Our sellers requested two other opinions, and ultimately Ken Compton's was the most thorough, addressed the broadest spectrum of issues and even incorporated historical research into reviewing our 100+ year old foundation. He even walked us through his entire report in the urgency of the home buying process. Brian, who led the team who came to work on our house, was also extremely thorough, kind and addressed issues effectively while being respectful of our space. His team was fast and effective. They were also funny and seemed like they enjoyed their work. I am not giving 5 stars due to the extremely frustrating office communication. I had to call to follow up several times about various issues (scheduling, payment received, a "past due payment" for which I had not been sent an invoice that I had a payment due). I also had to have them review the contract and revise it after we had already discussed how the payment structure works, and they didn't even call / text / email us to tell us about the final repairs until the morning of (and Brian's team was already promptly outside, as they should have been, we just didn't know they were coming). In summary, Ken is 5 stars, Brian is 5 stars. If our foundation holds another 100 years we'll forgive the office for their frustrating communication (but would recommend they work on it regardless...) read more

I am completely happy and satisfied with Seismic Safety. The office staff are so friendly and helpful. The construction team were professional and timely. I had two inspections after the work was completed and the inspector said they did a great job. I would totally recommend them and use them again!! read more

I was fortunate to be a recipient of the EBB grant this year. I selected Seismic Safety because my architect neighbor recommend them. He had his house retrofitted by them years ago. While other companies offer free estimates, Seismic Safety charges $175. This is worth it since their final quote was the most reasonable. The estimator was a super nice guy who actually went into my crawl space to take photos. The others provided me with higher quotes without even bothering to check under my house. I found all the personnel I dealt with at Seismic Safety to be professional and polite. They walked me through the EBB process. It took months to get it done but, it was worth it. The reason I am giving them a 4-star rating is due to their communication. The office personnel are super nice; especially Karin. The problem is, as others have noted, that it took me several times to get a response from them; especially the office manager. Emails sent were not responded in a timely manner. It would take me sending another email reminding them to respond to the original one. In light of our current COVID -19 situation, this is unacceptable. I am a school principal and I have my office manager respond via phone or email within 24 hours to hundreds of daily emails and/or calls we receive from parents, students and staff. It can be done..... All in all, they provided me with quality service at a reasonable price. My only suggestion is that they improve their email communication. read more

Seismic Safety added several studs to an area in my basement in 2019. One of Seismic Safety's officers, Ken, was in charge of the job. The Seismic Safety crew mis-measured the studs then bashed them into place (see example in photo). I now have doors that need to be repaired, re-hung and repainted; custom cabinetry that needs to be repaired and repainted; walls that need to be patched and repainted; hardwood floors that need to be repaired, re-stained and refinished; and finish carpentry that needs to be repaired and repainted as a result of Seismic Safety's awful work. I am now spending thousands of my own dollars to repair this damage. I strongly recommend AGAINST using Seismic Safety. read more

Seismic Safety - Stud Seismic Safety bashed into place - General Contractors Near Me - Pasadena, California

Just needed a ballpark estimate for Earthquake insurance. Seismic Safety retrofitted my home in 1990 but in 1997 formal standards were set in place. So they first wanted to charge me $200 to figure out if my 1990 retrofit meets the CAE standards to get the insurance discount. Then they lowered it to $125 because I'm a returning customer. I find it hard to believe they didn't know before their inspection what the difference was going to be to a first order. They just want to sell you an "improvement" that isn't a requirement. And charge you for some new guy to come out and take pictures for them. Don't waste your money like I did. The old owner Ed Slyvis had integrity. I find it lacking now. read more

Dave is the man. The pride he has in his company and the service he provides EVEN TO NON-CUSTOMERS is just classy to an extreme. I called mistakenly to complain about something, Dave got to the bottom of the situation and it turns out it was a different company. His expertise, patience and professionalism has earned him a new customer. An A+ company with an extremely knowledgable and professional owner. Use with confidence. read more

