Brian, Holly, and Gerardo are the best. When I contacted them initially two years ago, within the first 10 minutes of talking they'd recognized that our house was not a simple brace & bolt project given its soft story and referred me to a structural engineer (who himself was excellent) for review/evaluation. I begin with this because that structural engineer mentioned he'd had Brian do his own retrofitting and highly recommended him, which was the only endorsement I needed. The scope of the work was soft story retrofit (incl. excavation at the front of the garage to install a Hardy frame, adding in shear walls with bolts, shear wall with URFP ties all along the house's perimeter) as well as adding in anchors (e.g., hand dug piers, rebar, concrete) in the front and back of the house to prevent the house from further sinking. We initially applied for and got into the ESS program, which Brian/Holly guided us through (pulling permits, getting photos, contacting our engineer for letters/responses on ESS program follow-ups). As in the first time and every subsequent time, they were swift and helpful in responding. ESS, if you don't know (like I didn't), goes through FEMA and requires FEMA review and approval of your plans at each step of the way, but the whole program came to a standstill in 2025-26. We had no updates despite us and Brian/Holly repeatedly following up. We gave up on ESS in April and decided to move ahead with the retrofit. Brian was able to work us into his schedule and work began early May and work was completed in just a little over two weeks, a full week faster than I expected. The whole time Brian/Holly kept us apprised of the status, schedule, and inspections; and forwarded us all documentation and pictures as they came up. The crew was efficient and detailed and did thorough clean ups of the worksite after each day. We felt in control and informed the whole time and are confident in the result; I'd hire them again in a heartbeat. read more

We had a very positive experience with Golden State Seismic and Structural for our earthquake retrofit. Their bid was in line with the other bids we received, and we ultimately chose them because of their years of experience doing this type of work and their excellent reviews. Throughout the process, Brian and Holly were prompt and helpful whenever we had questions. They also handled the paperwork for an EBB grant that covered part of the cost, as well as the forms needed for our earthquake insurance reduction, which made the process much easier for us. Jordan and his crew were all polite, hardworking, and respectful of our home, and they did a great job cleaning up after the work was completed. I'm not really qualified to evaluate the technical aspects of the retrofit itself, but the work passed inspection, which gave us confidence that it was done properly. Overall, we're very happy with the experience and would definitely recommend them to anyone considering an earthquake retrofit. read more

We would strongly recommend working with Golden State Seismic. They are consummate professionals who treated us fairly and left us with great peace of mind regarding the safety of our home. Brian and Holly's help started way before the project began. Originally planning to do a basic brace and bolt retrofit, Brian was the first contractor we reached out to who identified that there may be a need for more extensive retrofitting as a result of our soft-story living space. He gave us the name of a reputable structural engineer, Dan Szumski, who came to inspect our house and concurred that we would need a soft-story retrofit. Holly proactively communicated about retrofit rebates available through our city, along with recommended messaging we could use when speaking to the city about an extension to the rebate deadline. Her efforts will ultimately save us thousands of dollars. Communication has been superb. Throughout the project, Brian would visit the site every day to ensure the work was being executed according to the engineering plans. Where practical considerations forced even minute deviations to the engineering plans, he would reach out directly to the engineer to verify the changes were satisfactory. He ensured multiple inspections were done in lockstep with the work so that we knew things were on track every step of the way. read more

I'm happy to add to the positive reviews of this company. Brian is very easy responsive, and was happy to answer all my questions. He went above and beyond to guide me through the process. Jordan and his installation team were very pleasant to work with. He even checked and discovered my newly renovated room may not be supported sufficiently. I hope I won't ever need it, but the work seems solid read more

Golden State Seismic & Structural - General Contractors Near Me - Antioch, California

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We had a great experience working with Golden State Seismic and Structural. Brian and Holly are very responsive and kept us updated throughout the whole process guiding us through all the steps necessary to ensure the process goes smoothly with the EBB program and the city/special inspections needed along the way. We chose to go with Brian as a close family friend had their retrofit completed by Brian and he and his team came highly recommended. Gerardo the Forman and his crew doing the work were exceptional to work with and they did an awesome job completing the work and kept the place clean and tidy at the end of each work day. They worked with our schedule and are attentive to detail. read more

