We are very happy and grateful with the team at Orohaus Design! Martin and his team helped us design our new two-story accessory dwelling unit for our home. At first the process seemed daunting to build the ADU. Orohaus Design helped guide us through the process and made it easy to get the ADU approved. Martin provided many different floor plan alternatives and provided 3d renderings to help us visualize the process. His team got the project swiftly approved with Patrick in the Planning Department and with Bill Spoja in Building Department. Right now we are in construction and the team has been helping our contractor with questions. I can't wait for the finished project. I highly recommend Orohaus Design. read more

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Orohaus Design (Martin) did a fantastic job creating a design and plans for my bathroom conversion remodel. The plans were approved by City Planner and Building & Safety with minor to no changes needed. Martin was quick to respond and helped to interface with the City planning department. I highly recommend Orohaus Design for your next house architectural and plan needs. Give them a try. read more

Martin from Orohaus Design helped me out with drafting up plans for an ADU, and they did a fantastic job ! I have nothing but praise for his work, professionalism, and attitude. We were able to get first revisions to the city in about a month, and aside from that he made sure that there was progress being made on the city's end as well. He is very responsive when you need to contact him, and is able to explain his thought process in an easy to understand manner. For an average homeowner like me, it is crucial to have someone who is good at their craft help breakdown and navigate a complex process such as construction & planning. This is what makes Martin and Orohaus one of the best out there. It was no surprise to me (and made me extremely pleased) to hear from a contractor during the bidding process ask who my architect was, because it was one of the best plans he's ever seen. I would without a doubt hire Orohaus Design again for their services. read more

I am an Engineering Project Manager working for a billion dollar pharmaceutical company. I reached out to Orohaus design for a residential project and was greeted with nothing but hostility. I simply requested to understand the pricing of a proposal I received and was Martin Ruvalcaba was extremely unprofessional. Instead of walking me through the scope of work for the project and the time required to complete the project he proceeded to be offended that I even asked why the price was what it was. This was the first design company I looked into in the area of the project and as a commercial engineer I am shocked how bitter this poor man was. Orohaus design management, I understand working with residential is probably frustrating because people are trying to save money but when a customer asks if you could elaborate more on pricing for a project don't insult them for asking. I don't do many residential jobs but I hope your company decides to competitively bid on a project that is within my network so I can inform them how miserable Martin is. read more

Had an issue with load bearing wall. Martin was very responsive and came out to my house and told me the issue Abc the solution. Highly recommend read more

Martin and his team were absolutely AMAZING! The results vastly exceeded our expectations! A little back story, we purchased a distressed home in Los Alamitos that required some updating. Initially we only interviewed licensed architects in our area, but that turned out to be an interesting experience. They were trying to direct our vision in a different design direction, only offered design services, and their proposed design budget was a lot compared to the services being offered. We also need to hire our own structural engineering, surveyor, or use one of the firms they recommended to us. We then expanded our search and eventually found Martin at OroHaus Design. They are residential home designers and structural engineering firm as well. We spoke to Martin and outlined our vision and he and his team brought it to life!!!! OroHaus Design was able to design our kitchen & bathroom remodel, redesign the floor plans so we had better floor, design our master suites and guest bedroom, convert the existing attic space into two new bedrooms with ensuite bathroom, and he did all the structural engineering and required retrofit as well. They are a one stop shop and Martin hired all the required subconsultants as well. Martin and his team also takes care of the approval process and take the plans to the city for review and make any corrections to get that approval. They definitely eliminated that headache for us!!! Here are some pictures of the before and after. We will be using Martin and his team for our backyard reno in the Winter. We can't wait!!! read more

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Be very careful with this company. After the structural inspection I hired Martin to perform which was $250, he tried to charge me an extra $600 just to email me his findings. Obviously this is ridiculous and if you shop around you will find this is disproportionately higher than any other engineer will quote you. Not to mention Martin seemed fairly new to structural inspections in general. read more

I needed plans for opening up a load bearing wall. I surely picked the right firm. The work was done quickly and the drawings looked great. Everything worked out perfectly when I went for my city permit. Long Beach planners can be such a pain. I'm so glad I had everything I needed to get my permit. Thanks Martin! read more

