SEISMIC SAFETY

It took a while — mainly because of COVID — but they were super professional and handled all the details. They made one billing mistake, but they corrected it. They aren’t the cheapest option, but they are VERY familiar with working with EBB and crossed all the T’s and dotted the I’s and it went very smoothly. If you are using EBB, I recommend them!

Seismic Safety provided additional earthquake bolting to my 1400 sq ft 1950 house to bring it up to code. They were very professional and responsive. Bella coordinates everything from the office and is great. The work was done as scheduled and finished earlier than first estimated. It did take a while to get on the schedule, though -- they are that busy. Seismic Safety also took care of necessary permitting, and the work passed inspection. For the level of professionalism exhibited, the price seemed reasonable, too.

Everyone was nice, responsive and professional, from Bella, the Assistant, to Walter, our inspector, to the crew who did the work. Bella and Walter always answered our questions in a timely manner and we never felt bad for asking, which is not the case with all providers. The crew was very punctual, asked questions, addressed our concerns. I appreciate that they showed me the plate's footprint in the basement and didn't start drilling wherever before being sure we were fine with them in the staircase. Very smooth process!

So, this review is not about the quality of their work. It is to advise all who may use Seismic Safety to get EVERY detail in writing. You should not take Ed or any of the others word when you speak with them that they will do what they say. Through November 1 2014, I have received no refund or supporting documents approved by the buyer regarding the scope and cost of this work. Buyer Beware.

I have worried about not having my foundation bolted for a while, but it still took me time to bite the bullet and get it all done. David came to give me an initial quote/inspection and I was very impressed with how candid and knowledgeable he was. I decided I would use them even if a bit higher than others, but honestly their quote to me was also competitive. The crew finished work in about 3 days and left the basement even cleaner than before! Things looked great and the work passed inspection on the first try. I had a great experience with these guys.

Seismic was great! They were referred to us by our home inspector. The inspector came out, did a very thorough inspection, and gave us the report the same day. highly recommend!

They arrived on time each day and completed the work in less than a week. All in all, they were very pleasant people to work with.

I was referred to them from a friend who was happy with their work. They came on a bit strong but were very punctual and provided a nice estimate. That's where things went south. First they put pressure on us telling me the price of the estimate may change if we didn't act within a month or so. The associate (Ken) who did the inspection was hounding us for the work, calling every few days- I told them a number of times that we needed to get a few more estimates considering the price and that's when I was told that there was a $150 inspection fee they waived and would appreciate consideration. We were ready to hire them but then they spooked us by telling us that the repair may break our copper piping and possibly interrupt our electricity along with cracks in the walls. I was concerned about this and tried to get more information but was shrugged off. We ended up putting off the work till now- We have a crack in the wall that looks serious. So I called them today. This is the reply I received from them: From: and quot;David Johnsonand quot; and lt;Dave@seismicsafety.comand gt; Subject: Milner rd Date: July 8, 2013 3:50:28 PM PDT To: and lt;@foinc.comand gt; Hi Alex. After Ken discussed your inspection some 2-1/2 years ago with the owner, he has decided to not pursue any possible foundation work at your home. With the unpaid inspection fee of $150.00 and other factors we would much rather have someone else possibly disappoint you with this work. It seems likely that they are still mad about that $150 fee (that they never mentioned until later). What a silly way to lose out on a $4000 contract over $150.

The job was supervised by Ken Compton, he did a excellent job. Our job was completed on time and within our budget The workers were professional and did a great job Passed city inspections with no problems would highly recommend without hesitation overall excellent experience. Thank You