We had Golden State do our earthquake retrofit. This is the most honest and professional contractor I've ever encountered. Brian, the owner, met with me to answer all my questions, no pressure. Left the next move up to me. He guided us through the complicated paperwork, got the estimate and permits quickly, showed up when he said he would, and it was all done with no drama or delays. We saved on our earthquake insurance, and the recent tremors we hardly felt., read more

Brian and team conducted a full engineered seismic retrofit (including soft story) of our home in Castro Valley. Brian was fantastic to work with and communicated regularly and accurately. I first learned of Brian through a colleague who also had similar work done on his home and after bidding to three vendors, he ultimately was my final choice. I'm glad we picked him. He's both thorough and delivers what he says he will deliver, which I appreciate. He delivers value for the money invested (he's not the cheapest, nor the most expensive) which is what he strives for. No surprises in working with him, which is a good thing when dealing with construction work. read more

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A seismic retrofit was recently completed on our 60+ year old home. We've been in the house for 30 years and finally decided to apply for the grant from California's Earthquake Brace+Bolt program. I interviewed 3 contractors from EBB's list (sent out requests to about 6 but didn't hear back from a couple) and decide to choose Brian Bouchard with Golden State Seismic and Structural, Inc. His bid came in the middle but I don't always choose the lowest bid. I go with the person who I feel will do the best job (and go with my gut feeling too). I've been burned on some occasions but not in this case. Brian and his wife, Holly, are very experienced dealing with the red tape and hoops of EBB and are really on top of everything. They know what docs/photos needed to be uploaded, and get it done right away. They sent back their estimate quickly also. Brian and Holly are excellent on communication with their clients; they email or text you within minutes, if not seconds, with any questions or comments you might have. I have never experienced this with any contractor/business I have dealt with in my 36 years of home ownership. The actual work took about 1.5 weeks as Brian predicted. There were 4 inspections done during the whole process. Our house is on a slope and has cripple walls. Gerardo (the foreman) and his 2 coworkers were very efficient and did their best to keep the work site as clean and neat as possible. Gerardo was very knowledgeable about the process and was here to deal with all 4 inspections. They were all very nice and respectful. Also, Brian would always give me a heads-up text before he stopped by. Brian is also a very cool guy. Knows his stuff and not condescending in anyway, easy to talk to. We had one glitch which he resolved immediately. I don't give out recommendations lightly to friends or family but Golden State Seismic and Structural is one company I would highly recommend for your seismic retrofit. read more

Golden State Seismic & Structural - General Contractors Near Me - Antioch, California

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In July 2023 we had Golden State Seismic complete our retrofit and build a retaining wall in our crawlspace. I would recommend GSS to anyone considering a retrofit. We live on a hill and have a house where our living space is over our garage and crawl space. When I initially called Brian for a quote he helped guide me through the process of getting an engineer first due to our cripple walls being over 7' tall. He recommend Dan Szumski who we contacted and started working with right away. While Dan was out working on our plans he talked about all the work he had done with Brian over the years and helped make the decision to go with Brian even easier. We hired GSS as soon as our plans were done and they submitted our plans for permits right away. As soon as the permit was issued we got placed on their schedule which was just a few weeks out. When it came time for the work Brian showed up with a crew of 10 (!!) our first couple days due to a delayed job at another house. The speed that they worked at was incredible. It's a very loud, dusty, and robust job to get a retrofit on a 1956 house but they did a great job communicating through the whole process on what each day would entail and how things were coming along. We had to have a Hardyframe installed at the front of our house as well which required concrete demo, rebar install, then new concrete. Their concrete work was also top notch. Our crawl space retaining wall was due to damage from the 12/31/22 storm and a big undertaking itself. The work/layout of the crawlspace required hand digging of all the dirt. Brian's team executed the install very well and we are happy with the final results and added storage space in the crawl space now. Overall Brian's entire crew was the best you could hope for at your house. They cleaned up so well every day, would answer all my questions, and walk me through anything I wanted to know. In the end, it looks like almost nothing happened in our garage. The drywall work in our garage was great! It's a shame to cover up all the work they put in and the concrete work is also just as great. If you choose GSS for your project you will not be disappointed!! read more

