Matt at Cantor Inspections was outstanding from start to finish!…read more He was friendly, approachable, and easy to talk to throughout the entire inspection process. One thing that really impressed us was his ability to take complex construction or building issues and explain them in plain English. He made sure we understood not just what he found, but why it mattered and what our options were. Matt was able to ballpark repair costs, suggest different approaches to fixing issues, and recommend the right type of contractor or specialist for each item. It felt like we were getting an education from someone who was genuinely looking out for our best interests. We also appreciated how practical his advice was. Rather than just listing defects, he helped us understand the context behind each issue and what he would prioritize if he were advising his own kids. We found that perspective incredibly valuable, both during negotiations and in preparing for homeownership. If you're buying a home in the Bay Area, you need to call Matt. We couldn't recommend him more highly.

I had asked Matt for a quote back in May and received a prompt, straightforward reply…read more Unfortunately, I was not able to follow up with him until recently. I'm a little surprised by his dismissive response. I would expect him to provide his availability so we could work something out.

I have worked with Reza and his team on multiple projects. They always make sure to provide best…read moreoptions for each project and ready to go the extra mile to accomplish the goals.

I had a wonderful experience with Babak and his team. He is…read morevery professional and always replied to my email within a business day. The design I requested was completed earlier than they anticipated and at a very reasonable price. I couldn't ask for more! I'm sure I'll use their services again in the future in case I'm planning any addition or modification to my house.

I highly recommend Simplengi for any structural engineering needs…read more David is a responsive, prompt, and highly knowledgeable structural engineer. I enjoyed his candid style and excellent recommendations. David formulated and documented the necessary engineering solution, so my architectural plans for a duplex remodel would pass review. In fact, my plans passed DBI the first time, and I accredit that to David's excellent work. David was even available for a call during the DBI review to help answer questions. Truly the sign of a professional who cares about his clients.

We have been working on a 2nd floor addition to a 100 yr old house. As one can imagine, there are…read moremany significant structural issues that may arise unexpectedly when opening up walls and seeing how people build things 100 yrs ago. David and Ray have been incredible since the beginning of the process, helping us navigate through all the structural concerns and always trying to find a value engineering approach - whether it was optimizing depth of foundation work, or finding ways to reinforce old windows, coming up with ways to get headers into locations where there isn't the space, and/or proposing alternative shear wall options when there isn't room to fit things. Ray, our project engineer, has been the best communicating and responding to all our questions and worries. He carefully reviews the problem at hand that arise and often will provide 2 or 3 possible options that our builder can work on. With our current project, Ray is always super prompt to resolve any issues via call or email, or video conference and if necessary an onsite visit to inspect the construction phase. He was just crawling in our crawlspace the other day and notified our builder if some items that needed to be addressed to maintain a positive continuous connection from 2nd floor down to 1st floor and to crawlspace foundation. We are now adding the 2nd floor framing and almost done the most stressful part of the project. We have done 3 major remodels in the past with other firms where it was difficult to get in touch with anybody. With Ray and David at Simplengi Engineering, it has been a very refreshing experience to have experts that promptly responds to all our concerns. Value engineering, great timely communication, attention to detail, common sense, simple and smart engineering. We highly recommend Ray and David and Simplengi Engineering for any structural work. Simply great engineering. We don't plan to do another remodel for 100+ years but if we did, we would hire Simplengi 100% for sure.