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Highly recommend Orohaus Design! My experience with Orohaus Design has been great! I showed Martin a picture of what we wanted to do to our house and he designed it just the way we wanted it. Martin was very professional and detailed, he not only listened to what we wanted but also gave us his opinion, which made me feel as if he shared my vision of our house. The approval process with the city of Bellflower went very smoothly. The plans are so detailed that I felt comfortable enough to do some of the work myself, which has saved us a lot of money! We are still in the construction process and Martin has been very helpful with answering all my questions. I am so glad we went with Orohaus Design, I highly recommend them! Thank you Martin! read more

Some key, great experiences with Martin: He wore shoe covers when he entered my house for his site analysis. I contacted him during 2018 Christmas and New Years, yet he was still responsive. His plans were approved by the city in one try. He understood what we wanted, was very flexible, and was easy to work with. Martin is just a great structural engineer and even a better business owner. read more

I found Martin through yelp because of his stellar yelp reviews. My husband and I had been spinning our wheels not understanding where to start in removing what we thought was maybe a load bearing wall. Martin was able to figure out within minutes of his on-site visit that we were dealing with a shear wall, which was much more complicated to remove especially since we have a large two-story home. Our goal was to open the space for a family room and immediately became concerned over costs. Martin was able to analyze the space and come up with alternatives. He presented everything, from the costliest to what was most economical for us and explaining what we would have to give up along the way should we choose different options. What I also found helpful was that Martin has a network of construction professionals he was able to reach out to. He gave us an idea of construction costs as well, which to me is an extremely important variable when deciding which path to choose. I was also worried about changing the structural integrity of the home, but Martin worked up a plan that would make the house just as strong if not a little bit stronger. During the process, Martin asked us if we'd be okay removing all the drywall in the areas we planned on removing. He also had us open small areas of drywall in other spaces so he could get a better idea of the construction since we didn't have blue prints. He felt this would avoid surprises during actual construction and he was completely right. We even found the bidding process to be easy because the contractors could see exactly what they were working with. Once the plans were approved, which he handled everything with the city, we asked for some referrals and he was able to give us several contractors he has worked with in the past who handled similar structural projects. That was a huge plus. I also thought Martin did an excellent job communicating via email. It's not often you meet professionals who can write well and with proper grammar. I think that just added to my trust in Martin. He was also friendly and easy to talk to. It was all the little things and the big things that came together that ultimately led us to feeling comfortable with Martin and having total faith that he would get this project done perfectly. The only thing I'd do differently next time is ask more questions about the cost with Martin ahead of time. Initially we signed a flat fee contract when we thought the wall was load bearing, but the estimate and scope of the job definitely changed once Martin did his on-site visit. The final cost did exceed his estimate and there wasn't communication along the way about where the final costs were heading until we got our first invoice. The job changed from a flat fee to a per hour and I didn't realize that. I'm not saying the costs weren't fair, and there was even some discounting he did, but I'm a big planner and try to avoid surprises. When I asked Martin to clarify he explained everything in detail including what final costs to expect. We don't plan on knocking anymore walls down, but you never know what might come up. My husband and I agree that we have found our go to engineer/architect for any future project needs and would highly recommend him to any family or friends. read more

Approved!!!! Thanks Martin and your team!!! Highly recommend anyone that is out there looking for a great architect and great service with a great price . Martin is the man!!! read more

Orohaus Design - Approved to build!!!!!!!! Thanks Again Orohaus Design - Architects Near Me - Long Beach, California

I held off sending a review for a few days to see if Martin were to rethink his cancellation text, but a week has passed so I wanted to share my experience. After reading the positive reviews, I contacted Martin and made an appointment to meet with us on Friday August 23 at 5:30. At 5:15 I received a text from him saying he had to cancel because the project he was finishing up somehow changed the scope of work and he couldn't take on any more projects (a job near completion and then they change the scope of work??) Okay, things happen and I can understand having to cancel, but to then say not taking additional projects?? Like, wouldn't it be better to say something like "can we reschedule?" but instead gives me the BBD (he got a bigger, better deal). He stated in his text that he "tried calling right now" which was deceitful as cellphones have call logs (like, duh). He texted me on my phone and my wife checked hers as well, but nothing. Maybe the guy has become so successful he doesn't care about bad reviews, or has all the business he needs, or maybe it was a very bad lapse in judgement, or whatever. I was offering a $300k project and guess that wasn't enough for him, so in the end it is best that we will not be doing business with Orohaus Design. read more

