Earthquake Brace and Bolt Evaluation of Contractor, Engineer and Sub Contractor Look no further! Avant-Garde's team (led by Matthew) is simply amazing from start to finish - always punctual, usually early to arrive, never late . . . from my initial contact with Matthew on June 22, 2020, followed by an in-person visit and evaluation by Cameron the same day, ensuring all of our paperwork was correct and correctly loaded on the EBB Website, right up through all the submissions, extensions and approvals to the work beginning November 9 by Eric, Anthony and Bobby and ending Thursday, November 12, and then Bryan showing up on Friday, November 13, for his final look at the work and ensuring that the Alligator Plumbing team (Mike and a co-worker) were prepped for the gas shut-off installation and then the owner of Alligator Plumbing (Jason DeBonis) came out on November 17 when I had questions about the gas reset (impressed he came out personally to refrain me :-) to the final submission of all paperwork by Matthew . . . EVERYTHING (all paperwork, including permits) was handled by the Avant-Garde team . . . so thankful that we found them as we had no idea what we were doing . . . thankful for the program and for companies like Avant-Garde and Alligator Plumbing and their tremendous teams . . . so thankful for the EBB Grant . . . and these two great companies and their individual and collective staff . . . all I had to do was register, get the engineering done (Jeff at Greenwood and Moore were tremendous) and turn everything over to Matthew . . . Blessed beyond measure . . . Bruce D. and Linda Lee Johnson Castro Valley CA read more

Avant-Garde - Avant-Garde's GREAT team - General Contractors Near Me - San Leandro, California

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Avant-Garde did a seismic retrofit for our 100+ year old house. Their bid was competitive, their workers were professional, and they made sure that every was completed correctly. They were also really helpful when it came to working with engineers and city inspectors. read more

Working with Avant-Garde construction company was a breeze! Called and requested a earthquake retrofit for my home and spoke with Steven, a very friendly young man who came out and did a very thorough job explaining the process and informed me on what the process was going to be. Once the team began working I was rather surprised to see their attention to detail when it came down to maintaining my home clean, as my crawl space entry is inside my home. Every morning they would create their own hallway with new plastic leading from the crawl space to their staging area (my garage as requested by me) to prevent any dirt or grime from the crawl space to enter my living spaces. Every evening they would take every bit of plastic down and thoroughly clean my floor and organize their tools neatly! I was told they would take a week to finish my retrofit and was amazed to find the job was completed in three days leaving the fourth day for inspection and one last detailed cleaning of any areas they came in contact with! Super happy customer overall with the experience and would absolutely recommend Avant-Garde to anyone looking to retrofit their home! read more

I hired Avant-Garde to complete a seismic retrofit on my home in spring 2018, along with a couple other smaller jobs (new water main, automatic gas shut-off valve).  The retrofit work itself was completed and passed inspection without a problem.  And Matthew stuck to the original price quote. Those were the things that went right. The biggest thing that went very wrong was that the Avant Garde team applied a pesticide wood treatment, Copper Green/Brown in the crawl space beneath our home that made half of our house smell awful for two months.  We did not ask for this pesticide to be applied (we did ask for others, but after this one was applied without any notice, we canceled those plans).  And, according to the manufacturer's own instructions for the product, this chemical should not be applied in crawl spaces.  After I complained about the smell, Matthew had crew members come out repeatedly to try to fix it.  I give him credit for trying multiple solutions -- but none of them worked well until, after numerous weeks, he installed some temporary fans in the crawl space to help ventilate the area - and only then did the smell slowly begin to dissipate.   When we asked Matthew why this noxious chemical was applied in the first place, he said that he's used it on numerous other projects and no other clients have had a problem.  As the manufacturer of the product itself says not to use their product in crawl spaces, this was, and remains, an unsatisfactory answer.  Matthew made no admission that applying the chemical was a mistake (only apologizing for the smell that it gave off) or any assurance that he'd stop using the chemical treatment on his other jobs. So, beware. We had hoped that Matthew might provide a discount, in recognition of having created a horrible smell in our home for weeks because his crew misapplied a pesticide we never asked to have used in the first place.  There was no discount on our final bill, even though we explicitly inquired about it with Steven, who was the point person for discussion of the bill, if they would discount it. Additionally, as another commenter recently noted, Avant-Garde has a communication problem.  The original site inspection was great.  Then there were weeks before I got a final quote, after following up multiple times. We had talked replacing some windows, but it took Matthew so long to get back to me with a quote for that window work that I nixed it.  And while construction was underway, there would be times when I wouldn't hear from Matthew for days, despite multiple attempts to reach him. It also took his team a month to come pick up the fans after we informed them we were done with them. He's a nice guy, but he and his team are clearly overstretched and offer poor customer service. Lastly, Matthew explicitly told me that he would take the lead on filling out the paperwork so that we could file for Berkeley's seismic refund.  He did file the permit paperwork when the job began and when it got inspected.  But after the job was done, I never heard from him about filing the refund paperwork.  So, I ended up filing it myself.  In short, while there was no issue with the seismic work itself, the misapplication of a chemical treatment we never asked to have applied, poor communication, and dropping the ball on the seismic refund paperwork added up to an bad overall experience with Avant-Garde. read more