Brian, Holly, and Gerardo are the best…read more When I contacted them initially two years ago, within the first 10 minutes of talking they'd recognized that our house was not a simple brace & bolt project given its soft story and referred me to a structural engineer (who himself was excellent) for review/evaluation. I begin with this because that structural engineer mentioned he'd had Brian do his own retrofitting and highly recommended him, which was the only endorsement I needed. The scope of the work was soft story retrofit (incl. excavation at the front of the garage to install a Hardy frame, adding in shear walls with bolts, shear wall with URFP ties all along the house's perimeter) as well as adding in anchors (e.g., hand dug piers, rebar, concrete) in the front and back of the house to prevent the house from further sinking. We initially applied for and got into the ESS program, which Brian/Holly guided us through (pulling permits, getting photos, contacting our engineer for letters/responses on ESS program follow-ups). As in the first time and every subsequent time, they were swift and helpful in responding. ESS, if you don't know (like I didn't), goes through FEMA and requires FEMA review and approval of your plans at each step of the way, but the whole program came to a standstill in 2025-26. We had no updates despite us and Brian/Holly repeatedly following up. We gave up on ESS in April and decided to move ahead with the retrofit. Brian was able to work us into his schedule and work began early May and work was completed in just a little over two weeks, a full week faster than I expected. The whole time Brian/Holly kept us apprised of the status, schedule, and inspections; and forwarded us all documentation and pictures as they came up. The crew was efficient and detailed and did thorough clean ups of the worksite after each day. We felt in control and informed the whole time and are confident in the result; I'd hire them again in a heartbeat.

We had a very positive experience with Golden State Seismic and Structural for our earthquake…read moreretrofit. Their bid was in line with the other bids we received, and we ultimately chose them because of their years of experience doing this type of work and their excellent reviews. Throughout the process, Brian and Holly were prompt and helpful whenever we had questions. They also handled the paperwork for an EBB grant that covered part of the cost, as well as the forms needed for our earthquake insurance reduction, which made the process much easier for us. Jordan and his crew were all polite, hardworking, and respectful of our home, and they did a great job cleaning up after the work was completed. I'm not really qualified to evaluate the technical aspects of the retrofit itself, but the work passed inspection, which gave us confidence that it was done properly. Overall, we're very happy with the experience and would definitely recommend them to anyone considering an earthquake retrofit.

We had a great experience working with SF Bay Engineering on the structural engineering for a…read more283-square-foot extension to our existing family room. Shrey was the project manager and Marcus was the lead engineer. They worked closely with our architect to complete the initial structural engineering and were very responsive throughout the entire process. After we submitted the plans to the city, there were several questions and comments from the city, and the team responded quickly and worked with our architect to address them. Whenever additional discussion was needed, Shrey and Marcus were readily available for video calls with us and our architect to review the issues and resolve any outstanding items. Their communication and follow-up were excellent. Their pricing was also very reasonable, and overall we were very pleased with the quality of their work, responsiveness, and professionalism. I would definitely recommend SF Bay Engineering to anyone looking for a reliable and responsive structural engineering team.

I bought a new, old home and wanted the foundation and floors evaluated…read more Fast response time. They provided a quote ($600) in no time, offered to send out a sample report and asked for the address of the house. When I probed them with what the evaluation involved (such as mapping floor levelness) and whether they were independent without financial ties to contractors, I learned they don't map floor levelness. They didn't answer the bulk of my questions, and they ended stating they don't have the bandwidth to take on my project.

Not only did Dan put together a solid structural design for our home, but he's been very supportive…read morein working through updates and building with our contractor. Thanks Dan!

Dan and his team recently inspected our property for seismic safety as per the service I requested…read more They were thorough , seemed very knowledgeable and I enjoyed discussion our project with his team. Highly recommend.

Engin is prompt, responsive, and extremely knowledgeable. I found myself in a very difficult…read moresituation after my property was red-tagged by the City of Oakland due to foundation issues. After speaking with several engineers, Engin stood out as the most thorough, knowledgeable, and solution-oriented. He quickly understood the situation, provided a clear path forward, and worked effectively with the City of Oakland Planning and Building Departments to address the issues. Throughout the process, he was professional, communicative, and helped reduce a tremendous amount of stress and uncertainty. His expertise and guidance were invaluable, and I would highly recommend him to anyone needing structural engineering services. Thanks to Engin, a situation that felt overwhelming became manageable. I am very grateful for his help.

We hired ECR Engineering for a seismic retrofit design and build project in our Pacific Heights…read morehome, and we couldn't be happier. Navigating SF building codes is a nightmare, but Engin and the team made the structural side of things seamless. They provided cost-effective design solutions that saved us on construction costs without compromising safety. They were incredibly responsive to our contractor's questions and helped us get through the permitting process faster than expected. If you need a structural engineer in the city who actually understands old SF buildings, this is the firm.

