this is the second home we have had do the seismic retrofit for in the past 10 years and both were done by Matthew Gatterman and Avant Garde, he has done over 3000 of these retrofit upgrades since we first used his service extremely professionally and knowledgeable and the only contractor that took the time in the crawl space to do a complete assessment, his crew, David, Josh,Jose and Matthew were prompt and took the time to prepare a dust tunnel and the process was both clean to code, The building inspector even commented about how thorough and complete the job was done! Highly recommend this company! read more

We had to deal with the aftermath of the EBB work done at our house. The lack of precautions taken during the work was shocking - no covering of vents, no plastic covers, nothing to protect our home from the dust and debris. The result was a disaster: the entire house, including the garage, was filled with fine dust, and it took us ages to clean up. To make matters worse, my family and I started experiencing health issues like coughing and allergies, likely triggered by the dust. This is bit delayed reviewed as the review drafted but not posted. read more

Excellent experience with EBB program. I requested 3 inspections before picking a contractor- of them Avant Garde did the most thorough inspection and also offered the most competitive price. (Note however that they provide a rough initial emailed estimate based on house info like sq footage- for an in person inspection there is a fee, but it is credited towards the final cost if you go with them. They do an extra thorough inspection and provide full documentation so in my experience it is worth it even if you don't go with them.) Other free inspection contractors by contrast ran through quickly and provided few to little details on the actual reinforcement plan. My crawlspace had a section of perimeter foundation that was blocked by concrete and required drilling a hole to properly reinforce- none of the other contractors noted this. Avant Garde not only noticed this but also did not charge extra for it. After the work they worked quickly with us on the documentation to get us our grant check. I did crawl the crawlspace just to inspect the work and it was done neatly and the area was left clean. Very happy with the experience and would not hesitate to recommend. read more

Matthew and his team were fantastic! After having 4 quotes from different Bay Area companies, they were the ONLY company that actually went into the crawl space and photographed our home for an earthquake retrofit! They completed the job in 1 full day, starting with a team of 3 skilled workers, and even had the City Inspector out at the end of the day! Job completed, and signed off by the City as well. If you are looking to Brace and Bolt your home to the foundation, they are the only company I would call, they were that professional, read more

Excellent customer service. Very professional, Contractor answered all my questions and concerns I had for my seismic retrofit project. We are grateful to come across Avant-Garde! Highly recommend. read more

I used this company for foundation repair estimate. Very professional company and estimate was very competitive. Unfortunately I had to delay the project for personal reasons. But definitely I would recommend them. read more

I did EBB brace & bolt with them. Matthew is responsive. The process is smooth. My work is minimal so it was done within a day. His team is good too. Covered the area and cleaned the floor after. Just note for improvement. I appreciated you cleaned the hardwood floor after the work was done but I'm not sure what wet wipe you used. It left markings everywhere after it's dried. I need to mop it with warm water to remove them. No issue with me but just a note to be aware. read more

Good to work with for informative and thorough inspection and estimate on foundation repairs. Thanks all!

Matthew is an excellent, prompt communicator, which is rare from my experience working with contractors! He responds quickly and with detailed responses to any questions; everything, from scheduling, contracting, and payment, is extremely easy and smooth. Just a very professional experience from the customer point of view. I've had a plan A seismic retrofit through EBB done with Avant Garde, as well as a follow up seismic gas shut off valve. Matthew was very prompt in providing the needed photos for us to get our rebate check from the state. Their pricing was competitive relative to other bids we received. As a result of the above experiences, Avant Garde will consistently be top of mind for any future work I need done on my house. A bonus that they are local in San Leandro. read more

Was awarded by county for Earthquake Brace and Bolt (EBB) program through Alameda. I've called a few contractors but only requested 1 inspection and it was with these folks because they've provided confidence from initial contact. Extremely patient, answered all of my questions and thorough at every step of the process. Timeline for scope of work was accurate. Price felt fair for the work, thoroughness, and confidence. Highly recommend. read more

Great job on our house, they were very thorough and professional throughout the process. Also helped us with the EBB and Berkeley transfer tax city forms, and throughout the process. read more

After being on the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program wait list for about a year, I received the good news that I was finally accepted in the program. Since it's a lengthy process with many steps involved, I chose Avant-Garde for the retrofit based on their many outstanding customer reviews. I sent an email inquiry to get a quote, and Matthew got back to me in a few hours to set up a day and time for someone to come out and quote the job. The guy came out right on time, taking photos of the house exterior, crawl space and water heater. Matthew shared the photos along with other relevant information with me in a Google drive folder, as well as uploading the photos to my EBB web based dashboard. I went with the standard Plan A retrofit. When the installation day came, the crew arrived on time and put down tarps to protect the flooring and walls from any dust. It took less than a day to complete, and post-retrofit pictures were taken and uploaded to the EBB dashboard. They also took care of getting the building permit, and scheduling the city inspection on the same day after the work was completed. Even though it's a quality job and I'm now prepared for an earthquake, I just hope the bracing never needs the opportunity to be tested. read more