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Golden State Seismic just completed an earthquake retrofit to our home in East Richmond Heights. Brian, Holly and their crew Jordan, Javier and Ricardo did a great job under access circumstances the weren't ideal. They left the work sight clean and organized every day. We're particularly grateful for Brian and Holly's guidance in helping us navigate the the CA Earthquake Brace and Bolt website through the entire process. Job well done! If it were 10 stars we'd give them 11! John and Elaine read more

Exceptional experience! The owners of Golden State Seismic & Structural, Brian and Holly Bouchard, are a "dream team!" Together, they guided us through our 2024 seismic retrofit project from start to finish. They are very familiar with this type of work as well as state and city requirements. Their ongoing step by step communications were super helpful and provided us calm and confidence while undergoing this potentially stressful home improvement project. The working team, Gerardo, team leader, and his crew Santos and Uriel were all extremely courteous, friendly, and respectful of us and our property. They worked hard everyday and left the worksite clean after each day and after project completion. They even went over and beyond to let us know we had an unrelated and to us, unknown plumbing issue! Brian and Holly, Gerardo, Santos, and Uriel are all first class. I highly recommend Golden State Seismic & Structural. read more

We've never had such a pleasure communicating with a contractor! Brian was incredibly responsive from day one on, and was always easy to reach, and had a solution to every problem. He and his wife, Holly, make an excellent team. We feel they both went the extra mile to help us out when we had some difficulties with EBB. Brian was very knowledgeable, was always on top of things, and always seemed one step ahead. Luis and his crew were always on time, or early, and were very respectful of our property. They cleaned up every day, and at the end, left our garage floor cleaner than it has been in years! Also, Brian's price was very competitive. We've already recommended him to a friend who is also using him. We definitely feel safer now that our house has been bolted and braced. Thanks again, Brian and team, for an excellent job! read more

I know this company has lots of high reviews and that's why I contacted them, but I was treated in a very discriminatory manner. I am a single African teacher who just got accepted into the Brace and Bolt program for soft story homes. I had forty days to get three bids. I tried to get this company to make a bid. In a period of three to four weeks, every time I said I could be home, they picked a time I could not be home. Brian wondered why I was upset. I could not take any more days off at work, but I could be home by 2:30 pm. Brian apologized and kept making times that I could not be home. read more

We had major foundation work done, including lifting a corner of our garage several inches, plus some additional retrofitting. It took about 3 weeks. Every aspect of the work was superlative and exceeded all expectations. Brian, Holly, Luis and the rest of the team were a pleasure to work with every step of the way. The communications, the project management etc., were all excellent and highly, highly proactive. These folks were totally on top of everything, and strong both on detail-oriented aspects and the more strategic ones. New information can come up whenever you open up a house; the communications about adding any out-of-scope projects were clear and helpful, working with us to brainstorm the best solutions and provide us choices. I was glad to have their experise. Despite the add-ons, the project timing was within what they had planned initially. The follow-up was also exceptionally thorough, including contract aspects, managing the inspections, working with the structural engineer, site clean-up, even getting the potty station removed quickly, etc. With their initial bid, they included (without my asking) a long, long list of past clients (maybe 100?) who could serve as references. I actualy contacted about 10 references, and really appreciated what I heard. At the end of my project, Brian & Holly simply asked if I'd be open to serving as a reference and, if so, which contact information it's okay to share. I'm happy to throw my own gushy review into the mix of happy clients. I have to pinch myself about how well every aspect went. read more

We were recently accepted into the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) Program. We decided to go with Golden State Seismic & Structural based on their excellent reviews and competitive quote. The entire process with Golden State Seismic & Structural has been so smooth and easy. After first reaching out to Brian, Brian was able to quickly schedule a site visit and provide a quote. Once all of the documentation was reviewed and approved by the EBB Program, Brian was immediately ready to start the work. The crew was timely, friendly, and left the worksite clean and tidy, and the work was completed on schedule. Brian regularly communicated updates, was super quick to respond to any questions, and was very knowledgeable and detail-oriented. Brian and Holly also navigated everything required for the EBB program. Brian is extremely thorough and he and his team have the whole process operating so seamlessly. I would highly recommend Golden State Seismic & Structural. read more

