We wanted to express our sincere gratitude for the exceptional service Kobe Structural provided…read moreduring our Junior ADU project in Porter Ranch. The project involved a complex structural modification: connecting two rooms on separate floors via a spiral staircase, which required cutting a 5'x5' opening in the second-story floor. Because this opening was directly connected to a Juliet balcony outside from a 9'x 6' sliding glass door, we were concerned about preventing a collapse when cutting the joists. We are deeply impressed by the expertise, time, effort, and dedication that Kobe and his team devoted to this challenge. They opened up ceilings and walls, calculated loads, worked tirelessly to replace the necessary supporting joists and secure the Juliet balcony. Furthermore, they followed through diligently with the LADBS to ensure our plans were approved. Throughout the entire journey, Kobe team was knowledgeable, honest, and attentive. We are extremely thrilled with the results and grateful for their expertise.

For starters this outfit actually answers their phone, which is a good start. I quickly made an…read moreappointment to which they showed up to on time. Super knowledgeable very personable, and doesn't just offer opinions but offers al your options and is right to the point. I liked this outfit so much that I will take their recommendation as to who to hire to do these renovations and modifications.

Abe is a legend - so thorough and knowledgable. He'd easily be my go-to next time we buy a home or…read moreif we're needing to scope any issues with our current hillside home. 100% recommend.

Abe was able to squeeze us in intime to meet contingencies. He was very thorough and gave us…read moreinformation on the grade, fill and stability of our hill house. He was able to address settling, erosion and water drainage patterns, with realistic expectations for the structure and its age. We feel that we are well informed of what to watch for, but know the house is secure in its location under likely conditions. Thank you Abe!

The company crew and Alfie did a great job. This was an old craftsman home and the foundation was…read morefalling apart. It's simply old. 100 years old home. Permit and all done within a month Neighbors came by and took all the rocks in the bin. People love rocks

Chris came to advise and measure for a drainage system and was incredibly knowledgeable and…read morethoughtful about the project. His expertise and experience is valuable to us. In addition, we have to commend him for previous work. He is completed on our property on foundation work, including a retrofit. We will always have Chris come to the rescue. Way to go Chris.

Had some vertical cracking in our foundation that the team, Guillermo, Ben, Andy, and Adrian, took…read morecare of. They were on time, diligent, and cleaned up after the job was done. Would highly recommend them and the company for any foundation needs you may have!

Eric (foreman) and his crew Ernesto, Nick and Justin did a great job to repair our foundation on…read more8/27/2026. They are very professionals and organized. Great team and great work. I highly recommend The Foundation Work.

I have worked on multiple projects with Structural AF. They have always been professional, easy to…read morecommunicate with, quick, and thorough. They are fantastic!

One of the best architectural and engineering company in LA. I have done a few projects with them…read more All the project I have done it's really convenient and nice open floor design, they know how to do it to be convenient to live in it house with all the features you need in the house and a lot of times you don't even think about it but it's there. The drawing is very detailed if you want to find the measurements, it's there in front of you compared to other architects that cannot find any measurements Another best thing is that they are always there every time you call them. You don't have to hustle to be in touch with them for any questions you have. I highly recommend them

I scheduled a consultation with Eugene from STEN Engineering to discuss two very different…read morestructural issues at my house, and I was extremely impressed. The first was figuring out how to realign a very complicated roofline so that rainwater would channel properly. The house has been built and added onto in stages over roughly 100 years, so every addition and alteration made the roofline more complicated and less cohesive. I had literally spent hours sitting on the roof trying to figure out a workable solution. Eugene looked at the situation, thought it through for about 10 minutes, and sketched out an option that simply would never have occurred to me. It was practical, elegant, and made immediate sense. The consultation was some of the best $400 I've spent. The second issue was understanding how well the house is braced for earthquakes and how the existing foundation works structurally. Again, Eugene combined a strong engineering mind with real-world practical experience and explained everything in a way that I could actually understand. I almost never take the time to write reviews, but I was impressed enough that here I am writing one. Eugene is smart, thoughtful, practical, and very good at explaining complicated structural issues in plain English. I would absolutely call him again.

Eugene was very knowledgeable and helpful. He Responded quickly. I highly recommend This company.read more

Wow, wow wow wow . Hands down The Best. I've Worked with many engineers in the past and no one…read more compares!!. Just so glad I found you. Highly recommended. So glad we found this company

Absolutely top-tier service I worked with this company on a house project in Hollywood and I can't…read morerecommend them enough. from the very first consultation they were professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly responsive. What stood out the most was how house solution oriented they were. they didn't just follow the typical playbook, they took the time to understand the specifics of the property and proposed smarter more efficient options that ended up saving me a significant amount of money without cutting any corners on quality or safety. Every step of the way the communication was clear, the timelines were realistic, and the work was done with precision. It's rare to find a team that combines technical expertise with this level of integrity and client care. if you're doing any type of structural work especially in LA, I highly recommend giving them a call. Good total pros

Ilya Engineering responds to emails within minutes and answers their phones. Surprisingly, once an…read moreengineer is assigned to your project you can contact him/her directly. I also want to mention that my project took less time than originally thought. As a result I was invoiced for three hundred dollars less to reflect the actual time spent. This is definitely the firm to use if you want great customer service, plans that meet LADBS requirements and charges that reflect the actual time spent on your project.