UPDATE - 9-24-2013; I'm updating this review to reflect something pretty amazing. Out of the blue I received a call from Ed Sylvis, the owner of the company. He informed me that he had read the review I posted here and was very upset that his company didn't follow-through on the promised items which should have been included in the estimate for which I paid $150.00. Not only did Mr. Sylvis offer what I felt to be a genuinely sincere apology, he also informed me he was refunding my entire $150.00 and that he would re-do the estimate as it should have been done in the first place. I was truly floored by this. Not only had it been 3 and a half months since the original estimate, but Mr. Sylvis made it very clear this was not the way he normally did business and he would make it right. Period. Well, yesterday I received a full refund of my $150.00 along with a letter written by Mr. Sylvis, again apologizing for what transpired. He sent along the promised photos and wrote that he would be sending the completely re-done estimate soon. I'm keeping the info below on the original review otherwise this one won't make any sense. I do believe I would give Seismic Safety another chance if and when we decide to move forward with foundation repairs and the retrofit. It cost 150.00 to get this estimate. I was prepared to pay this in order to receive an accurate estimate. When Adrian was done I was told to make my check payable to Ed Sylvis, the owner of the company. I did so. However, when the bid arrived it wasn't worth the paper it was written on. What I received was basically two paragraphs telling me I needed some foundation and king post repair along with the voluntary retrofit, but no detail of any kind. I called yesterday to get clarification, to ask where are the photos I was promised and where is the diagram showing what, in the opinion of Adrian, needed to be replaced or strapped or fixed. I was told Adrian was in the field but would get back to me that day. No one called. I waiting until noon today and called to find out what happened. I was told Adrian was still in the field and didn't have time to call. He was still in the field and still unable to call. I requested someone else call me today. I did receive a call from Dave, unfortunately though he was very nice and professional in manner, he could only offer surmises as to why the report was so lacking in any detail, why the promised photos were not sent and no idea what happened to the diagram of suggested repairs. The report said I had cracks in my foundation, but not how many or where they were located. It said that these cracks would be filled with mortar when epoxy is the norm. Dave said that epoxy is something most companies don't know how to use properly and mortar is an acceptable alternative. I know a City Deputy Inspector is involved anytime epoxy is used, so this made no sense to me, unless Dave was inferring Seismic Safety doesn't know how to properly use the epoxy to fill the foundation cracks. I was told I needed king posts replaced, but not how many or where those posts were located. Dave did not know the answer to these questions. Again, there was no clarification on the type of bolting to be used; expansion bolts or epoxy bolts. No mention of our cracked girders under the house. I know we have two as I have gone under our home many times and have seen these for myself. In fact, those girders are part of the reason we decided to have a retrofit. In summary; this bid was so vague and so lacking in any kind of detail necessary to make an informed decision that I felt the 150.00 spent was a complete waste of my family's money and everyone time all around. I was also told by Dave that Seismic was extremely busy and this is why the lapse in communication. I understand that a company can get busy - but if they were this busy they had no business accepting our request for a bid and the 150.00 we paid them. Based on all these things, I would not use this company. If you decide to do so, make sure you ask for the details in a bid you expect otherwise, from my experience, I do not believe you will receive them.

It went very well - as they got into the job they identified other items to be fixed or improved and generally they handled these without adding onto the original quote. The new sister wall in the back of the house and the garage was well-made and significantly improves the structural stability of the house. They showed up when they said they would and got a lot done in each day they were there. They even retrofitted a wooden door next to the garage so it would close properly after the sister wall was poured and now it works better than it did before. The only minor snags were a miscommunication about when the hauling company would pick up the debris that left a pile of rubble in our yard for a week longer than necessary and a nasty lien letter we received from the subcontracted concrete company who apparently sent it to us the day the concrete was delivered rather than waiting for Seismic Safety to pay the bill first. But Seismic Safety handled both issues quickly and completely and overall the job was very well done.

My fiance dealt with them while the did the work, but he was always well informed by everyone he met with. Dave was the initial inspector and I was happy that he was able to navigate under our crawl space (something our general inspector was not able to do). His report was thorough and honest. The office called soon after to check back with us and find out if we would like to schedule any of the suggested work to be done. We then had them come back two months later and start the work. Within a few hours a nice crew came and completed all the work and made sure the job was cleaned up and we were informed of any issues we should consider also doing on our own. I ended up taking the final payment in person because we originally thought we could pay with Discover, but that was wrong. It wasn't too big a deal because the front office manager was really sweet and made sure I had all my receipts and paperwork. They did a follow up letter and then sent us a nice card (from Ed Sylvis himself). We are fully satisfied with their work and if we decide to tackle the retrofit then we will definitely call on them for advice and referral to a structural engineer to get us an estimate.done.

This was the best experience we have had working with contractors, hands-down. The communication from the office and the work crew was excellent throughout. The work proceeded as planned, completing earlier than expected.

We had work performed by Seismic Safety around 8 years ago. We had a cripple wall reinforced and the remainder of the house bolted to the foundation. The work was done promptly and for a fair price. The reason for this review is that recently I was researching permits for a pre-existing addition to our home and discovered that the foundation permit inspection had never been finalized and the permit had expired. The county had inspected the property but the inspectors notes were incomplete and the job was never signed off. I called the Seismic Safety and explained the problem. They promptly got to work on the issue and contacted the county. They worked through the problem, came out and took pictures of the work they had performed, met with the county and resolved the issue. I was very pleased with the customer service when we had the work performed and even more so eight years later when this problem arose. I recommend them highly.

They performed our pre-purchase foundation inspection on a house from early 1900s, which revealed that the front and rear cripple walls were constructed of piled up cement pieces (presumably because they were below ground level). Seismic Safety informed us that, while it appeared structurally fine and could be left as is if we wanted, there would be no way to bolt to it safely for earthquake retrofit. After discussing options, they suggested just pouring sister walls inside the crawlspace, up against the existing cripple walls, so they could bolt to the new sister walls. This came out great, the new walls appear solid and strong! And this was far cheaper than jacking up the house and demoing the existing walls.

The previous owners of my house had carved out an area in my crawl space to use as a basement. The soil is not properly retained and is falling out or cracking. I have use this company 10 years ago for some earthquake retrofitting and was very happy with their service, so I call them again. David Johnson came by and, as before, he is very honest and helpful with his accessment. He never try to sell you anything you don't need. In fact, he told me I really do not need the work since my foundation is not affected. However, I don't like the way the basement look and am concerned that if an earthquake hit, the soil may not hold up. So I decided to do it any way. The crew was on time and work hard. They clean up their work afterwards. They finished the work in 3 days. They are really the professionals in this area. The wall looks great and the basement looks so much cleaner and usuable now. I am very happy with their work.