Steven and his team retrofitted our home. They also got the permits from the City and got the inspection done after the work was complete. The job was done in 2 days. I would recommend them to anyone looking to bolt their homes. read more

I highly recommend Steve & Matt at Avant-Garde construction. Their specialty is earthquake retrofitting, but are also skilled with remodels, additions, and ADUs. They were very responsive, professional, and do super high-quality work. After speaking with Steve, I learned I could save $3,000 for a retrofit through the FEMA program "Earthquake Brace & Bolt". He led me through understanding the process every step of the way, which was super helpful. They will inspect your foundation for safety, take pictures, and upload them all to the database along with the permit, etc. What a breeze! read more

We hired Avant-Garde again based on their California Earthquake Authority Brace & Bolt work in our crawl space in 2019 (see my other review here). They did such an excellent job on that that I did not hesitate to hire them for our soft story (bedrooms over garage) earthquake retrofit, a much bigger job. For the soft story, it required engineering plans that some of the other contractors who bid did not understand. No problem for Matthew and his crew. It was clear they had done this type of work before. They worked pretty much non-stop and always kept me apprised. A real plus for us was that they were able to take down a massive 15ft by 6ft open cupboard storage cabinet on our long wall and a work bench from our front wall without scrapping them. They put both back as good as new without charge! Thanks! They didn't take off without warning as some contractor crews do. I really believe I got a great deal on all the work they did. When the Big One comes, we are ready to rock & roll! read more

These guys are just amazing! Steven came in to do look at the house and give a free estimate, next day the guys were here working. They were super clean and fast, they came in and and three days after they were done! 100% recommend their services! read more

Do you need help deciding if your house is ready for an earthquake? You have come to the right company. They will inspect your foundation, recommend improvements, and do the job! Have Steve come to inspect your home. They can also help you get your work paid for with up to $3,000 from a government payment program! read more

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck near Santa Cruz. It was a 6.9 quake and did extensive damage including loss of life. If the quake struck on the Hayward Fault, the force of the quake would be 16 times more powerful. The Loma Prieta earthquake was not "The Big One," Earthquake retrofitting requirements have evolved since many homes were built. To protect your home, it is important to have it retrofitted. I highly recommend Avant-Guard. They are knowledgeable, professional, and do great work. read more

We were extremely happy with the service provided by Avant-Garde. They did a comprehensive retrofit of our house foundation. They were thorough and conscientious. Matthew was straightforward and honest. He worked with us to strengthen the foundation even stronger than the code required for earthquake resistance. Their price was reasonable and lower than the other quotes we received. We appreciate the good work. read more

Matthew and his crew were wonderful and friendly. Matthew gave me the best price and options of all the contractors who reviewed my house and gave a quote for earthquake bracing. Many people I contacted for other types of service often gave his name or asked if I had contacted him. He even let me make a few payments on a sum I couldn't pay all at once. He is extremely booked and busy but started and ended exactly when he said he would. I'll be bringing him back in 2018 to do some more work he recommended. He will be straightforward with you about what you do and don't need. Honest guy and a great local business to support. read more

Awesome company. Steve is super friendly and professional. The estimate was thorough and explained the what/why of their suggested work, which I really appreciated. I called them for retro-fit work but turns out they so small jobs, too. Highly recommended! read more

We are very grateful to Avant-Garde for their work in doing a seismic retrofit of our 1920's California bungalow in Oakland, CA. Steven and Matthew guided us through every step of the way in appling for the State of California $3000 reimbursement for this work. In fact, they did most of the online work at the EBB website for us! The guys that did the work at our house were totally professional, did excellent work and finished in a timely manner. They did the same work for my wife's mother's house. They get our top recommendation! read more

Avant-Garde did a retrofit on my house, their work was great & very professional company. We will use and recommend them for future projects. Highly recommended. read more

Matthew and his team at Avant-Garde did an excellent job with my home's seismic retrofit! They were very responsive before, during, and after the process, completed the work swiftly to meet city codes, and worked around my schedule. I will definitely use them again for future needs, and have referred them to friends. read more

