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