Avant-Garde - Retrofit bracing - General Contractors Near Me - San Leandro, California

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We used Avant-Garde for our retrofit based on our friends recommendation and where very happy with their service. Worked with Mathew through the process and he was always there to help us (emails). One of the things we appreciated was when the time was ready to start 7am their crew was there on time got it done o on time, cleaned up. (Would never know they had been there) Very fair on price. Would recommend them highly read more

Avant garde construction did my earthquake brace and bolt work. They are best. I highly recommend them. Matthew was so very helpful and was kind enough to help me with my many questions and process all of the paperwork and got the permit too The work crew was polite and considerate of my home. They put drop cloth on the floor and plastic sheets where they were working to prevent any dust from entering. They cleaned everything up when they were through and even swept my patio where their tools were. read more

I needed my floor reinforced for upgrading to a larger aquarium, I had a bunch of messages for free quotes but not really sure what would they do or their plans- shooting in dark. Matt from Advant-Garde reached out with a few solutions and a general quote for each along with photos of previous work- I only supplied a few photos and no pictures of the crawlspace. Once they arrived, it was clear my framing was different than I imagined (4' OC 4x6 joist) and they were able to pivot - suggest a new option with in budget quoted. The crew was on time, professional and easy to communicate with along with being clean and respecting my home. They used tarps and poly to mask off the crawlspace access. They were able to compete the work and clean up no issue. The bounce in the floor was removed and the area in question feels much more fortified than previously. Very happy with my experience- highly recommend them. read more

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We had a basic retrofit and duct work done. From start to finish we were kept updated and the guys were quick and efficient.

Avant-Garde was the perfect choice to perform the earthquake brace-and-bolt work on our house. Not only was Matthew's assessment of our house structure and foundation thorough and knowledgeable, he helped me through the whole process with the EBB program folks. He was always responsive to my many questions and requests, both in terms of time and thoroughness of his responses to my emails. And when the time came to actually perform the work, Matthew and his crew did superb work. And fast! Four days of A-G's 2-3 man crew's hard work, and it was done. I cannot recommend Avant-Garde highly enough. read more

We've been working with Matthew and his team on our Brace & Bolt retrofit project and I couldn't be more pleased. Matthew's communications have been such a pleasure - fast, thoughtful, and extremely accommodating. We're not exactly the easiest clients with our busy schedules so the fact that they tried working around them was greatly appreciated. Matthew also planned ahead on the project and scheduled things in way in advance so we weren't waiting long after getting FEMA approval. I'm hearing from others trying to get through the program that after they got approval everyone was super busy so they won't have their projects done for a few months. We have a few smaller projects that we're definitely going to work with them on going forward. Matthew's suggestions on how to complete them were top-notch and really appreciated. A special thank you to Jose, Dan, and Oliver who made the Brace & Bolt retrofits happen on our home! I'm beyond thrilled to have found Avant-Garde. read more

I selected this outfit for my seismic retrofit in Belmont even though other contractors came in with a slightly lower bid, because I was impressed with the thoroughness and professionalism of the estimator, and the work proposed. I was not disappointed. They set aside five days for the job & completed it in four. They arrived promptly every day at 7:00 AM and by the time it was completed the underpinning of my house had been completely reinforced all around and down the centerline, and on Friday an automatic shutoff valve had been installed on my natural gas meter. One week and I feel so much safer in the event of an earthquake. Al throughout the crew was considerate and professional, and took all my concerns into account. Highly recommend this contractor. read more

Avant-Garde recently completed a seismic retrofit (plan set A) of my house. This company is top notch. Matthew is extremely knowledgeable, and his employees are experienced. They completed the job in 2 days. Their work was high quality and their price was competitive. Matthew handled the permit and assisted me with navigating the brace and bolt program. I highly recommend Avante-Garde. read more

We have had the pleasure of working alongside Avant-Garde for many years now. They are extremely competent in everything from retrofits to complete additions of homes. Matt is a 2nd generation skilled contractor who can quickly understanding plans and is able to understand structural issues and the ways to repair or reinforce. Any question I have ever had regarding structural load to retrofitting, Matt has always had an answerer and been able to help guide me in the correct direction. Highly recommend Avant-Garde to anyone interested in retrofitting or general construction. read more

