I felt it was important to share our experience with JZ structural as I ultimately went with them given their high Yelp reviews. However, my experience was negative to say the least. Ellen was responsive initially, but this was only until they received payment. After this, trying to get a response was like getting blood from a stone: close to impossible. My architect had asked Julian, the engineer, if he could draw a rough mock up before he put together a full set of plans (to which he agreed). We never got this, despite checking in multiple times, and instead, it was only right upon the 'deadline' we had provided for the project that we received a full final set of plans. This was disappointing. The plans themselves were riddled with errors: it seemed like a lot of copy / paste work rather than careful attention to detail. The wrong county was listed, and certain structural details were copy pasted from the wrong city, which my architect had to point out. We had around 30 local contractors look at the plans, as well as two peer reviews of the plans from other licensed structural engineers, and the feedback was that it had been over-designed (consistent with one of the other yelp reviews). After multiple emails attempting to get Julian (the engineer) on a call, he was incredibly defensive, and rude. It was at this point, I was appalled that he would speak to a client like this, so decided to cut ties with this company and use another structural engineer instead. If you are in absolutely no rush, and have no concerns about over-design: perhaps this company will work for you. But for our residential project, this was one of the worst experiences I have had with a "professional" service, and I want to warn others. read more

Working with Ellen, Julian, and others from JZ Structural was great. They were extremely responsive. They also diligently worked with the city, project manager, and other contractors to get the job done. Ellen and Julian also provided a very personal touch with guidance in hiring contractors, materials to use for the project, and design. They explained everything to us in detail and were always available to answer any questions and address our concerns. Overall, JZ Structural provided us with a great experience. Would highly recommend getting in touch with them if you need help with building and large renovation projects. read more

I moved into a fairly old house recently and had concerns about various cracks on the property. I contacted Ellen, and she arranged for Julian to come by my house for an inspection. He arrived on time. I showed him the areas of concern. Julian took his time to explain to me which issues were natural and expected for a home this age and what I should have someone take care of. read more

Julian was very knowledgeable and kind. He was quick to answer my questions and even gave me some good suggestions. I appreciate how fast they responded to my needs read more

Today, I had a structural engineering consultation with Julian. I initially contacted JZ Structural through Yelp and received a message from Ellen. She is very responsive, and I immediately booked an appointment. My desire was to confirm whether or not two walls that I wish to remove are load bearing. Julian was exceptional. Very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable; exactly what I was looking for. I always appreciate great service, and feel that promoting such businesses is of value to both the business, and to potential customers. The consultation was fairly priced, and I would not hesitate to refer them to others. Thank you Ellen and Julian for making me feel like a valued customer! read more

Had a great experience with JZ Structural. Julian is a very knowledgeable structural engineer and he was able to quickly diagnose the problem with some ceiling cracks at our home and guide us to a solution. Ellen was very helpful on the admin side of things and scheduled a site visit for us within a day or two of us calling. read more

Great costumer service (Thank you Ellen!). There were very responsive and able to accommodate our request at short notice. Julian was very knowledgeable and helpful during assessment of the structural integrity of the building. Highly recommended! read more

JZ is very professional and knowledgeable on house structures and design. We are glad to have found them when we need consultation before fixing our roof to replace new shingles and consultation on possible solar insulation in the near future. read more

These guys are exceptionally great!!! They helped me out of a tight spot and saved the sale of my house!!! I'll get right to the point. -Selling my house in Pasadena and was already in escrow. -Upon the City of Pasadena's inspection they cited me for guard and handrails that I redid without permits. -Called 3 different structural engineer companies on Yelp -Julian from JZ Structural was the only one that responded and came down the next day. -Julian assessed my situation and quoted me for calculations and drawings that was very fair. -He made the guard and handrails up to code with minimal work that needed to be done on my end. -Sent in Julian's from JZ Structural drawings, calculation and digital copy to the City of Pasadena. -Inspector from the City of Pasadena came out and approved everything. -Sold my home! Thank you Julian and JZ Structural!!! read more

