WILLIAM K. LANGBEHN CE GE

Bill Langbehn came when scheduled. He gave instructions to the drilling crew. He collected samples from the various depths as drilling went on. He created drawings showing the soil strata. He advised the structural engineer on number and location of piers. His full report took longer to prepare than he led me to expect, but this did not affect the project.

He advised us how we could do our project in the safest and most cost effective way. He was on time, informative, professional and also looked at our house and advised places where we could reinforce the structure of our home in case of earthquake. He was very helpful and we would highly recommend him to others.

We were impressed by William's expertise and clear explanations, not to mention his refusal to charge us anything. This is of course not an endorsement of all of the services he offers, but his response to us seems to be a pretty good indication of his integrity and expertise.

Bill provided an evaluation of the geo stability of a house we are buying in the Oakland hills. It is located on a steep hill and we were concerned about the liklihood of landslides, earthquakes, and other such hazards. Bill researched the location before we met and provided information on the implications of the exact location we will have. He came to the house and inspected the ground, incline, and the house itself. He clearly explained what he found and what he felt were the implications. We feel much more comfortable going forward with our purchase having had the chance to speak with Bill. He does a lot of work in the area and is familiar with the quality of the land itself in the area, including when it is stable and when it is not, water content, etc. I highly recommend Bill's services.

We were in the process of purchasing a house in the Oakland Hills. While the house was on a fairly flat lot, the natural hazard disclosures contained some alarming classifications. The county listed the house as being on an existing landslide deposit and placed it in a vaguely defined "bedrock for soils" hazard area. Standard home inspectors are not able to comment on geo-hazards and soil stability issues, but large geotechnical engineering firms don't want to deal with real estate transactions (they work on big projects like bridges, etc.). Finally I got the names and numbers for some independent, licensed geotechnical and civil engineers and went with Bill Langbehn because he has 20+ years of experience with residential structures in the East Bay hills, was referred to me by a local geotech firm, and was recommended by my general home inspector. Bill's inspection included an hour of research and two hours of site visit for which he charged $150/hr (I called several independent geotechnical engineers and their rates were all pretty similar). During the inspection, Bill first walked through the house looking for signs of earth movement (wall cracks, etc). Then he walked the site and examined soil and drainage conditions. He brought many geological maps and identified a small local landslide about a hundred yards from the property which we then inspected. He concluded this small slide was probably the reason for the landslide hazard disclosure and was able to explain to me the origin of the slide and how it could impact the property we were considering. He commented on the local soil type and showed me references indicating that this particular soil was well-suited for foundations. After inspecting the crawlspace of the house he gave a verbal summary of his geo-hazard findings and prioritized possible seismic upgrades and drainage improvements. We did not get a written report for which Bill would charge 1.5-3 hours of additional time (when I had called around I found this was standard practice for these types of professional engineers). After the inspection, Bill responded promptly to several follow up questions that I sent by email and, at my request, referred me to several contractor's who could perform some of his recommended seismic and drainage improvements. Overall I was very pleased with his services which helped us understand the relative risks associated with the house we were considering. I highly recommend Bill to anyone with geo-hazard questions about a home they are considering in the East Bay (or who needs an assessment or recommendations for a home they already own).