We greatly appreciated that Ryan was available on very short notice to conduct a structural inspection on a Philadelphia rowhome. He performed a careful inspection (providing useful instruction as he inspected the house) and timely produced a thorough, balanced, and informative report that was invaluable to us. We are grateful for his expert work! read more

Alex has been crucial in our inspection period on the home we're looking to purchase. He and his employee, John, thoroughly evaluated the property and weren't afraid to get into tight crawl spaces to ensure they had the full picture. He provided a quick turnaround for the report after I let him know that we were under a time crunch for the inspection period. He took our calls when we needed clarity and even spoke with the seller's contractor to let them know what needs to get done to meet the demands of the report. Not only did this all provide peace of mind, but the process has also saved us tens of thousands of dollars and potentially a disastrous safety issue. I can't recommend Alex enough if you need a professional engineer. read more

The head of the company basically ghosted me after I tried to get clarification for some remarks he made to a municipal office I was dealing with. He just ignored my calls, messages and emails. I spent about $4000 total with the company and I think they should at least respond to my questions. read more

My neighbor referred me to Leake Engineering when I was concerned that we had a structural issue in our Center City townhouse. I called Alex to schedule an assessment, and after hearing more about the type of home we live in, and the signs that we were seeing, he determined that a structural engineer was actually not necessary in our case. Alex gave me advice on the type of contractor that I should hire to investigate and fix our issue, and thanks to his expertise we were able to get the work completed and our house is back in shape. I really appreciated Alex's honesty and professional opinion, and won't hesitate to contact him if we actually do need a structural engineer in the future. Definitely recommend! read more

We ended up getting another structural engineer to look at our brick rowhome after our disappointing experience with Leake Engineering. The report from Leake was vague and superficial on important points, and attempts to clarify with the engineer resulted in further unclear and contradictory specifications. It felt like the guy was just spitballing in the moment, which is not the sense you want to have when an engineer is telling you need tens of thousands of dollars' worth of work done or your walls will collapse and your bedroom topple. Responses to requests for clarification were frustratingly slow. We essentially gave up, wrote off the report and the fee as a loss, and hired someone else--more experienced in Philadelphia--who was highly recommended by people on both NextDoor and the neighborhood Facebook group. The consult also seemed excessively alarmist. I would recommend looking elsewhere for structural concerns. Edit to add: After reading Alex B.'s response below, I felt I should elaborate. I did not give Leake Engineering a 1-star review because Alex told us things we didn't want to hear. The review was earned by the sloppiness of the report; the superficiality (and inaccuracy) of the evaluation; and the poor, unprofessional communication that ultimately required us to hire another engineer to do the same job. It is precisely because we understand the importance of safety that we were unable to use the Leake Engineering report. It was amateurishly prepared, with inconsistencies, misspellings, omissions, and incorrect terminology (for which Alex blamed an intern). In one section, the writer had simply copy-and-pasted sentences from another section and forgotten to change the details. After reading the report, we emailed Alex a list of questions, hoping for a prompt reply that would allow us to get an estimate from a contractor. We waited almost two weeks for a response. Some of his answers were helpful. Others just added to our frustration. The main point of confusion was the number of star bolts. As each bolt costs over $1000 installed, a contractor needs to know the exact number required to give an accurate estimate. In person, Alex recommended 14 star bolts (6 on the front, 4 on the back, and 4 on the side). His report, however, did not explicitly state the number of star bolts needed on the back and side. Attempts to coax from him a precise number of star bolts led to a tedious back-and-forth. One of Alex's follow-up emails seemed to suggest he had changed his recommendation to 18 star bolts, but this was not clearly stated. We asked him, "Can you please confirm whether 14 or 18 (or another number) is the total number of star bolts you're recommending?" His response--this is a direct quote--was "That is correct." More back and forth, and we finally got him to commit to an answer: 18 star bolts total (6 on the front, 6 on the back, and 6 on the side). Hoping to get estimates, we then had two very experienced, highly rated contractors look at our house. They were both as confused as we were by Alex's recommendations. Neither could understand why, for example, Alex had recommended 6 star bolts for the rear wall. The rear wall is only two stories tall, with a cantilevered bump-out on the second story. There is no obvious place to install 6 star bolts. We emailed Alex again to ask him where, exactly, he envisioned these 6 star bolts going. When he finally replied 21 days later, this was his response: "The intent was for 3 bolts on front and 3 bolts on back." We did not think it worth attempting to communicate with him further. So we hired another engineer. In Alex's review response, he asked what we meant by "more experienced." Alex went to school out of state, has worked in the Philadelphia region for 7 years, and is based in a suburb. The engineer we subsequently hired earned their degree in Philadelphia, is active within Philly institutions, and has worked in the city proper for over 30 years. Though we expressed our frustration with Leake Engineering, the second engineer made it clear they did not want to "step on anyone's toes" and avoided criticizing Alex's work directly. The major concerns they noted, overall, did not deviate dramatically from the concerns that Alex had observed. Still, the difference with the second engineer was striking. When Alex came to our house, he took a cursory look around, took some snapshots with his phone camera, hemmed and hawed, and then gave his recommendations. He did not take measurements or use any tools. The second engineer came equipped with a measuring tape, a level, a plumb bob, and other tools. They took careful measurements and detailed notes. They were much more thorough and deliberate in their inspection, they were demonstrably more familiar with rowhouse construction methods, and they were more measured and less alarmist in their recommendations. And they charged less. read more

