I had a project that was stopped by the city and many people wouldnt even touch it because of the complexity of joining a project mid construction. Sam came in and saved the day for me. He also stayed with me and answered a lot of questions throughout the process. The experience was not perfect, and there were times I was frustrated with our communication and speed. But considering the predicament I had placed myself and Sam in, I think he did a pretty good job and I really appreciate that he continued to respond and support my project even after being fully paid. (something a lot of contractors just dont do). read more

*** I AM STILL RATING ALTUS AT A BIG FAT ZERO *** UPDATE: I had reached out to Sam so that we could come to some sort of agreement and he told me that he would "think about things" over the weekend and get back to me (this was over the 4th of July holiday weekend). He has been MIA and non responsive since. This is now going to court because he clearly doesn't want to work things out and refuses to respond to my calls, texts, and emails. read more

Altus Draft and Design - Today is August 9...the least Sam could do is respond to me. Completely unprofessional on his part. - Architects Near Me - Oakland, California

Sam is excellent -- he drafted plans for my ADU garage conversion in Alameda. He had access to engineers to help ensure the plans passed the stringent city code/review process. He's very responsive and knows how to treat customers. A lot of contractors are flakey around the Bay so it's refreshing to meet someone different. Even after the project, Sam checks in to see if i need any help since I have a different contractor perform the build. He's helped facilitate plan edits. read more

I recently had a retaining wall project that I needed structural plans for. I contacted Sam at Altus deisgn and he responded the same day. He was very helpful in explaining the process and I felt comfortable working with him. I would recommend Altus and will use them again for any future projects! read more

Called to inquire about commercial architecture services and was told to send an email with the information that was requested so a proposal could be put together. A week later and I haven't heard a thing from Altus. Looks like I dodged a bullet if this is their response time since we need someone reliable and timely. read more

We hired Sam Saleh at Altus to design a small 140 sqft addition and a minor remodel of other parts of our house, and the experience was very bad. I honestly cannot recommend this business to anyone. Here are some of the things that went wrong: 1) Sam's work was riddled with mistakes and oversights. Our project manager actually said this was the largest number of "mistakes per square foot" he had ever seen. This includes measuring the dimensions of our house incorrectly, measuring the slope of our lot incorrectly, and forgetting major details (e.g. Sam did not include a way for people to access the crawlspace under the addition). Excluding one revision where we decided to change floorplans, Sam's mistakes caused us to have to submit 3 different revisions to the city. 2) Sam's work is excruciatingly slow. For example, our builder discovered the missing crawlspace entry in June. It took Sam more than a month to even start working on it, and a total of 3 months to submit corrected plans to the city. By the time we got approval from the city, it had been 5 months. In total, it took 17 months from when we first paid Sam to when our final plans were approved, whereas 6 months would have been a more reasonable number. Therefore, I estimate Sam's involvement caused us 11 months of delays. 3) Sam does not keep his commitments: Sam would routinely tell us he was already working on a draft and it would be ready in just a couple of days, but then a couple of days later, he would say he needed a couple more days. This would drag on for weeks or even months. I cannot describe how frustrating it is to have someone mislead you like this. 4) Sam cost us a ton of extra money: His delays, especially the last revision, caused construction to be paused, which forced us to pay extra engineering and permitting fees, and also to delay moving back into our house. We had to rebook plane tickets, extend work remote arrangements, pay for a storage unit, etc, that all added up to several thousand dollars in unnecessary costs. 5) Sam cost us a ton of time: Conservatively, I spent 2 hours/week over the 11 months of delays either chasing Sam down, reviewing his work to find more mistakes, or cleaning up the damage when he made a mistake, which means I spent at least 88 hours of my life doing Sam's job for him. After the final revision was approved, I asked Sam to refund us $4,975, which was my estimate for the unnecessary costs we paid fixing his mistakes. I did not even ask for a refund for the time I spent fixing his mistakes, although it would not have been unreasonable to do so. Sam agreed to refund us this amount. read more

Highly recommend Atlus Draft & Design! I own a smaller general contracting company called Soodo Construction, and we use Atlus on many of our projects. Once I connect Sam with one of my clients, I know they are in good hands. Very professional company with fantastic communication. Sam & his company have strong attention to detail. They're able to design projects that effortlessly go through the tough Bay Area building departments. Atlus Draft and Design is the perfect company for investors, small projects, large projects, commercial TI, or luxury housing. read more

I was in need of help on my property getting my floor plans, adjusting characteristics with the city and including a new footprint. I looked up Altus and decided to give them a call after speaking with several other architects . Sam responded back in a timely manner, communicated in an understanding manner and gave realistic expectations , His professionalism made process easier and accomplished with less stress. read more

I didn't end up hiring Altus due to my project needs changing. However, due to Sam's high level of professionalism and fast response time, I felt it was appropriate to leave a review. I received a punctual call, and we discussed the project needs over the phone, for which he was willing to provide me an estimate (it was a simple/small project for drawings for repair only). I will definitely be reaching out in the future for the next time I need architect support. read more