Our company uses JZ Structural for many of our personal and business needs. We so enjoy working with Ellen. Her company is detailed, quick, professional and extremely pleasent and easy to wo work with. If there are any questions from the City planning they are able to easily address them. We will continue to work with them on many projects in the future. read more

We were days away from closing escrow on our new home and in a rush to get a professional opinion from an engineer after our inspector found questionable cracks in the walls. Worried that it might be the foundation, I reached out to multiple other firms who were understandably unable to schedule me last minute. Ellen was able to fit me in for the very next day. Julian, the engineer, inspected every structural oddity in and out of the house. We would point to a crack, and he would calmly explain the root of the issue and how to fix it. He helped us get an idea of the investment the house would require upfront and what projects could wait. After reading reviews for other firms, I'm glad we went with an engineer and not a construction company who might try to upsell us on work. We later learned that Julian usually works on high rises and stadiums, so we are incredibly grateful that he makes time to do little inspections like this on the side. He was friendly, humble, funny, patient, and his rate was very fair! Highly recommended! read more

This Team is amazing to work with and I highly recommend for any engineering needs . Julian was Very knowledgeable at what I needed and his fast response time was quick . The office staff was also very helpful getting the information i needed . I will be using them again on any future projects . read more

I'm an architect and have worked with Julian from JZ Structural on a few of my residential projects (1-story and 2-story additions). His proposals and fees are reasonable. His designs are more on the conservative side. Julian is quite a happy and cheerful person. I'd definitely continue working with JZ Structural for my future projects. read more

I am a property manager and had a chance to work with JZ Structural a few months ago to repair a bad roof 's struture. Julian is very proffessional, knowledgefull and look for the best interest of the owner. He understood the urgency at hand and responded on a timely manner. We needed his help to check on the work of the contractor before moving to the next step, he visited the job site the next day and made his professional recommendations. There were an extra fee, but reasonable. We were very happy for his service. read more

Amazing!!! Julian, Ellen and their team are amazing at what they do. I have been in the design profession for over a decade now and Julian has been my structural engineer for over 2 dozen projects. He is so through, efficient and understands what needs to be achieved for both code and clients. I cannot recommend JZ Structural enough. The best structural engineers! read more

JZ Structural was very professional. I worked with Ellen on a proposal and she was very thorough, fast and responsive. My project was such a small scope that I did not go with their firm. However, I would consider them for larger projects. read more

We are doing kitchen renovation and one of the things we want to do is to have an open space between the kitchen and the formal dining room. We want to be sure that we can remove the wall without comprising the structure of the house. We started asking friends for structural engineers and cannot find one. Fortunately, my wife found JZ Structural at yelp.com. She contacted them right away and Julian was able to accommodate our request to come over the weekend. JZ structural charged for the visit and professional evaluation at a very reasonable price. We hired them to do the site plan and structural calculation so we can get the city permit. Ellen the office manager scheduled and organized everything from beginning to end. She was great, professional and very pleasant to work with. She helped us through out the entire process getting the city permit and especially with all the questions we asked since it's our first time to work with this kind of house project. I highly recommend JZ Structural. read more

Good service. Very detailed analysis. Will come back again if need home improvement in the future.

He is too scare to design it properly. We used him on a couple of jobs and turned out that he over designed it big time. On a guesthouse, his foundation design was for a four story building. We will not use him again. His design had cost us a lot of unnecessary expenses, for something he is too scare to do. I would recommend David Lee or Peter Lee, no relation, both in San Gabriel. Both are excellent engineer. read more

I was super excited when buying a new home with a great view but it was also nerve-racking going through escrow. Thanks to JZ Structural, it was a relief to have a professional engineer inspect the structural of the house on the hill side. Julian's expertise and knowledge really helped me in the home buying process. I was very satisfied with the great service and definitely recommend JZ Structural to my friends and family! read more