If you think your having a structural issue with your Basement or Crawlspace Leake Enginerring is the way to go .. I've teamed up with Leake Engeenring and Jamison Basement Waterproofing on several different projects and the end results for the clients were 5 stars .. I have worked with other engineer firms in the past and they were very hard to get a hold of except Alex he is very detailed and very helpful ! I will always recommended Leake Engeering... read more

We have hired Leake Engineering twice to look at our very old home in Northern Liberties. Alex came out both times and we really appreciated his attention to detail and expertise. We will certainly hire Leake / Alex again! read more

Alex was very easy to work with and very quick to answer. We got a quote within 10 minutes and scheduled the inspection within 2 days. We had a very detailed inspection and I recommend Leake Engineering. read more

Leake Engineering is all around excellent. Clear and upfront pricing, great communication skills, and timely services are more than enough reasons for us to come back to them for future engineering evaluations. read more

Alex was extremely accommodating to our rushed timeline and limited availability on needing an inspection and follow up on an area of concern in a home we were buying in East Falls. More importantly, he is extremely professional and knowledgeable! read more

Alex called and was able to arrive a little earlier. He was thorough and a genuinely nice guy who provided insight and help! He answered all my questions and was patient when I needed some things explained to me. I can see why your business gets such good Yelp reviews!! read more

Top line details = Perfect, would have given as many stars as they let me. Because you are still reading, Alex is a complete professional. Wide range of knowledge and more than happy to share what he knows. Plenty of advice on the practical level too, since he also has a background in construction management. The reason any of us needs a structural engineer is we don't know, and we don't want anything falling down that shouldn't. I left our project review with all of my questions answered (he checked to make sure) and best of all, the confidence to proceed. If you can get Alex, you will tell yourself later how smart you now are. I truly wish everything went this well! read more

Leake Engineering was great. As an engineer myself, I appreciated Alex's thorough review and reporting as well as his willingness to answer all of my follow up questions. He was significantly more affordable than the other quotes I received and his report was exactly what I needed to assess the exterior and interior of our newly purchased home to hand to a contractor for quotes. He was responsive both by phone and email and his turnaround time to get the report back was one day. I was thoroughly impressed. read more

Alex was a pleasure to work with. He responded quickly to my request for a structural assessment. He was thorough in his report and in his explanations to me as he went through the house. I had a bad experience with another structural engineer and I felt like I got a winner with Leake Engineering. read more

I previously used Leake and was very impressed with everything. The report is thorough and helpful and I have used the engineer's suggestions to begin to make extensive repairs on my home. However, I called back to once again in an attempt to schedule the engineer to return to the property to look at another area of the house that is in need of diagnoses (masonry-related in home's exterior). After multiple calls and messages trying to schedule a visit, no one has gotten back to me. This is a huge disappointment and I will not be recommending Leake to anyone else. A call back saying, "I'm too busy" or "I am not available" or "I am not interested in working with you because x" would be helpful but I've heard nothing- it's very unprofessional. read more

A short while ago I was seeking out structural engineers to get some advice about a possible problem with my house. Initial inquiries were quite disappointing. One firm wanted $275 to come out and do a visual inspection, but wanted another $275 to write a report! A second firm wanted $800 to come out, but would not engage with me about the nature of the potential issues, even though I sent several pictures and videos over at their request. I found Leake Engineering through Yelp. Unlike any of the other places I contacted, I was able to speak to the chief engineer Alex Bruno right away. I have talked with him thrice on the phone so far, and met with him in person for an hour at my house, and we have also exchanged several emails. What is striking about Alex is that he is informal and friendly, and yet appears to be very competent and very informed. A couple of anecdotes illustrating the former: the first time we talked, he was driving. He apologized for some interruptions but still answered all my questions, to the extent that he almost obviated the need for his visit (he provided free advice). The second time was when I called after work hours, and he was with his child. Yet he still took the call and explained his constraints (and then of course I apologized and we decided to chat the next day). When he heard the nature of the issue, it did not seem very serious to him, and he quoted a figure that was less than half his usual rate.Once he came over, there was more complexity than he had suspected, so we both agreed I should pay a little more, but it was still an extremely reasonable amount. In general, Alex's advice is clearly not designed to maximize his revenue; Indeed he conveyed first and foremost the dispassionate perspective of the engineer - and did not dilute it with the perspective of the business owner (I found this very refreshing as it is almost absent from our corporate life). Where the analysis revealed a problem he said so. But informally, he also told me what he would do in my position. Alex also knows what he is talking about. His understanding of structural issues appears to be deep and definitive. He did some numerical analysis and came up with a very precise number that quantified the nature of my structural problems. He does not waffle or beat around the bush. Every time I questioned something, he was able to explain the engineering concepts behind the answer clearly and precisely. I assume some of the informality and client friendly rates are because the business is still new. I with them every success in the future, and I will be happy if this review helps in that regard. At the same time, I hope they never discard the qualities I have admired above as their business grows and flourishes. read more

I worked with Alex a few months ago to do a structural assessment on a property I am purchasing. He was extremely professional, knowledgeable and honest. I greatly appreciated his optimism as it related to my rehab project. Scheduling was easy. I look forward to working with him on any other projects in the future. read more