Bart conducted a structural engineering inspection of a home that I was under contract to buy. He…read morewas generous with his time and added helpful diagrams to his report upon my request. He also provided me with a lot of photographs that he took during his site visit. Altogether, I paid a little over $1,000 for his services. I hired Bart because the home that I was interested in buying had very uneven floors in several areas, and a portion of the front porch was sinking. His report documented these issues and proposed remedies for them. However, I think that it also overstated the current condition of the home. Like most people, I have been in a lot of houses. I can say without exaggeration that the master bedroom of this particular house had the most uneven, sloping floor of any house that I have ever visited. Yet in his report, Bart repeatedly used the word, "slightly" to describe the degree to which various aspects of the home were less straight and level than normal. I feel that such language minimized the importance of his findings and made his report less useful in the negotiations with the home seller that followed. I think that Bart's report should also have emphasized that some aspects of the home's construction were substandard, and frankly bizarre. For example, someone had begun to install a supporting beam under the floor joists beneath the master bedroom, but quit midway through this project and left half the beam lying on the ground in the crawlspace, and the other half literally hanging from the floor joists (thus providing no support at all, and in fact further stressing the unsupported joists by adding its own weight). To be clear, I would not have wanted Bart to exaggerate any of the home's problems. I simply would have preferred language that more accurately described the state of the home. Also, Bart would not provide estimated costs for the foundation work that he suggested. That information would have been extremely helpful, and I think that it is reasonable to expect a structural engineer to be aware of the going rate for foundation work in his geographic area. I would consider hiring Bart again, but probably not under the same circumstances. In part, that's because I learned enough from him that I feel more confident in drawing general conclusions about the structural soundness of homes without enlisting an expert. But it's also the case that his report was for the most part not actionable. I already knew that the front porch was sinking and the floors were uneven. What I really needed to know was how much it would cost to fix these problems, and Bart did not want to give his opinion on that.

When you need a structural engineer for your home or business, BrightWork is there for you! They…read moreare professional, responsive and extremely knowledgeable. Let them help you solve your engineering and design issues

SGI International or Soka Gakkai International (Value Creation Society) is a worldwide organization…read morewith over eleven million members promoting peace, culture, and education in society active in 192 countries focusing on global issues from a Buddhist perspective. The goal of SGI Nichiren Buddhism is to enable each person to become happy. SGI International is one of the world's largest peace-building, anti-war organizations advocating 'No First Use ' of nuclear weapons. In thirteenth-century Japan, Nichiren, a Buddhist reformer, established the practice of chanting "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo' (Devotion to the Mystic Law of Cause and Effect) as the means for all people to bring forth their inherent Buddha-nature, a life state characterized by limitless reserves of courage, wisdom, and compassion. Nichiren regarded "Myoho-renge-kyo," the title of the Lotus Sutra, as its essence and added "Nam" to indicate devotion to its principles. When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we can transform even the most fundamental, inescapable sufferings of life and death into a life embodying the virtues of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity. SGI members chant to the "Gohonzon," a mandala inscribed by Nichiren that embodies the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. "Gohonzon" means "object of fundamental respect or devotion" and serves as a spiritual mirror to perceive the true nature of our lives and bring forth the inexhaustible life force of Buddhahood. The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a lay Buddhist community. "Soka" means "to create value," implying that through Buddhist practice, we can create value from any situation, no matter how challenging. As all people equally possess Buddhahood, there are no priests in the SGI. If we may be of assistance to you, or if you would like further information about our organization, please visit our website at www.sgi-usa.org.