Brian, his wife Holly, foreman Jordan, and the entire crew were top notch in every respect. We had Golden State do an Earthquake Brace and Bolt renovation of our crawlspace and we could not be more impressed by how smooth the entire process was. Communication with Brian, Holly, and crew was always prompt, clear, friendly and polite. They handled every step of the process: site visit and job quote, photographs and everything permit related, interfaced with EBB, daily end of day clean up, and arranged for porta-potty. The quality of work was excellent (and I am a retired perfectionistic contractor). The inspector also was highly complimentary regarding the quality of their work. The crew was very efficient and positive (despite our difficult mostly low clearance crawlspace). And the price was very fair and reasonable. Out of five stars I give them six! You can't go wrong with them! read more

From the time of our initial contact requesting a quote for a brace and bolt crawl space retrofit, we found Brian and Holly Bouchard extremely clear, transparent and responsive in all our communications. Despite our not being local, job coordination went very smoothly. Brian even agreed to cooperate with a contractor friend who served as our on the ground representative in our stead. We appreciated this since we were not able to be there ourselves. Our friend had high praise for the work of Brian's crew - it was his opinion, which we value, that they had done an excellent job which exceeded his expectations. Brian had also recommended a couple of upgrade options in his quote which we agreed to that were useful. He also adapted easily to our last minute addition of some extra work in the crawl space and their invoicing for this change order was very reasonable. Based on our experience, we would highly recommend Brian and Holly Bouchard of Golden State Seismic and Structural and their crew. read more

Holly, Brian, Scott, Gerardo, Santos, and the rest of the team did a fantastic job on some recent seismic retrofit and dry-rot work. From Brian's honesty and detail in our initial meet, through to the extra cleaning and attention to detail when wrapping up, I couldn't have imagined a better experience. The work was done on-schedule, the crew showing up exactly on-time each morning and working hard to get everything done despite a few surprises behind the walls when they actually got into it. After getting one quote that missed a lot of detail and was wildly overpriced, to another company that just ghosted me after visiting the site, I was initially dreading this project. After finding Golden State Seismic and Structural, I wouldn't look anywhere else for any future needs we have. read more

Brian Bouchard and his Golden State Seismic and Structural team are truly exceptional. Brian communicated exhaustively, from our first inquiry to the final reciepts, and every step along the way. G3S handled all of the interface with Oakland's permitting office and the CA Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. His construction crew as top notch: efficient, communicative, tidy and very hard working. Even the torrential rains couldn't slow them down. If you need earthquake or foundation work done, you can't do better than Golden State Seismic & Structural. read more

Just finished an earthquake retrofit with Golden State for our single family home in the Oakland hills. Brian and his crew are beyond unbelievable! They are seriously THE BEST. I am in the property management industry and work a lot with various tradespeople and construction crews. Brian and his crew are the cleanest, most respectful and professional crew I've ever dealt with. They were on time every day, cleaned up after themselves every day, and worked quickly and efficiently. Brian stayed in touch with us every step of the way and updated us every day (truly unheard of in construction). The work was clearly stellar, not just by my own (unprofessional) assessment but also made clear by the City of Oakland's building inspectors as they came through for the various inspections throughout the project. We had to wait a few months to get on Golden State's schedule, but it was well worth the wait! Brian and Holly are an awesome team. read more

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Brian Bouchard did a great job on the seismic retrofit of our 1945 house. He worked closely with a structural engineer, and his retrofit was meticulous. Brian was on site every day, and was always very communicative. His crew was always pleasant and very clean. We highly recommend Golden State Seismic and Structural. read more

I want to express my appreciation and recommendation for Brian and Holly Bouchard of Golden State Seismic & Structural for the work they did to retrofit my home. They were professional from the start and provided me with thorough details on what needed to be finalized on the Earthquake Brace and Bolt website, which approved me for a grant towards this work. They completed the project in a timely manner and their staff were very respectful and courteous. They cleaned up after they finished, leaving my yard spotless. Most importantly, they were in continual contact with me throughout the project so I was aware what was happening from start to finish. I would highly recommend Brian and Holly and their company, Golden State Seismic & Structural to anyone who is seeking to have their home retrofit. read more