Not great owner and son both rejected my work then his project manager says I wouldn't pass inspection which I did thanks for nothing did the job with someone else not seismic read more

Seismic Safety - General Contractors Near Me - Pasadena, California

Just had to cancel my appointment. I was told someone would be out tomorrow and that there was not a fee for owner occupied residents(before the earthquake). They sent me a text last minute saying I needed to have a check for 275 ready for the inspection. FYI I had an inspection done I need a quote for earthquake retrofitting. I guess because we had an earthquake a few days ago they want to start price gouging. Plus form the look of their pictures they don't use epoxy so I would avoid them at all cost read more

Friendly, professional, on top of everything. They made the process with the city easy and it went smoothly. From the first contact to the inspection I felt supported and the work was flawless. Thank you to every member of the team (you know who you are:-). read more

A representative from this company came by today to evaluate our homes current status, should we experience an earthquake in the future. He completely inspected our home especially the foundation and reported that everything looked safe and secure with minimal cracks and felt that our home was adequately safe & secure. My husband and I were so impressed with his honesty and integrity!! A rare find nowadays, especially companies are wanting to increase their sales and profits!! We highly recommend this business for their competence, timeliness and honesty!! read more

Ken with Seismic Safety came to our house to evaluate our foundation. He was extremely patient, professional, and answered all of our questions. I would have no questions recommending this company to a family or friend. read more

Ed Sylvis and team are awesome. They retrofitted our 90 year old house in one week's time, were incredibly professional and polite, AND CLEANED UP EVERY DAY, and they did every single thing to get the city of LA to permit the work. The city, as you can expect, made them jump through hoops, but my husband and I never worried about it- Ed and team took care of everything. Cannot say enough good things about this business. read more

What an amazing company! Great guy Dave! I called with a retro seismic question on a new purchase. Insurance related. He called me back, gave me great news, and advice on what to look for, even offered to look at any photos I sent. Would recommend 100%! Thanks Dave! read more

They wanted $700 to just come out to inspect and give an estimate. Other companies I called were free!

It's never easy doing something to a 110 year old house. Seismic Safety stood with me all the way. The initial quote was complete and easy to wrap my uneducated head around. Gerardo, John and the team who came to the site were great, fast, clean, and as respectful of my working at home as you can be when you're tearing out the foundations of a very old house. The house is still standing and beautiful, plus now a little bit more safe. Bella and Karin in the office held my hand and walked me through everything with the EQ Brace and Bolt rebate. It was a great experience all the way around. read more

I got these guys to inspect when I bought my home in 2015. This Winter I asked them to come back and make sure that their quote still was valid and check some changes to cracks in my slab floor. They never sent a revised quote after they came out and charged me $100 more. They never replied to any of my follow up emails. I even filled out a contact form on their site and they did not get back to me. MIA... read more

They did a great job bolting my house. Very professional. I was able to get my house bolted under the California Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. They have done so many houses that they were able to help me through the process and it was very easy. I did have to wait a little while to get it done because they were really busy, but I am very satisfied and would recommend them. read more

I asked to have someone come out and advise me re: the fact that my new(very old) house was crowning and I was about to lay down new floor. The guy, David, went under the house, looked at my foundation and told me all about it. I learned a lot about my house that day and about the story the foundation told about how the house used to be. He described what I could have done to deal with the crowning but also told me that there was no real way to know how long it might take the house to settle. Shortly after I received an estimate. I thought the estimate was fair but I decided to do nothing and to live with the slight slope. It felt great to be able to make such an informed decision. read more

Getting our foundation bolted was one of the least painless improvements we've undertaken in our many years of home ownership, thanks to Seismic Safety. The office staff was well-organized, the crew was polite and tidy, and the job took less time than we expected. But best of all, the building inspector praised their work -- when he came out to sign off on the permit, he commented that this company really knew what it was doing. That should count for a lot -- how many of us are willing to wiggle through a crawl space to see how well the foundation bolting was actually done? read more