Sam and his team helped us navigate a complex permit back and forth with the city of San Jose. He was on top of all city requests and was able to get us the original permit and revisions. They also stuck to their original quote and provided structural engineering services after the fact. I would recommend them without reservations. read more

I worked with Sam from Altus Design on several projects. Sam is very knowledgeable, attentive to details and process oriented . Highly recommended. read more

Sam and Michael are easy to work with. As far as the cost of designing, each project is different, and depending on the city, the speed of obtaining the permit would be different, so I cannot comment on them. But Sam has always tried to minimize the costs and Michael was always available to discuss any issues. Hire them! read more

I was looking for an architect to remodel our house and I spoke to many architects but Sam's professionalism, responsiveness and creativity were differentiators hence we hired him. He delivered the plans on time with his ideas and gave us different options. He was quick to respond over emails/texts. He also worked with the city and got the plans approved on time. I would recommend him to anyone who is planning to do their remodel. read more

We contacted Sam to draw up some plans for a wall removal for our reno. He was responsive and came by the house to take measurements/pictures of our area. He sent us the agreement and fees breakdown which was reasonable compared to others. Got the plans drawn up and submitted it the city on our behalf. The city took while to review and needed additional information. Sam then went back to his engineer and revised what the city was asking for. Got it re-submitted and approved. We're have our guys follow the plans now! Thanks again Sam! read more

Sam designed our ADU In San Jose, CA. The process was challenging, but Sam always did his best to simplify it and help us navigate the unexpected. The price was reasonable compared to other architects in the Bay Area. The ADU design fits perfectly with our existing house, and we love it. We were very impressed with Sam's experience dealing with the City of San Jose and getting the drawings approved. After starting the building, we got some unexpected complications, Sam kept following up with us and the engineer to solve the problem, even though he received his full payment. We appreciate his patience and work ethic. read more

I contacted Sam to help me with my home renovation in San Mateo Park. The first phase was a foundation upgrade and a seismic retrofit. My house is super old, I found the San Mateo County Design Review process cumbersome and unfriendly and the City's price for permits was completely insane. I have to say that Sam and Michael are the best designers that I have ever worked with hands down. Admittedly, I am somewhat difficult to deal with (just ask my wife and kids) lol. Sam and Michael held my hand all the way through the design process. They drew and submitted architectural and design drawings within two weeks, helped me negotiate an over the counter permit with the city, rather than going through the incredibly cumbersome/expensive design review process with the City but most of all they were accessible and present at all times. Thanks to Sam, my permits cost me a fraction of what the city quoted me initially. Best of all, Sam worked with me personally to find a contractor who was responsive to my needs and when there were problems on the jobsite, Sam came out and made sure they were fixed (this was not part of the contract. Most importantly, the price was very reasonable and waaaaay lower than the 4 structural engineers and architects' estimates I got prior. I will be updating this review soon as I have just hired Sam to design a 400 sq ft addition and a bathroom/kitchen remodel. So far an awesome job!!!! read more

First off- Altus is delivering the results I need for my house project including design, permitting, and structural. Sam and Michael are really great to work with through this process and helped me understand the nuances of each area while simplifying it to a way to meet my needs. From our first meeting, they highlighted the key areas that would impact our ability to deliver, outlined the process and how they could help. They helped us with estimating the time and cost for our bathroom remodel and  kitchen remodel as well as created an architecture plan / design / floorplan for our home remodel. Furthermore, they were proactive with permitting and the city to get things done effectively. I have enjoyed working with them, in part, because of their professionalism, knowledge, and expertise which has been both contextual and relevant to navigate the complex building / renovation process in the Bay Area. We are looking forward to working with them again soon on our next project. read more

Eric and the team at ALTUS did a wonderful job on my addition addition and new vaulted ceiling at a reasonable price. I am very happy Would definitely hire them again. read more

The ALTUS team helped us get through the hurdles with our major renovation project in the Oakland Hills.  They were also able to keep to their timeline which is very difficult in the world of construction. Would definitely recommend them. read more

Sam and his team did a fantastic job and a very competitive price. This is my first home project and he held my hand through the process. He was incredibly responsive via email, text and phone. The designs were fantastic and detailed, he worked closely with me to make final tweaks as well. With the pandemic we needed to wait a bit on the filing of permits as we likely will not be building until later in the year. Sam has been checking in with me to see when he can reengage and submit for the permits which is fantastic as well. I would HIGHLY recommend Altus and Sam for any project. read more

We worked with Sam Saleh from ATLUS as part of our whole home remodel + addition project. Sam is fantastic! Whenever we have questions, he responded to our emails very quickly, even on a weekend night after 10pm. He is a really humble, patient and knowledgeable person. If there's anything he isn't aware of, he would promptly follow-up to get clarify from the city planning/building department. He listened to our requests, and provided us recommendations with the most cost-effective option to achieve the goal without trading-off the design details. We enjoyed working with him and we will strongly recommend anyone to him. read more

