My wife and I have been in search for a home to purchase in Oakland CA…read more We had our eye on a beautiful home that was built in 1923. Sadly the disclosures said nothing about the foundation. My agent strongly advised me to hire a structural engineer to assist with the overall inspection. That's when I came across Kais with Oaktown engineers. Kais was very easy to get ahold of, a great value based on other engineers in the area, prompt with response, & available on short notice, a huge plus given the short window to place home offers. During the walk around process my agent and I could quickly tell Kais was not only familiar with houses in Oakland, but was knowledgeable about how the beams, foundation and structure should be settling on a home after one hundred years. I was very pleased with the information provided by Kais in aiding my wife and I's decision on the home. Sadly the home itself needed a whole new foundation, new retaining wall on both the side and front of the home and much more. I felt very reassured in my decision based on the report Kai's provided. If you're looking for a structural engineer, I would absolutely recommend them. They're also a small family business, something we need more of in Oakland. Great job all around Oaktown engineers!

Kais and Oaktown Engineers are fantastic. I needed guidance on a home purchase for a hillside home…read moreand have no experience in this subject. I had to make a quick decision to compete in the Bay Areas fast pace real estate market. Kais was able to schedule a walk with me on short notice and gave me a very thorough and detailed assessment. He patiently answered all my questions and set me up to make a very informed decision. I am grateful to have found him and highly recommend him for any structural engineering needs.

We had an unpermitted sunroom that was improperly supported. Darren was very professional,…read moreknowledgeable, and responsive. Ignacio did the work for the project, and he is extremely good at what he does and a very hard worker. I am very happy that at least one of our walls is properly supported by a concrete foundation and our sunroom is properly supported from below.

Golden Bay Foundation Builders has been excellent throughout my entire foundation repair and…read moreretrofit process. Our home required a few horizontal cracks patched, and a section of the foundation replaced. We also did a complete retrofit in the process. Darren the project manager has been very communicative throughout and just an overall joy to work with. Special mention to Kyndell who assisted with the inspection process to make sure everything passed. I would definitely recommend this company to any one looking for foundation work!

Overall, we've found Romain to be very reliable--not only in the quality of his work but also in…read morehis professional attitude. We've had his architectural designs reviewed by friends who majored in architecture as well as several interior and landscape designers. Everyone gave very positive feedback and encouraged me to move forward with finalizing the plan. If there is any "downside," it's simply that Romain moves quickly. You'll want to share your thoughts and feedback promptly, otherwise he may be a step ahead of you. Personally, I really appreciate his energy, fast turnaround, and thoughtful consideration of details. We highly recommend Romain.

Roman, the owner, has a surprisingly short fuse. During my project, he misinterpreted a detail on a…read moredrawing, and when I politely pointed out the discrepancy, his demeanor changed noticeably. From that point forward, his communication was condescending and aggressive rather than professional and collaborative. The interactions left me feeling uncomfortable. Based on these experiences and lack of professionalism, I strongly do not recommend this company.

Zhang Architects Inc has collaborated with Austin and his team at Upright Engineering on several…read moreprojects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area where Zhang Architects provided architectural design services. Their team consistently delivers high-quality civil and structural engineering services with strong attention to detail, professionalism, and responsibility. They are responsive, easy to work with, and maintain reasonable turnaround times throughout the project process. We appreciate the collaborative working relationship and look forward to continuing to work with Upright Engineering on future projects.

We had great experiences working with Upright Engineering for our house addition project in SF…read moreBernal Heights. Our project located on steep slope and the structural design and cals requirements are extremely strict from DBI SF, we even went through the SAC meeting! Because Austin and his team have extensive knowledge to compliant with SF DBI's codes and requirements, we did go back and forth too many times for revision of the design or plan. the city was pretty happy with their works. Upright Engineers worked on our foundation, stairs and structural documents. Amber is very responsive throughout our permit application process, whenever there were new comments or changes from the city requirement, she responded right away and contacted the right person in the team for the request. we highly recommend Upright Engineering! Thanks

Peiman and Laleh have been a phenomenal help. They are patient, kind, knowledgeable, and willing to…read morego the extra mile, when extra questions or issues arose with our contractor. We wouldn't be more thrilled to recommend them. Peiman's team's professionalism and skill make them a rare find for home remodeling projects in the Bay Area.

I contacted more than 20 structural engineers in attempting to even get someone to take my call,…read morelet alone to make my choice of whom to work with for seismic calculations for my home remodel project. Mr. Peiman Ghaffari of S&P Structural Engineers clearly stood out above the rest. He was the fastest to respond; the best communicator -- patient, clear, and easy to work with; and was the one who completed my project with integrity, high technical competency, and professionalism, exactly on time. I have to say I count myself fortunate for finding and choosing Mr. Ghaffari / S&P for my work and I would hope to hire him again if ever a new need arises.

this is the second home we have had do the seismic retrofit for in the past 10 years and both were…read moredone 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!

Excellent experience with EBB program. I requested 3 inspections before picking a contractor- of…read morethem 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.

Quick response and turnaround. But sloppy and over-engineered. Also conflicting advice in different…read moreconversations. Extremely greedy when it comes to changes. Switched to a different engineer mid-project.

Mr. Um provided high quality, detail-oriented and actionable advice to us. We are very grateful…read morefor the consultation service he offers. Initial correspondence was very responsive and professional, and he showed up punctually. He climbed into the attic with us, assessed the situation in detail, provided us intensive education and feedback about our (old) roof, patiently answered our questions in a respectful and professional manner. Mr. Um also confirmed our own assessment of needed structural wall repair and provided us with a detailed, actionable remediation plan and a clear drawing. The recommended plan was aligned with what we expected it to be (based on our non-expert, but intensive research). In addition, Mr. Um educated us with additional finer details of what a successful repair would look like. We had follow-up questions regarding the repair plan / drawing, which Mr. Um patiently answered in detail, addressing all of our questions completely. Overall, Mr. Um's ability and willingness to go into objective detail was the key element that inspired confidence and provided peace of mind.

I had a phenomenal experience working with Manny. I am working on a bathroom remodel project and…read morewanted to modify the framing to accommodate a large niche. Manny and his team showed up on time, thoroughly inspected the wall, and attic above, and provided a detailed and stamped report needed for my permit. I received other quotes for the same work for SIX TIMES the dollar amount Manny quoted. I plan to work with Manny on future projects like a backyard ADU, where he already saved me $7500 by recommending getting a soil test from the city rather than conducting a new one. Manny is the man.

I reached out to A&J Engineering after noticing a crack in the drywall above an interior bedroom…read moredoorway. The door casing also went out of square with seasonal changes which prevented the door from closing all the way. It was one of those situations that made me wonder whether the crack was cosmetic or symptomatic of a potential structural issue. I was really impressed with A&J Engineering's professionalism and responsiveness to my inquiry. They replied to my inquiry quickly, requested additional information before quoting a price, reviewed the information I provided before scheduling a site visit, and got a site visit on the calendar fast. Manny and the team that he assembled for the site visit were knowledgable, friendly, and respectful. They explained what they observed during the visit and produced a clear and concise report with photos shortly afterwards. I highly recommend A&J Engineering if you want a professional evaluation of potential structural issues and clear documentation of findings based on a physical site assessment. If your goal is an end-to-end path from assessment to coordination of a structural repair plan (if merited), I'd suggest communicating that expectation at the outset to ensure the scope and deliverables align with what you're ultimately trying to accomplish.