As a real estate agent, I have been working with Ed, Kenny & David for nearly two decades. Never a problem, consistently honest, fair prices and dependable service. They are the best in their field. read more

We had work done on our house six years ago and was satisfied with the job. Now we are trying to get seismic safety to verify their work for CEA application for a discount on our policy. No reply. After many emails and even willing to pay a fee, they are seemingly unwilling to stand by their work. read more

Great and helpful staff. Bella is so sweet and went out of her way to get the job scheduled when their work load was already running high. I appreciate how easy it was to get everything taken care of, and the workers were great too. They fixed the foundation and bolting issues in about 8 hours over a two day period, and did a great job with the clean up. Strongly recommend calling if you need to have foundation work or earthquake retro done to your home. read more

They inspected my home during the purchase process and wanted to charge a lot for essentially cosmetic (non structural) work. Plus they said it would take a few months until they could actually start the work because they're too busy. read more

Dave is great. Very down to earth and tells you like it is. Bella is the nicest front desk/receptionist/person who probably keeps it together for everyone, person. The crew came in and did their thing with minimal interruption. They refitted our 1921 home and repaired the foundation where the chimney is for a great price. Thank you! read more

Seismic Safety was recommended by our home inspector, and they were really great from start to finish. They always seemed competent, courteous, and professional, whether it be the guys actually on the ground (or under the ground) doing the work, or the staff in the office. They did our inspection, and then later we had them bolt the foundation after we bought the house. With so much to deal with when purchasing a house, it was a comfort to have hired people that were so conscientious about staying on schedules and keeping everything in order. read more

Great company with outstanding kind people. Dave and Bella kept me informed, answered all my questions. The workmen did extra by cleaning the whole crawal space of all debis not just what they left. I was very impressed with their price especially after getting five other quotes that were totally unreasonable. No other company took the time to explain the details and show me what was going on and how they were going to fix the foundation except Dave. I highly recommend Ed and his team. read more

Dave came out and spent a good amount of time inspecting our basement for structural problems and earthquake damage possibilities. He was very easy to work with, and always listened to our needs, being very flexible in recommending solutions. This is a class company. We were so impressed we did not feel the need to call in any other firm for a second opinion. The workers were professional and did a very thorough job. They even did some concrete patching work "on the house" (pardon the pun). They all made this experience as pleasant as possible, even enjoyable because we knew the problem was being remediated by competent people. read more

As a real estate agent, I'm always dealing with inspections and inspectors. Seismic Safety is my go to for any foundation investigations. The staff is extremely courteous and they always ensure inspections can be completed within our contingency periods. Not to mention, they always provide an honest evaluation and detailed report that is easy to understand. If you're looking for a company you can trust, I highly recommend Seismic Safety. read more

A company that you can trust! They determined that my house did not need any retrofitting even though it was built in the 1950's. Dave explained the results of his inspection which included diagrams, a formal report to follow. Hiring another company could have been an expensive mistake. read more

I was referred to Seismic Safety by our amazing home inspection guy Greg Noyes (also on Yelp). Ken Compton from SS came to the first house we were in escrow on, did an amazing inspection there, and then, when that house fell through came to inspect the second one we bid on. Again, he was totally thorough and very, very good. We ultimately bought that house and Ken and his team just finished doing some retrofitting for us. All I can say is PERFECT service all the way through. You know when you're talking to someone and you just think "this person knows more about this subject than possibly anyone else in the world?" That is how you feel talking to Ken. But he's no know-it-all, just quietly knowledgeable, helpful, and informative about his field of expertise. To the nth degree. The company as a whole is superlative in terms of communication, follow-up, and overall service. The work done is outstanding. When we discovered an extra issue with our house that only came up after we tore carpet out Ken came the same day to take another look -- even though his job was technically done -- and immediately put our minds at ease by telling us exactly how we could remedy it for very little additional money. I love this guy and I love Seismic Safety. I don't know that I would even bother getting bids from anyone else. They are the best. read more