Altus has provided us top-notch services and the company is highly responsive. You won't find a better drafting and design firm in the Bay Area that will guide your project from the design phase to obtaining permits. They also have construction connections to make your dream a reality. Our project went very smoothly and Altus demonstrated they had excellent knowledge of state and local codes to get the remodel plans through the complex city processes. This company is certainly recommended. read more

The Altus team was easy to partner with and they worked around my schedule . They were diligent, accurate, and thorough. Besides providing the basic floor plan in different formats, they also took my contractor plans and incorporated them into a floor plan in order to expedite permitting with my co-op and the city. Any questions were quickly researched and appropriate solutions found. I'd be happy to work with them again. read more

I have a really complex situation with a new home I purchased. When I called this company I spoke with Sam and he explained the entire process with clarity. This was a really confusing subject for me and he made it into something I could understand. read more

I needed an architect/designer on short notice and Sam was able to take on my request. He provided detailed designs and worked with me through the pandemic. I appreciated the extra effort he provided and would hire him again! read more

Working with Sam has been great. Sam knows california building code well. I'm able to ask him questions and rely on his answers. I worked with Sam at Altus Drafting to add a Jr. ADU to my home, converting it from a single family home to a duplex. I had to stay on top of Sam with regard to timeline, but I'm very happy with his work. We were able to get my permit approved on the first try with no revisions needed. I'm now well on my way as I transition into demolition and framing. I would work with Sam and Altus Drafting again. read more

As first timers when it comes to ADU construction, Sam and his team have done a SUPERB job not only helping us with our needs, but educating us with all the different state/county ordinances from plumbing, electrical, to even solar requirements. They drafted multiple designs and took into consideration of all our wants, especially when it came down to the budget. I would definitely work with Sam and his team for future projects! read more

Do not use Altus! They came highly recommended to our builder for our home addition project. We were told the design project would take 6-8 weeks after initial measurements. After receiving our first set of plans, it was downhill from there. We worked with Michael for this project. Very nice person, but he dropped the ball big time on this. He did not seem to listen to what my wife and I wanted. Any minor tweaks to the plans took him a week, sometimes longer to change in the design. Just when we thought the design was nailed down, Michael completely changed the master bed/bath layout on his own. This was not even what we discussed when we had last spoken to him. Delay delay delay delay. It finally reached a point where our builder needed to get Sam (owner?) involved. During a conference call, Sam told us Michael would "get this done for us" as he had only ONE other project. Now I'm no architect, but two projects does not seem like a big workload to me. A few weeks passed again and we finally had the plans we liked. Next up, engineering which was suppose to take 2 weeks to complete. I believe 4 weeks came and went with nothing done. Our builder, who is trying to coordinate our build with his other projects, finally decided to move on from Altus. Another company was brought in to take over the process for us. We just recently found out the second level addition Michael designed WON'T EVEN WORK engineering wise! New design changes had to be made for the second floor just to pass engineering. My wife and I are completely annoyed with Altus and how they conducted business. All said and done, from initial measurements to where we left off with Altus, was just shy of 4 months. It took the new company not even a week to lock in new plans to submit. I would NOT recommend this company at all. read more

After going through a frustrating and expensive process with another designer, we decided to hire Sam per a good friend's recommendation. We should've gone with Altus from the beginning! They took our design, produced the drawings on time, and helped us through the permitting process. Thank you, Sam! read more

We were looking for an architect to help process our kitchen renovation. We found Sam and liked his professionalism and responsiveness. We basically had a design in mind already and he was able to work with us and deliver exactly what we had wanted! He always answered his phone when we called and got us through the cumbersome permit process. His fees were less compared to other firms and he was very detail oriented. The only downside is that the project took a bit longer than we expected, most likely due to a high load. Ultimately we would recommend Altus draft and design for anyone's project! read more

We needed a consult and design for an interior remodel with a bathroom addition and minor structural realignment of partition walls. They came through quickly and under budget. Sam was very helpful, listening to our needs and making suggestions about things we had not considered, such as accessibility and future needs. I would recommend them. read more

We engaged with ALTUS for a couple of projects: the remodel of our master and guest bathrooms as well as a full backyard design plan that included an ADU that we will use as a pool house. The pool itself was designed by someone else; however, Sam and team were able to incorporate those plans to create a single vision for our dream backyard. Their plan fully integrated the pool and pool house and surrounding areas in our backyard including an existing deck and outdoor kitchen. We had the vision for this project but Sam and team were critical in turning that vision into detailed plans that were then submitted to the city for approval. We couldn't possibly have done this without their help and it definitely felt like money well spent. They also helped us identify a GC, select some suppliers based on the design aesthetic and work through some of the material options to make sure we can achieve the result we want. We definitely recommend ALTUS. We can add photos as soon as our projects are completed. read more

A great big thank you to Michael and Eric for taking over the design of our master bedroom/bathroom addition after our designer abandoned the project and recommending an awesome, reasonably priced contractor. read more