I have now done three retrofit project with Brian and I have been satisfied each and every time. The company has an excellent reputation in the industry and even amongst city inspectors. Thank you Brian! read more

Brian is a straight forward guy who saved us about $40,000 on a recent foundation project. Having been told by Alameda Structural that we needed a complete foundation replacement, Brian inspected our foundation and told us that might not be the case. He suggested hiring an engineer to give us an un-biased assessment and sure enough, the engineer only recommended a seismic retrofit. Brian could have easily told us we needed the $60,000 foundation replacement but instead, he went the honest route and saved us a lot of money. We couldn't recommend Golden State Seismic enough! read more

Golden State Seismic & Structural - General Contractors Near Me - Antioch, California

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It's hard to add to the stellar reviews already posted for G3S, but here goes. From day 1 Brian was responsive, informative, professional, patient, and always polite. He provided a detailed estimate and scope for his work plan in accordance with the structural engineer's (with city approval) earthquake retrofit drawings for my single-family residence. Due to Covid, his own backlog of work, and my own work travel issues, the project didn't start until early July. Brian's excellent communications kept me informed about where I stood in his queue and he kept me "in place" and worked around my schedule until we both were finally free. Not all contractors are willing to work their schedule around clients, but Brian did without complaint. Brian's on-site crew, as already described in previous reviews, was unfailingly courteous, hard-working, thoroughly professional, and always on-time ready to work. Each step of the retrofit was explained beforehand and the crew kept me well-informed when drilling or other work might create noise affecting video calls, etc.. Dust maintenance was superb as areas were plastic-sheeted off and door seams taped close prior to sheetrock removal. Brian stopped by the site each day to check on the crew and answer any questions I might have. No matter how busy he was or how many calls were coming into him, he gave me his full attention to answer each question/concern fully and to my satisfaction. City and special inspections proceeded effortlessly without any questions from any inspectors. Quite simply, G3S is a highly-professional company, led by Brian's outstanding communications and responsiveness, whose on-site crew performs their often difficult work (crawling under houses to drill and bolt) both safely and effectively. G3S is first-call for my future structural and construction projects. read more

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Hi Brian, we're so sorry... this review should have been written/posted at the end of last year (2020). Just another thing COVID-19 delayed. Golden State Seismic (Brian et al) worked a big retrofit project for/with us during 2020. The project was done through the Oakland Safe Homes Program (OSHP). We asked for/reviewed bids in early May, accepted Golden State's bid in late May, and was issued a building permit in June. We waited four months (until October) for Golden State to begin the actual seismic work because they had many clients in line before us. We're so glad we waited as Golden State did a great job for us. Brian walked us through the entire three week demolition/retrofit process and we both waited close to another month for the final building inspection/ clearance. The project was much bigger than my wife and I anticipated when we started it in May because we had to have foundation work done in our garage due to a soft-story issue. The normal brace and bolting was done partially under the house, but a good portion of it required the removal and replacement of our interior garage walls and several of our exterior stucco walls. The work was dusty beyond belief, but the crew did a great job cleaning up everyday. All the guys on the work crew were pleasant to work with and they were very respectful of our property. If we ever have another seismic project to do, we will be sure to give Brian a call first. read more