From the owner: Specializing in: - Professional Engineers…read more- Civil Engineers - Land Surveyors - Construction Engineers - Land Companies - Surveying Engineers

They were late starting the project by several days. They didn't finish on time with no reason…read moregiven. They didn't clean out debris in crawl space as promised. Poor communication. They promised A door to the crawl pace but placed a small square hole with wood over it. Damaged shrubs. Never heard from " Winn" after he asked what happened. The walled off part built to separate the crawl space from house was thin foam. Poor job for 8k

An employee from this company arrived to my place of business in a company-branded vehicle wearing…read morea uniform clearly identifying this organization. He specifically asked for one of my employees by name and proceeded to behave in an extremely aggressive and threatening manner. His language was vulgar, unprofessional and completely unacceptable in any context-let alone in a professional setting. My employee felt harassed, intimidated, and genuinely afraid for his safety. Despite being asked to leave mutliple times, your employee failed to do so. Our owner had to personally intervene to defuse the situation. The police (Pelham Police Department) were called and responded quickly, but your employee had already left the premises by the time they arrived. My employee is left feeling unsafe and on edge, with real concern that this individual may return and attempt to retaliate. This is not just a matter of inappropriate conduct-- this was an act of workplace intimidation and harassment, possibly bordering on criminal behavior. We are prepared to share further details and cooperate with law enforcement as needed. Please take this matter with the seriousness it deserves and respond promptly.

I had a great experience with Nick Stamathis from AquaGuard. He was personable, sincere,…read moreknowledgeable, and, most importantly, trustworthy. He took the time to show me the cracks in my foundation and clearly explained why my home would benefit from SettleStop Push Piers. I've been a customer of AquaGuard for four years, ever since they encapsulated my crawlspace. I've been very satisfied with both their initial work and the annual servicing since then. In fact, it was during one of these routine visits that the foundation issue was identified. I'm grateful Nick caught the problem early and put together a clear plan to stop the settling before it gets worse. It's reassuring to work with a company that stays proactive and stands behind their service.

I have a long history with Aquaguard. I keep giving them chances and end up wasting my time and…read morebeing sorely disappointed. I had them out several years ago to give me a quote on raising a walkway that had dropped a few inches after some work was done underneath to repipe. They told me that their minimum to come out was $2,500 and that I should look to find some work to justify their effort since the repair I wanted was less than 1/5 of the total $2500 cost. I had nothing else to repair and sent them on their way. A few weeks ago I responded to a facebook ad about a similar type of repair, not realizing that it was Aquaguard. After partially filling out the questionnaire about my needs, the name Aquaguard popped up so I declined to go further. The next day someone from GroundWorks called me and explained that the person who told me about the $2,500 minimum was lying and that they could do the job for much cheaper. He explained that the person just wanted to estimate a larger job, that Groundworks had recently purchased Aquaguard, that they were changing their business practices, and that the person who had given me the previous quote was no longer with the company. (He implied that he was fired). He said that yes they do perform much smaller jobs and wanted to send someone out. Eventually, I said yes. I knew something was wrong when the guy they sent out called me the night before and asked 'Were the decision makers both going to participate?' and 'If I had at least 90 minutes for their inspection and discussion'. I told them yes but I was not about to spend 90 minutes of my time with them. When the estimator arrived he wanted to sell me on their company. I told him I had heard it before and just wanted an estimate. I shared with him the story of my previous appointment. After looking at the problem area he came back and told me that what the first estimator had told me several years ago about a $2500 minimum was correct and that they could not perform the job cost effectively. They wanted $2,500!! For that price I could rip it out and pour new concrete! No thank you! To add to this I had them come our a few years ago to quote a lintel repair at my garage door. They quoted me $11,000. That was almost 40% MORE than I was quoted by the company that invented, manufactured, and offered installation on the repair bracing Aquaguard was proposing. So, I purchased the lintel and installation direct - and it was also a heavier duty one than the one Aquaguard quoted, for over $4,000 less! I do not like their business practices. I guess they incentivize their salespeople based on the number of appointments they set up. But they just wasted both of our time. AND THE LYING! Do not use this company!

Nu Steel does top-notch work. I've had the pleasure of working with them on some projects and they…read morealways bring a high level of standards and professionalism. Everyone there really cares about the customer.