Service requested: architect plans/structural engineering and permitting process. The design was…read morehow we wanted. A few hiccups along the way with the final permit but Sam acknowledged the mistake on his end and said he would sign off the edits in the revision phase of construction. I will give an updated review once that time comes. Quality: quality of work was good. Efficient in communication and dealing with a difficult city in a permitting process. Took about 6 months for the permits and the city kicked back for corrections 2x which is pretty standard. Value: felt his pricing was fair and reasonable Customer service: always responds to phone calls. Even after our final payment when we had questions or needed assistance. So not a "take your money" and we are done type of guy Overall impression: would use him in the future for any architectural or structural engineering jobs

We found Private Builders through a referral by a close friend who works for a property management…read morecompany and had opportunities to try out several contractors before coming across Private Builders and working with them on several projects. We have been working with Arthur/Private Builders for about 10 months on our 6 apartments that were identified by city of Los Angeles as soft story and required earthquake retrofitting. Private Builders has completed retrofitting 5 of our apartment buildings and is close to finishing our final retrofit. I should say that it has been a very pleasant experience working with Arthur and his professional team. They knocked down all our retrofit projects one by one, A to Z, starting from engineering design, city processing, THP, and construction with their very cost efficient engineering designs. They even power washed the entire parking area after work was done leaving it shiny clean. Our tenants keep complementing their work as every construction was completed within 3-4 weeks with minimal inconvenience to our tenants. I should say they are engineers and they engineer their own projects.They are real professionals in what they do. I highly recommend Private Builders for your engineering and contractor needs on your soft story seismic retrofit project.

Arthur is very professional, you give him impossible tasks and he just gets it done…read more I have worked with him mostly on commercial properties and he is great.

Having just hired Eldar and his team on a 3-week project, I absolutely recommend The Foundation &…read moreDrainage Repair without reservation. This was the best experience I've ever had working with a contractor, and I've worked with some really excellent ones both in LA and the Bay Area, as well as some true scumbags who amounted to fraudsters (hence my anxiety surrounding this project and my meticulous due diligence). Eldar is honest, experienced, and so very kind. He knows what he's talking about, he explains the issues thoroughly, his solutions are logical, and his prices are reasonable. Women, especially, take note: he won't talk down to you, and he won't bullsh*t you or waste your time. He stays positive and friendly, even when new challenges like huge, invasive roots up against and under the foundation reveal themselves as the project progresses. He communicates clearly, sets realistic expectations, and provides comprehensive progress updates at the beginning and end of each day, and sometimes more if urgent matters come up. He listens to clients' needs and expectations, and is very good at working with anxious customers. His team is professional, punctual, super friendly, and incredibly hardworking. They went above and beyond every single day, kept the worksite clean and tidy, and ultimately left my yard much cleaner than it was when they started. So, to sum up my experience: These guys are fantastic. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. You'll be in great hands. Now, if you want all the dirty details of my cracked slab and water intrusion saga: I had several different foundation/structural companies come out (yes, even the usual suspects in sponsored search results) and look at my foundation over the past few years, and I got vastly different suggestions on what I should do to solve my problem, with a range of very high prices. I was overwhelmed because none of the solutions seemed right to me, and I was worried some would actually end up causing other problems down the road because they went overboard on foundation support, but didn't address drainage. After my first meeting with Eldar, it was clear to me his solution would be the most effective for my problem, which was 99% caused by a lack of drainage around my property. The rest of the problem was caused by a very shallow free-pour foundation on one side of the house (1950s construction), which Eldar and his team uncovered during the excavation process, and supported by making some very solid, high-quality footing extensions, which they waterproofed. Expansive clay soil and a slope behind my house also factored in. I had so much anxiety about hiring a contractor who would take the wrong approach along with all my money that I basically sat on this problem for four years. Bad idea, I know. I'll spare you the details of my insanity every time it rained, but let's just say lots of stress, dozens of shop towels and multiple Quick Dam flood barriers were involved. I was seriously losing my mind with every new crack in my slab and walls. Now that Eldar and his team are done installing deep french drains, waterproofing, footing extensions and a sump pump, I feel such a sense of relief. I'm confident that I'm going to survive this year's anticipated El Niño storms while maintaining my sanity, and I feel so lucky I found The Foundation & Drainage Repair when I did. I'll update and post videos of my beautiful new sump pump in action when the rains come.

Thank you Eldar! We couldn't have asked for a better experience. We had a lot of questions and…read moreconcerns about installing a drainage system and sump pump. All of our questions were answered and concerns were quickly put at ease. Eldar and his team worked quickly and efficiently. The drainage system works great. Highly recommended.