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We completed a multi-phase retrofit of our home's foundation (1 portion raised, 1 portion on-grade slab) with Golden State Seismic & Structural through Oakland's Earthquake-Safe Homes Program. We were pointed to Brian through a contact at the city (a recommendation which in itself speaks volumes in my opinion). Everything was done with respect and precision. Brian and Holly are both consummate professionals, and the crew that worked on site with Brian was grade A. We couldn't have asked for better. - Communication is prompt and concise. No fluff, nothing extraneous, just clear, to the point, and respectful of your time. - Work was impeccable. City inspectors were out at several points in the project and everything was approved first time. The on-slab work was done inside our house, and the level of care in sealing the area for dust, cleaning at the end of each day, and putting everything back together was 10/10. - Site was clean and clear every day. Details were looked after. Project elements were explained clearly and when needed our input was sought. Nothing was ever glossed over. For example, Brain made sure we understood how our interior walls would look after the work was done, and got our in put on how we wanted trim boards to be replaced. We were very happy with this level of attention to detail. - Price was right, beating several competitors and well within the city's approval range for the ESHP grant. Finally, Brian caught several errors in the engineer's submitted report and design plan, both technical and general. He pointed these out to us with clear language, provided a writeup by email that we were able to forward to the city, and in doing so probably saved us several months of headache trying to get things cleared up inspectors and the ESHP program itself. Wasn't his job, but that's what you get with Golden State - they will work for and protect your best interest from beginning to end. Bottom line: this is the company and the team that you're looking for. read more

Golden State Seismic & Structural - the interior of a home under construction - General Contractors Near Me - Antioch, California

Could not be happier with the service we received. Guys were on time and respectful. Finished work looks great. Golden State handled all the permitting for us. We had a very minor hiccup along the way and Brian made it right without us even having to ask. These are honest hardworking people who take their reputation seriously. If you need seismic work done at a competitive price, these are your guys. read more

Brian is quite simply the best contractor I've ever worked with. His crew did a major partial foundation replacement and seismic retrofit on our house. He is super communicative and straightforward. He doesn't sugar-coat anything. He'll tell you how long it'll take and how much it'll cost and both of those things will be accurate. He'll refer you to an engineer if necessary and walk you through the permitting process. Everything he tells you will play out the way he says it will. His crew are super skilled, punctual and polite. They even checked in multiple times with our neighbors to ensure that noise and mess were kept to a minimum and no one was upset. I can't recommend Brian and his crew enough. They're super professional and also nice guys. read more

Brian and Golden Gate Structural were fantastic to work with. We first reached out months ago, and found his bid to be very competitive with the other bids we received. We ultimately decided to work with Brian because he was one of the approved contractors through the Earthquake Brace & Bolt program, and because he impressed me with his proactiveness in making sure I understood exactly what the project would entail. He was in high demand, and we weren't in a huge rush, so we scheduled our job months out. During those many months, Brian would check in periodically when an opening happened to be available to see whether we wanted to start our job. Loved that. When we finally did start our job, Brian kept us informed every step of the way -- timeline and schedule, letting us know what work would be done and when, when the inspectors would come, when we passed various inspections, when such and such subcontractor would arrive. You get the idea. He was super on top of everything, and checked in often to let us know the progress. I have honestly never met a contractor, or vendor, who has been as great as Brian to work with. Professional, punctual, courteous, proactive, and accommodating. Great customer service is rare, but you'll find that with Brian and Golden Gate Seismic. read more

Mike did a great job with an earthquake brace and bolt retrofit on our house. He did the work while we were out of town and was super knowledgeable with navigating the city permitting system. The city inspector even told us candidly that we picked a great contractor for the work. There was a small mistake with the wiring that we found when we returned home, and Mike followed up right away with sending out an electrician and fixing the problem. Highly recommend! read more

I recently had them do a seismic retrofit on my house as part of the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. Brian was great to work with and was very familiar with the EBB program which made it super easy for me, and he went above and beyond what the engineer's drawings required for the retrofit so I'm extra confident the house is secure now. He was very knowledgeable about the whole retrofit process and was very quick to answer any questions I had. His guys were great too, they left my basement cleaner than it was before they started the job, and they even fixed a leaking water line they found in my crawlspace so I didn't have to call a plumber. They were also quick, I was leaving for vacation and needed the job done by a particular date and they finished a couple days early. I would highly recommend Golden State Seismic to anyone who needs a retrofit done. read more