Martin was such a blessing to work with. His honest provide a very affordable rate. We had zero issues submitting our plans to the city and got approved right away. Thank you Martin read more

I initially contacted Orohaus about two years ago (Sept 2017) regarding removing two load bearing walls to open up living room/kitchen area. In February of this year I resumed my project but decided to add a "bump out" to relocate my laundry closet. While Martin was here, he recommended that I consider moving my AC equipment to the attic and place my washer/dryer in that location. He explained the costs associated with the bump out vs moving my AC equipment (Martin informed me that the AC quotes I had received were about double what he normally sees for AC relocation). I was not aware of the amount of work ($$$) involved with building the bump out. Martin asked what other work I was looking at getting done to my house (since it would be cheaper to get everything done now vs hiring them or someone else later). We plan on remodeling our kitchen by moving it from one side of the kitchen to the other. Martin recommended a layout for the kitchen, and we made some minor changes to better suit our vision. Our finished plans included the load bearing walls, future kitchen layout, laundry closet. It was great to see what I had envisioned on paper. When it was time to submit the plans, Orohaus handled everything and got the plans approved in two working days (with both the city and the county). No revisions or corrections, just done on the first shot. I have heard horror stories associated with plans being kicked back because of corrections that are required by the city/county. We are very happy with the work completed by Orohaus, as well as the guidance with the building process. read more

I worked with Martin and his dad Martín at Pacificland Constructors a few months back and they helped install some amazing flagstone work at my home. So when it came to remodeling my backyard, I gave Martin a call since it was great working with him and I knew he did blueprints. Martin came over for the initial consultation meeting and we discussed my design ideas for my gazebo, fire pit, and outdoor kitchen. After our meeting, Martin took my ideas and molded them into an actual design. He presented to me 3D drawings so I could see what would be constructed. After I approved the design he submitted the drawings for review. Currently the drawings are in the approval process but I will definitely be updated everyone with pictures and news once the drawings are approved and construction begins! read more

I and my wife did extensive research for finding a structural engineer in Long Beach to assist us with a CMU block wall installation and that is when we found Martin from Orohaus. We had a mixture of old fencing plus an older block wall with structural issues and it was a matter of time before it fell over and damaged our property. Martin surveyed the area and was able to integrate our new CMU block wall with an existing block wall while reinforcing the older wall. Working with Martin and Orohaus was a breeze and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a full-service structural engineering design firm. I've included photos of the block wall and the pergola we built after construction finished. read more

I needed plans to open up a load bearing wall. I got multiple quotes and Martin gave me the best price. He did the work quickly--he did the plans and got approval from the City of Lakewood in 5 business days. He kept us updated throughout. I would definitely use Martin and Orohaus again if we have any other work we need to do. read more

OroHaus Design was excellent to work with throughout the planning and construction of our ADU. Martin listened to our ideas and turned them into great plans that were quickly approved by the City of Long Beach. This was an easy process because Martin is an architect and structural engineer. When we looked for a contractor Martin educated us on what to ask and expect on our bids. Even after Martin's job was done, he was still quick to respond when questions came up during construction. He really helped us out throughout the entire project. We love our new ADU and highly recommend Martin and OroHaus Design. read more

Outstanding... If you are planning any remodel that will require structural engineering, ill save you the trouble, Martin does both the architecture and engineering! Believe me I shopped around and spoke to numerous other companies and by combining both skills Martin is going to save you a ton of headaches. Aside from being easy to work with he suggested some excellent ideas that me and my wife would of never have though off. Plans were submitted/ Revised/ Approved by the city of Pico Rivera on the first freaking try which is very rare, no corners cut here. My highest recommendation. read more

I worked with Martin to draw the plans to remove the load bearing wall on my house. Plans were submitted to the city along with the structural calculations and approved on the first try. Will definitely call him again on my next project. read more

I am general contractor who hired Orohaus Design to redesign a load bearing wall for my client. Martin was fantastic. He gave us the plans a lot sooner than expected and we were able to pull the plans with the city of Torrance with no complications. His pricing was competitive and response rate fast. I highly recommend Martin and his team if you need any structural drawings! read more