Matthew Gatterman is such a pleasure to work with! He is responsive and definitely knows residential seismic retrofit. Our retrofit required structural engineered drawings and Matt delivered the project as designed. My parents just received their reimbursement check from the Brace & Bolt program. Matt's crew is professional, tidy and the whole project took only a week. The bid was reasonable and Matt facilitated the inspections and document uploads to the Brace & Bolt portal. Without hesitation, I recommend Avant-Garde for your residential seismic retrofit. They do solid & professional construction and return your phone calls! read more

Thanks to Matthew and his team, we are very happy with the outcome our earthquake brace and bolt retrofit project.  Matthew is responsive, focused and fully engaged as he and his team works effectively to finish the project as predicted.  Great customer service, patience, timeliness and simply a joy to work with are just a few of the words to describe our experience. Plus, now we have a gas shut off valve! read more

I recommend Avant-Garde and Matthew Gatterman very highly. The company just completed a seismic retrofit on my 100-year-old home in Oakland, and they did an excellent job. They followed the retrofit plan prepared by a structural engineer very carefully. There were no issues with the four inspections that were done, two by the engineer and two by the city. Matthew is very straightforward and a pleasure to work with. He started on the job exactly when he said he would, and his crew worked diligently and steadily for over two weeks. They clearly worked hard, arrived at the house promptly every day, and cleaned up well at the end of each day. Avant-Garde was very helpful with meeting the requirements of the state's Earthquake Brace and Bolt program, to ensure that I receive my rebate. They also handled the city permit process smoothly. There were hardly any issues that came up to delay the work, but Matthew adapted quickly and easily when adjustments had to be made in the plan or the schedule. When the project was completed, Matthew showed me what had been done and provided numerous photos and a video as permanent documentation. read more

Avant-Garde/Matthew Gatterman is not your typical contractor. I hired Avant-Garde for a retrofit to comply with the State's Brace & Bolt program after receiving several bids. Not only did Matthew come in at the fairest price, he was also the only contractor to crawl underneath and accurately assess my crawl space before providing his quote. Matthew was exceptionally responsive, efficient and easy to work with. He took care of everything, and quickly. The entire process couldn't have been simpler! Hire these folks for a professional, fairly-priced, hassle-free experience. I can't recommend them more highly. read more

Avant-Garde was fantastic; I highly recommend them! Matthew Gatterman (President / Owner) explained what needed to be done (residential earthquake retrofit project on a home built in 1954), provided responsive service, took care of all permits, and provided a craftsman-like work product. I will use Avant-Garde again for additional retrofit work and/or remodeling. Matthew's team arrived on time, worked hard (in a difficult environment: 18" crawl space with utilities all over and baby powder-like soil), was kind, and delivered a great solution. I couldn't be happier with Avant-Garde (including clean-up . . . best clean-up job by a contractor, ever!). read more

We had a lot of contractors visit and provide bids for our seismic retrofit. Matt distinguished himself by being the only one who took more time in our crawlspace to really understand the project. Actually, most of the other contractors just looked through the crawlspace opening and didn't even go in! Matt followed up with a very reasonably priced proposal, calmly and thoroughly explained everything to us, and in the end even overdelivered. He and his crew were professional, thorough, and left everything in order. Matt is responsive, responsible, very knowledgeable, and very easy to communicate with. All in all such a perfect experience with this contractor that we've already recommended him to our friends and we'll be sure to contact him for future work. read more

Totally agree with all the positive comments. I have hired 100's of contractors in my time and used to be one part time and Matthew is completely impressive! And apparently he also has a very solid reputation with the local building inspection department who seem to have the highest respect for him. read more

Based on last month's recommendations from neighbors who have gone through the EBB process, I obtained quotes from those recommended. I chose Avant Garde (Matthew). During his visit he spent considerable time in the crawl space under my house--inspecting taking photos, measuring etc. (Note: he was the only vendor who did this. The others just looked under the house). He sat with me for over 1/2 hours showing me all the data he collected and on which he would base his estimate. More importantly he distinguished what was required by EBB and what items where optional yet highly recommended for safety. He provided a detailed estimate within 24 hours of his visit. After a few clarifications, I chose him as the vendor and he will do the work in July. So far, I have found Matthew to be meticulous, transparent, thorough, knowledgeable and confident about the EBB process, and well versed in the field of earthquake safety. He is friendly, patience, easy to speak with, and responsive. The process so far has been seamless. I highly recommend your seeking him for an estimate if you are in need of earthquake safety modifications. I'll update you when the project is completed. read more