First my apologies. We had Brian Bouchard and his crew do our seismic upgrade just before Christmas 2021 and I've procrastinated until now to write the glowing review that Golden State Seismic deserves. We have a "typical" soft-story situation on our 1940 Alameda stucco house (split-level, with 2 bedrooms and bath above the garage) and we've been thinking about doing seismic reinforcement for years. We were scared away several years ago by an exorbitant bid (the engineer said his cost alone would be over $10K). We got earthquake insurance at that time, but when this year's CEA bill came in at over $3,000, we decided to look again at getting the work done. Brian came recommended to us by a real estate connection and we contacted him. He responded immediately, gave us some initial feedback on cost and recommended Dan Szumski for the engineering. We contacted Dan and arranged for him to do the engineering and plan. Dan's firm does a great job and has a fair, all-in price. Brian prepared a contract based on the plan and he explained the work and the time frame for the job in detail. The price was very much within our expectations and we agreed. The next step was working with the city planning department to obtain the permit. Both Dan and Brian communicated timely and comprehensively with the planning department and with us. The permit process was a couple-months long affair, and Brian had prepared us for that. The timeline was in line with what he predicted though and as soon as it was complete, he scheduled the job. Brian's crew were extremely professional. (First thing was helping us with suggestions on moving stuff out of our garage in rainy season and working around a couple things we left there.) They always let us know when they were showing up and who would show up. They let us know when they were leaving for the day so we could secure things. And they were fast and clean. Everybody was courteous and professional (even to a slightly grumpy neighbor). There were a couple minor issues that came up during the work. We had a small pipe leak that we needed to bring in a plumber for and some attendant dry rot that the crew repaired as an included part of the contracted work. There were a couple bumps in the inside closet wall on the outside of the new garage strut that they attended to. Everything was done quickly and without a hitch. The crew finished on time and took care of the final city inspections. One other mention. I noted above that the work was done just before Christmas 2021. Well, we happen to live on Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda, and we had no problem decorating and the work did not distract from the festivities! read more

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Brian did a seismic retrofit on our old house, and he did an incredible job. His team works clean, and he manages them closely and effectively. He's unbelievably thorough and knowledgeable and about as honest and communicative as it gets. When he says he's going to do something, he always follows through, and then some. Having dealt with a number of contractors for other projects on our home, I can say without a doubt that Brian is the best one we've ever dealt with. The quality of god work is top tier, in every respect. The county inspectors were gushing with praise in each inspection, and when other inspectors passed through for other projects, they couldn't help but comment on how good his work is, even though it has nothing to do with why they're there. read more

Golden State was great! Brian was extremely communicative throughout the whole process and his team were hardworking and punctual. Would highly recommend! read more

We can't recommend Golden State Seismic + Structural enough. We are first time homeowners whose new house needed a complete foundation replacement and drainage system. Naturally, this was an intimidating project for us, but Brian, Holly, Luis (the foreman) and the rest of the team made us feel like we were in good hands the whole time. They answered all of our questions, patiently dealt with a few issues with our neighbors, and were incredibly communicative via text/phone/email throughout the process. Plus, when the project was done (on time!), they left the yard in great shape and even did a few repairs inside that were a natural result of the project. We can only hope that any contractors we work with for future projects are as detail-oriented, kind, and communicative as Brian and team. Thank you! read more

This review is about my experience requesting a quote: Brian returned my call in NO TIME, thoughtfully answered some questions and gave me a rough estimate on a home we're seriously considering purchasing. I now feel confident enough to move forward with our offer. It was super helpful and he was so polite and professional. read more

Pros: * Great work quality * Efficient work pace * Smart design and engineering * Clear communication of expectations and progress at every step Cons: * They're in demand --- you need to schedule months in advance! Brian and his team were very conscientious. I appreciated their attention to detail and their clear, up-front communication style. We were fortunate to get our drainage + seismic retrofit completed within a period of two weeks (once the work started). In terms of scheduling, we had to book a few months in advance --- so plan ahead! read more

Golden State did a stellar job with earthquake brace and bolt services for our Oakland home. They are organized and efficient, and very helpful in navigating the state's earth quake brace and bolt program. The crew was professional and courteous and cleaned up thoroughly every day. The front office was flexible and helpful when we had scheduling problems. Very highly recommended. read more

Brian and his team are great, and I very much recommend them for your seismic retrofit work in the Bay Area. In addition to completing the job professionally and quickly, Brian is a responsive communicator and patient facilitator. He was willing to work with us through the very long and frustrating Earthquake Brace and Bolt program and was always a man of his word. read more