They were responsive and provided a very fair price for their service, it's unfortunate that I…read morecould not use them because my client went in a different direction. However, I will certainly call them on a future when I have another project. I need Engineering and Design. I appreciate when you're working with someone in the trades and they're responsive and helpful.

So I'm seeing cracks on my ceiling and they are starting to worry me…read more I checked Yelp and Nextdoor for some structural engineer recommendations. When I contacted them to get more information they responded timely. Made an appointment with them about a week and a half later. Arash came to the house and looked everywhere garage, outside, all the rooms. And thankfully he said there is no foundation concern. Took him I want to say about 40min to look everywhere. They are not cheap. My eyes almost popped out of my socket when I heard about their rate. But I want someone with experience to look at the house. Anyways, there is a little hiccup with the invoice but they reached back to me quickly to resolve it. The inspection cost is separate to the report fee. Just fyi. Nice people, happy to have found them.

I contacted Joshua B. Kardon, PhD, SE, F.ASCE, on the advice of a friend who is an architect after…read morewe won the bidding war (for $869K) on a 1924 Craftsman home in San Leandro in 2019. It had several issues, especially a problematic (cracked) original foundation. When Joshua Kardon informed us that we might have to spend a considerable portion of the above purchase price to properly fix up the house, make it earthquake-safe, and bring it up to current codes, we decided to pass on this lovely house. (He told us that replacing the cracked original foundation and raising the basement ceiling from 75 inches height to 96 inches on the 1400-square-foot home - all by itself - might cost $200-$300,000 and take many months. The home had other issues, too.) We later purchased a smaller 1954 ranch-style home in almost-as-built condition and called Joshua Kardon again for a consultation about seismic strengthening. He designed the almost-finished project that spans the front of our home and protects it against earthquakes. Joshua Kardon selected a "SkinnyBrace" by Thor Matteson, SE, of Quake Bracing LLC as the most cost-effective way to anchor our garage and the front of the house using attic collectors and garage shear walls. Nieto Valle Construction of Hayward has executed his designs and will soon finish the garage drywall and attic insulation. Joshua B. Kardon, SE, has always insisted on designing and implementing the best possible seismic strengthening solution for us and his solution is now in place. His attention to detail and insistence on doing things "the right way" are highly reassuring and have produced great results. Josh is also very personable, patient in educating us as to why certain design strategies work better, and has a great sense of humor. I would recommend Joshua B. Kardon + Co., Structural Engineers, in a heartbeat to anyone considering seismic strengthening or any other projects requiring the services of an experienced, thorough, detail-oriented, and friendly structural engineer.

Josh was very kind and helpful in providing feedback on an early inquiry as to how I should…read moreapproach working with a structural engineer and contractor in an aspirational project I've started to think through. His calm, kind and approachable energy is exactly the kind of professionalism you want on your upcoming project.

We used East bay retrofit construction for re-framing my house structure in Montclair, Oakland,…read morebecause the house got unfortunate building structural damages by termite and Dry rot. The Construction work includes replacing wood beams & joists, concrete work with new French drain, stucco, exterior painting, and many others. Martin and his team did outstanding professional work with honest fair price. Their fee was best among 5 other contractors. Multiple professional staffs had worked over 3 weeks on a great amount of work. I surprised they work extremely efficient and beautifully. Even they were willing to take care of fixing unforeseen undesired condition. Their hard work and knowledge of what they are doing is outstanding. Martin is a great communicator and extremely reliable. I can not be happier the result what Martin and his team brought to us. I've recommended the Martin and his team to all my friends. You will be pleased if you get to work with them. Wishing all the best to Martin and his team. Sincerely, Yuji N

Martin and team are the unicorns of the construction world. They're top notch in every particular:…read morequality, communication, and speed from start to finish. Not only do they do absolutely fantastic work - fast but never rushed, thorough but never onerous - but they also excel at communication. Martin responded clearly and quickly throughout the project. We could not be happier with their work. The team was also cheerful - a surefire sign of a healthy work environment. The price was very competitive, and we are extremely satisfied. Our project included raising an entire section of our house, and installing a new foundation below it, with a retaining wall and piers. They also did a full retrofit on the new foundation. I wish we could hire Martin and his team for every project!