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I got a grant to "earthquake brace and bolt" my house. After talking with Matthew at this company I hired them to do the job. Having experience with the process, he walked me through it and made it easy. The crew was great and knew just what to do to comply with the grant requirements. I heard the inspector say "great job" and I have to agree. They were very professional and did not waste any time. In fact they were always on time and got it done ahead of schedule. I highly recommend Avant-Garde. Thanks guys. read more

Avant Garde was completely professional during the entire process of our retrofit during August-October 2023. Matthew was one of the very best communicators I've experienced in any industry. In every case he responded to emails and phone calls very promptly, usually within an hour or so. He was proactive in making our interaction with the EBB website easy and efficient. He was flexible with the dates that we could have the job done. Eric and his partner were efficient and thorough in performing the retrofit work. When I went into the crawl space, I confirmed that the work was done as agreed. In short, it was a total pleasure to get our retrofit done by Avant Garde. Rob C., San Lorenzo resident read more

I reviewed bids from a few companies for soft-story earthquake retrofit plus additional finishing work that would make our garage space usable. Matthew thoughtfully drafted a few solution that met FEMA requirements and my needs. His team was efficient, punctual and took care of my house as if it was their own. Throughout the project Matt was great with communication and he helped walked us through the EBB grant process. I highly recommend Matthew and the Avant-Garde team. read more

I called your business over 2 months ago and left a message and nobody responded. You messaged me yesterday and I don't look a my yelp messages regularly so again, posting false information is not a great practice as a business. Their comment that architectural plans were requested and never received is totally untrue and it is really concerning that they would say that at all. I saw that there is a similar review to mine so this is clearly a tactic they take with negative reviews. Really disappointing and an untrustworthy company. Someone came out to give us a quote on a deck and then nobody followed up with us. I called them and nobody responded. Really disappointed in their service. read more

Matthew is a great contractor!! Very helpful during the entire EBB process. If you need an EBB contractor Matthew would be an excellent choice. read more

I was very thorough in reviewing all the authorized seismic contractors within a 30 mile radius of Walnut Creek. I then had a few contractors come and review our house in person. Avant-Garde is a company of young, hard-working committed people who do nothing but this kind of work. They offered a range of options with very competitive pricing and demonstrated superior knowledge and skills and references in comparison to the competition. They helped me locate a grant to pay for a piece of the work. They gave me a menu of options. We ended up securing everything including the inner pillars to the posts and beams, adding blocking, extra hardware, double density spacing. Others offered to do just the basic work and were not keen at attempting to drill into the piers. Avant-garde drilled, filled with epoxy and ensured that they cannot be separated from posts or beams. For me, the house is a major asset and we're talking about life saving - so laying down a few thousand extra is well worth it. They did provide the most competitive pricing even for the most basic package - so the choice is really yours. They did a great job. They completed the work on schedule, were dressed in COVID-safe uniforms with masks, they sheeted off a tunnel from the front door to the crawl space access to eliminate any chance of COVID transference. They arranged for the inspectors to come bless their work - which went very smoothly. I cannot recommend them highly enough. The inspector went under the house. So did I! They are clearly the best in this area and it's not even close. The next best bid was not only more expensive, but was also a less comprehensive. read more

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We had a great experience working with Matthew and Josh on two small projects. Our structural engineer suggested that we get a joist sistered, and Matthew replied to my call immediately and had somebody on his team sent over within a few days. It was the best quote we got and they did a great job. We're hoping to use them for a larger remodel. read more

I would highly recommend this company for work in the Berkeley area. They handled our job professionally and navigated all of the complicated Berkeley regulations without fail. read more

I went through Avant Gard for the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. They were AWESOME!. They have done so many of these so they know exactly what the EBB program requires, handled all of their steps quickly and came out in 1 day, and secured my house to its perimeter foundation. I paid them and in 1 week I had my reimbursement check from EBB. I really enjoyed working with Avant-Garde - a fun, knowledgable, and respectful crew. read more

Hired these guys to do a seismic retrofit in Berkeley. The quote and permitting process went smoothly, and Steven and Matt were responsive throughout the process. They agreed to adjust the scope of work to stay within our budget, which was largely dictated by the city of the Berkeley transfer tax rebate program. The only issue was with the bolting. We used URFP bolts, which are drilled horizontally into the foundation. Since our foundation is relatively thin, the bolts caused "pop-outs" of the concrete on the exterior of the foundation. Avant Garde patched these at the end of the job, but it would have been nice to know that this was a potential issue before the job started. read more

