the business owner, is an experienced engineer who really knows his trade. During the design process he worked hard to accommodate my "wish lists" that I kept adding to (yikes!). At the same time, he advised me on things I should consider in order to keep costs down. I always felt he had my interests at heart, while at the same time he was doing what was necessary to meet codes, so we could avoid problems during construction and inspections. While engineers and architects seem to be really busy these days, SF Bay's turnaround time is reasonable, and when you need something in a hurry, they try their best to accommodate. This is a top notch engineering company that charges modest and fair pricing for doing excellent work. If you are lucky enough to come across them, don't hesitate, just hire them and you will be glad you did.

I bought a new, old home and wanted the foundation and floors evaluated…read more Fast response time. They provided a quote ($600) in no time, offered to send out a sample report and asked for the address of the house. When I probed them with what the evaluation involved (such as mapping floor levelness) and whether they were independent without financial ties to contractors, I learned they don't map floor levelness. They didn't answer the bulk of my questions, and they ended stating they don't have the bandwidth to take on my project.

I spoke to Larry about a project that had already been started. Needles to say, we were in a bind…read moreand needed load calcs as the original engineer had personal issues to deal with. Larry was there to save the day. If I ever need help again in the field of his expertise, I won't hesitate. Thanks, Larry.

We contacted Larry to ask for his expert opinion on structure engineering. He is professional and…read moregenerous in sharing his knowledge. Thank you Larry! We will not hesitate working with this company.

Fen Wang has done an outstanding job on our project. After our home burned down, we hired a Prefab…read morecompany to rebuild it, which ended up being a nightmare. There were countless issues due to the Prefab company, not ZFA. Thankfully, Fen was always kind and patient dealing with every issue that came up, and he always provided a solution. It has truly been a pleasure working with Fen, and I can recommend him without reservation.

From the owner: ZFA is a 60 person structural engineering firm serving public and private clients throughout…read moreCalifornia since 1974. We deliver structural engineering expertise to the commercial, correctional, civic, fire, education, wineries, retrofit, design-build, hospitality, healthcare and high-end residential and historic sectors. ZFA is an employee-owned Small Business Enterprise, licensed Federally and in the State of California, with five Bay Area offices. How may we help you today?

Part one of a two part foundation project Recently we had…read moreour house foundation repaired by Groundworks out of Fairfield. One bedroom had sunk by almost 5 inches as that part of the house had been built on fill. In order to restore the house to it's proper level numerous foundation jacks and floor leveling screw jacks were required. In addition some landscaping bushes and pvc sprinkler pipes had to temporarily removed. Groundworks had informed me prior to starting work what would be required to successfully complete this project and had my full approval. The house is now level, the doors no longer swing on their own and the interior cracks between the walls and ceiling joints no longer exist. Prior to the crew leaving the yard was cleaned up and the pvc pipes replaced. Best of all Groundworks will come back annually to the next 5 years and make any necessary adjustments. The Groundworks crew that made this happen was Andrew, the site supervisor, Charlie and Allen. Their performance and daily communication was superior on all levels. This is part 2. The Groundworks Poly crew of Anthony & Brian were very fast and efficient in completing their part of the foundation repair contract which was to level our family room slab floor. Fast, yes, but Anthony did take the time to not only explain what they were going to do but also walked me through the process as they were working. I have no problem in recommending them & Groundworks to other home owners who need to have their foundation repaired.

I spent approximately $30,000 with Groundworks, and I deeply regret hiring them…read more I called Groundworks for one reason: contractors working on my floors noticed a slope and told me the beams underneath my house needed to be stabilized before they could continue. Groundworks assessed my crawl space and recommended a system they represented would address the problem. I relied on their expertise. That is the ONLY reason I agreed to spend approximately $30,000. When the project was about 80% complete, Groundworks suddenly told me I needed to call a carpenter. They did not explain that there was significant dry rot underneath my home or that the condition of the wood needed to be addressed before the work they were performing. I learned that later, after hiring an independent home inspector. By then, Groundworks had already been working throughout the same crawl space installing stabilization and encapsulation. My inspector identified significant dry rot and explained that it needed to be addressed first. Had I known that before Groundworks performed approximately $30,000 worth of work, I would NEVER have moved forward with their recommended system before addressing the underlying damage. And here is the worst part: THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM WAS NOT FIXED. The slope remains and appears to have increased since their work was completed. I am now facing additional repairs and expenses, and some of Groundworks' work may have to be undone or worked around to properly repair the underlying damage. The encapsulation has also been problematic. It was supposed to help keep my crawl space dry, but it was not properly secured, leaving openings that allowed rodents into my crawl space. I also later learned that the dehumidification equipment installed did not cover the entire crawl space as I understood it was supposed to. Then there is the customer service. Once they had my money, getting meaningful help became incredibly difficult. I have contacted corporate and have gone more than a month without a meaningful response. If Chris is assigned to your project, based on my experience, I would be extremely cautious. My advice before hiring Groundworks: GET AN INDEPENDENT INSPECTION FIRST. Do not rely solely on the assessment of the company selling you the system. Get everything in writing and ask specifically whether anything underneath your home needs to be repaired before their system is installed. I trusted Groundworks to identify the problem and recommend a solution. Approximately $30,000 later, my original problem remains, the slope appears worse, I discovered significant dry rot that should have been addressed first, I am facing additional repairs, the encapsulation allowed rodent access, and corporate has been unresponsive. I would NEVER recommend Groundworks based on my experience. $30,000 spent. Original problem unresolved. More repairs ahead. That speaks for itself.

Peiman and Laleh have been a phenomenal help. They are patient, kind, knowledgeable, and willing to…read morego the extra mile, when extra questions or issues arose with our contractor. We wouldn't be more thrilled to recommend them. Peiman's team's professionalism and skill make them a rare find for home remodeling projects in the Bay Area.

I contacted more than 20 structural engineers in attempting to even get someone to take my call,…read morelet alone to make my choice of whom to work with for seismic calculations for my home remodel project. Mr. Peiman Ghaffari of S&P Structural Engineers clearly stood out above the rest. He was the fastest to respond; the best communicator -- patient, clear, and easy to work with; and was the one who completed my project with integrity, high technical competency, and professionalism, exactly on time. I have to say I count myself fortunate for finding and choosing Mr. Ghaffari / S&P for my work and I would hope to hire him again if ever a new need arises.