While I didn't have any work done by Seismic Safety, I enjoyed working with them from beginning to end. Dave Johnson came out on short notice, was on time and professional, and answered followup questions via email. I sent his report to an architect I know out of town, who told me it was detailed and the quote was reasonable. I would definitely call them again.

On May 16 I contacted Seismic Safety to inquire about obtaining a foundation inspection for a home that our son was purchasing. The general building inspector had spotted some areas in the foundation that he termed, “rock pockets” and advised us to obtain an inspection from a qualified foundation expert, and recommended Seismic Safety. According to the company’s web site, the house in question was outside of the area that they normally service. In any event, I received a call back from Ken Compton who said that he would be willing to come out to do the inspection, but the cost would be higher than normal, which actually turned out to be less than that of a closer company. He suggested that he might be able to determine whether an on-site inspection would be necessary if we could provide photographs of the area in question. If the photos indicated that there was not a problem, he could give us his opinion over the phone at no charge. The following day I visited the property and took photographs from various locations around the foundation and sent them to Ken for his review. Ken called me that evening after reviewing the photos to tell me that the rock pockets were not a cause of concern; that they are a pretty normal occurrence due to the way that foundation footings and pads are poured. He did advise us that we could seal the pockets ourselves using various compounds available in any hardware store to prevent moisture from entering the foundation. Other than that, he said that he would not recommend an on-site inspection as being necessary. Then he proceeded to go into considerable detail about how foundations / pads are poured so that I could understand how these pockets form, and why they are typically not an issue. I was on the phone with him for a significant length of time. The following morning, I received another call from Ken. He said that he had trouble getting to sleep the previous evening because he kept going over details of how rock pockets are typically dealt with. He was calling to provide this information so that we would feel comfortable about the situation. Again, he went into significant detail. We are extremely pleased with the thoroughness and professionalism that Ken exhibited in our interactions. He spent considerable time, for no compensation, reviewing our photos and describing what we were seeing, what its cause was, and how best to deal with it. If we should ever need seismic retrofit or foundation work done on our home we would certainly trust Seismic Safety to do a correct and thorough job.

I contacted Seismic Safety for a bid on a steel structrual support beam on a residence that need replacing or repairing. Ed, the owner, was super friendly on the phone. He informed me that his company did not perform the type of work I required, but Ed contacted a few places and he called me back the following day with a referral to a company that did. Thanks Ed!

It was easy to set an appointment. The engineer was prompt and knowledgeable. It turned out that our house did not need additional reinforcement. Wow! The expert said we did not need structural work even though it could have been done by their company. Honest guys!

Project was textbook. Bid was competitive, and crew was courteous and efficient. They started work on the day we took possession of the home, and finished 4 days later. Permit process was quick, and the work was signed off on first inspection. Communication with their office was friendly and professional. I would use them again without hesitation.

They executed the work exactly as promised! They had permit to work in hand before they began work, were on time (:a rare thing these days of "window times":), took 1.5 days, as promised, to do the retrofit and minor repairs, and lined up the city inspector to check the work performed as soon as possible. The minor repairs that were outside of the scope of the retrofit were: a compromised floor joist - plumber notched out floor joist to install new tub, I knew about this) some very minor deterioration of original concrete around porch, but they took care of them at no extra charge. There is a minimum charge for inspection, but it is absorbed into the cost of the retrofit. That was it! I wish all contractors had their work ethic.

Prompt quotation by god technician, prompt work, stuck to quote, well satisfied with work.

I spoke with Craig on the phone this afternoon, and after our discussion his recommendation was not to spend the $175 for an inspection report due to the specific nature of my issue. Instead, he recommended that we seek the services of a structural engineer. I can't vouch for their work in the field, but definitely appreciated his honesty and integrity! If it turns out that we need work completed, I will definitely call them for a bid!

I called Seismic Saftey because my General Contractor said that we needed to have the house bolted down. The contranctor wanted to charge near $7,000.00 for the job. I was very pleased with the service I received by Seismic Safety; both over the phone and in person. They were very honest and infact initially told us that our house probably did not need to be inspected at all. They determined this because by the year the house was built and the area of the house. For piece of mind, I had Seismic Safety come over anyway to inspect the bolts. After 10 minutes of crawling under the house. They quickly determined that the hosue was sufficiently Anchor bolted. They provided a followup report 2 days later stating that no work needed to be done and the hosue was indeed sufficiently bolted. Seismic Safety saved me $7000.00 dollars! Prior to the inspection, I asked Seismic Safety if they could give a quote anyway to bolt the house incase we needed it. Their quote was less than half of the contractor. Finally, Seismic Safety followed up a couple of times to make sure that we were satisfied and if we needed anything else. I was very happy with the service. A+