Avant-Garde did the earthquake retrofit for our house. We are very happy and impressed with their work and highly recommend them to anyone. Matthew's email responses were phenomenal, almost 24x7, and he handheld us in the application process when we ran into issues. His crew was punctual, courteous, efficient, and professional. We are so happy that we pick Avant-Garde for our earthquake EBB project! read more

Thank you Avant-Garde for helping us to work with the city to have our crawl space earthquake retrofit. The project went very smoothly. Matthew was very prompt and patient to answering all my concerns and questions. David, Oliver, Jose, and Eric were tidy and clean. They worked hard and got the job done in time. I would use them again for any of my future construction work. read more

We had Avant Garde do our earthquake retrofit as part of the State Brace and Bolt program. They were as good as we could have hoped - - prompt, courteous, reasonable in price and very helpful with the process. It's not an easy job, getting under our house and working there for hours, but AG's employees did it all without any fuss. And this was in the midst of covid, so they had to mask up and be mindful of protections! They earned their stars with the job they did for us. read more

Just completed an earthquake retrofit with this company. Couldn't be more pleased. They are professional, responsive, punctual and efficient. All the 5 star reviews before mine are well deserved. In addition the crew doing the work were right on time and super nice. read more

Hired Avant-Garde to bolt and brace the house for EB&B (Earthquake Brace & Bolt) rebate. We ended up bring 100 year old house up to new building code. Wonderful contractor to work with. They took over all the uploading all the requirements of EB&B and the permits. Very accommodating and reliable. When inspection was made, the inspector said Avant-Garde did a beautiful job. read more

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I called this company to do an estimate for the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. I gave them two stars instead of one because I thought that they did a thorough job when they did the initial inspection of the house (documented with photos, explained the process, gave their feedback on the structure of the house, etc.) but I never received an estimate after they told me I would receive it after one week. I called a week and a half later and spoke to the gentleman, Steven, who'd done the inspection assured me I'd receive it by the next day. I still didn't receive anything and then called again the next week. He again assured me I'd receive it that night, and that he would talk to Matt to send it, but again never received anything or any kind of follow-up whatsoever. It was definitely a disappointment given the great reviews the company has and the fact that they're based locally. I thought they'd do great work but communication is a number one priority and they did not come through on that. I'm not one to post bad reviews, but I think it's important people hear this experience and know what you may end up running into with this company. read more

In response to the company's comment on my review, they made zero contact with me after my estimate appt; the bit about informing me that I needed architectural plans is completely false. I was simply trying to fix a leak in the wall of my garage. I did, however, receive a voicemail from them about a year later. They addressed my review and said that they were starting to open up to other projects besides EQ retrofitting if I was interested in working with them. I got the feeling they were only getting back to me because of my review or because they suddenly needed work. Needless to say, I didn't return the call. read more

My mom needed to find a contractor authorizedunder the Earthquake Bolt and Brace progam; Matthew was among the first to submit a thorough proposal. Not easy for me and my sister to manage this remotely for my mom, but he was very responsive, thoroughly explained the process and demonstrated his knowledge of the program. His crew arrived on time and completed the job as expected; they also noticed a small thing that the inspector would have picked up on and fixed it for my mom instead of pointing it out for us to get someone else to take care of. Afterwards, I was anxious to complete the paperwork so my mom could qualify for a reduction in premiums - within 15 minutes of asking for help, Matthew had the form filled out and ready to go. I rarely give 5 star reviews because it means someone has gone above and beyond what is contracted. In this case, I would have LOVED to give Avant-Garde SIX stars for Matthew's timeliness, attention to detail and finishing up all of the paperwork. I deal with a lot of contractors and Matthew is among the top tier. Most especially, I feel like Matthew took care of my mom as he would his own mom. That means a lot to me. THANK YOU !! read more

Great team to work with on a retrofit. Professional and Knowlegable Before you hire anyone to retrofit your home do your homework! You will find very quickly that there are standards required (Plan set A) and the states EBB program is a great place to start to be informed about your houses needs. If you are smart you may be able to get $3000 rebate on the cost of retrofitting your home from the state. Avant Garde and Matt will help you with this. process Get a number of bids and don't be surprised if many competitors come in higher (100% more) than Avant Garde, but at very similar cost numbers??? Get the best installation materials like they use in your bid. Be clear about what's to be installed and a map prior to installation of which product will go where under your house like AV does. Be wary of estimators who spend 5 minutes under your house. Don't hire anyone who does go under to look at the project. Be leary of attempts sell you work not connected to Plan A . You should get a video of the work foundation plates installed after installation is complete and the permit is signed off like AV provides. Matt is a great guy to work with and super responsive to insuring the job gets done right. The two young men who did the job in one day in about seven hours of continuously hard work. Avant Garde Construction has my highest unconditional recommendation for retrofit work. read more