SEISMIC SAFETY

Folks at Seismic Safety couldn't be nicer people, easy to work with. They gave us an estimate before we'd purchased the house, which allowed us to negotiate our home price fairly. They came to do the work just 2 weeks after move-in, and credited us estimate fee toward the work. We did a number of things: Our home is 100 yrs old, was sinking into the hill, causing the living room floor to tilt. So we had this wall jacked up with pneumatic jacks by 2in. SS reinforced the wall and laid a cement footing. The process leveled our LR floor and other crooked lines in the house. My husband stayed home from work 1/2 day to okay the proper level (it's a bit of an art). We were warned that this work could seriously damage the plaster in the rooms along the side that was moving. We got very lucky as it wasn't that much (we discovered the walls were covered with masonite more than lath/plaster, this could have contributed). The process did crack a few of the wooden siding boards; nothing that can't be fixed. Some homes built at the turn of the century often placed the foundation around the perimeter of the structure, not under all of the load-bearing walls. Like ours. We had a fdn under our front porch...but not under the load-bearing wall and front door. Since it's useless, earthquake-wise, to bolt the structure to only three sides...and the fourth side had nothing to bolt to...we had SS pour a foundation wall then bolt to it. During the foundation process, Dave and his crew discovered that our water main had sprung a (huge) leak underneath our front porch. Gushing. An under-home waterfall. We were so lucky they were there to find it right as it happened, who knows what kind of mess we'd have to deal with if left to find it after we both came home from work. Dave tried contacting us in every way possible (leaving messages on at least three phones), and they shut off our water with apologies. If they hadn't shut off our water, seriously, we would have had a huge mess on our hands, in our new home we'd only lived in for two weeks! Our main had rusted through. Anyway, we paid a little extra for SS's recommended finish carpenter to remove some siding and properly replace it. This included his purchasing siding (our expense), and fixing an area that had ugly plywood instead of siding. All this was required b/c our basement cement floor had been poured up past the mudsills by prev. owners; you couldn't get access to bolt it from inside. We also paid their guy to demo lath/plaster to put in shear walls (we didn't have time to do it ourselves). Overall, we had a professional experience with calm, professional people at Seismic Safety. We could trust them to work while we weren't home. There was some confusion with the billing while Margie was on vacation, but she straightened it out right away when she got back. We definitely recommend, and hope we never have to test their work in real conditions!

I called and talked to Ken over the phone. He was very nice and knowledgeable. He came out and did a consultation. I wanted the job done fast and within 48 hours he had someone out to start working and did the job in one day. They cleaned up after themselves.

They were very professional, efficient, and helpful. I've heard from other contractors that the company has a good reputation here in Pasadena. They may be a little pricey, but I feel that they did a top quality job.

The report was fabulous and described exactly what was required to be done. However, the estimator told me that the price was higher than he thought was reasonable and told me to ask him for another quote. He gave me a second, much lower quote, from himself rather than from the company.

I found this company on your list and was quite pleased with them; very few companies are willing to accept work projects in my area, but they had no problem. Ken, one of the company's inspectors, came out and performed a very thorough inspection of the foundation (the house was built around 1939). Upon completion, he answered all my questions and immediately provided me with a receipt and company information. The information he provided included a copy of the company's license, their insurance carrier, and a listing of references for other projects they completed. With in a day or two a dollar estimate and description of the work needed to be done was sent to me. Once I decided to go forward with the project I was able to schedule a meeting to discuss the project parameters and the contract for the work. Again, Ken explained with detail the project and the expected time frame for the work to be completed. The contract that was provided was very detailed regarding the work to be performed. Once the contract was signed and the down payment submitted, I received the copies of the signed contract within two days. The work was scheduled to start on Aug. 18 but they called and asked if they could start on Aug. 15 instead. They arrived as expected and the crew leader, Bulmaro, introduced himself along with his crew. The worked in a very organized manner and my tenant was not inconvenienced in the least. The work consisted of installing perimeter foundation anchors; framing anchors at 24" intervals, 2x blocking on all perimeter rim joist areas. They obtained local building department permit. They installed new pre cast piers in crawlspace in about 30 locations; they excavated and poured a concrete pad beneath each beneath existing girders (each pad 12"x16" below grade). They provided 4x4 posts at each new pier to support underfloor girders. The work included hydraulic loading and lifting of floors as necessary. They reinforced cracked girder with additional 2x4 framing and lag bolts. They temporarily shored, demolished, and replaced existing cracked foundation on one side of the house. The crew cleaned up after every work day and they completed the work within the time frame estimate. As promised, the work passed inspection. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone.

These guys (and gal, Marie, in the office) were absolutely amazing. All the other contractors were scammers that tried to up sell me and over quoted by A LOT. Seismic are the most professional and honest contractors I have ever worked with. I would highly recommend them!Their quotes were dead on, and their payment schedule is also as should be for a contractor.

Ken was very professional as was the office staff. He provided several recommendations. I would call on them again.

I'd had a foundation inspection from a previous company before I bought the house, and they had estimated 35K of repairs, including rebuilding 70 feet of foundation, which I didn't fully understand the need for, and replacing some piers. Ken from Seismic charged $125 for a quote, and he impressed me with his depth of knowledge and clear description of the trade offs. He agreed with me that most of the house could be bolted without building new foundation, and the remaining 20% wasn't going to go anywhere on its own. In contrast, the first company had basically refused to scale back any part of their work, insisting I had to have all the work or nothing. Ken also thought the piers were in good enough shape, and laid out the evidence for this. The cost came to 7K for the bolting, crack repair and shear panels, and other 2.4K for jacking the sagging kitchen to level. Of course this cracks the stucco and shifts your doors, but that's why you do it before the cosmetics. They came after the inspection and did some touch up, such as strapping pipes. I found Seismic honest, knowledgeable, and prompt. I would use them again, but I'd rather not have to!

I called for an estimate, and someone came by within a week or so to inspect the crawl space. A couple days after the inspection, they sent me a contract with details about the proposed work and payment schedule. The company took care of the city permits and scheduled the city inspector's visit after the work, leaving all the paperwork the inspector would need so I would not have to deal with anything myself. The workers showed up on time for the three days it took to do the work, and they cleaned up after themselves each day (leaving their lumber stacked neatly out of the way). The project manager came by on the last day to check that everything was done to his satisfaction and assure me they would come back if the city inspector found any problems (the inspector found no problems). It was a pleasure to work with all the people from the company.

I had a very good feeling from the beginning when Ken came out for the estimate. He was very professional and knowledgeable about the work. He got back to me within a couple of days with an estimate. I thought the price was great. The crew showed up and was also very professional and efficient. Despite one scheduling mix up, the job was completed in four days. They did a great job cleaning up. I was so happy with them that I wanted them to do some retaining walls in the back yard. They said they didn't usually do those, but provided me a complete list of other contractors that they could recommend. My experience with Seismic Safety was excellent. I can highly recommend them.

This company's specialty is seismic retrofitting of foundations of historic homes with brick, stone, or cripple wall foundations without lifting the home. They are very efficient at this work and I cannot recommend them highly enough. The cellar walls were an add-on project that I wanted more than seismic retrofit but the cellar was dug so close to the foundation on two sides so I thought combining the two jobs on one contract was a good idea. The cellar walls required structural engineering drawings, but the engineer they normally work with was so busy, we ended up delaying the project start by 5 months. They were looking for an alternate engineer because of this delay. The contract stipulated payment in 4 installments, based on when materials were delivered for each project phase, lumber/re-bar for forms, concrete pouring, inspections, etc. All workmen were employees of Seismic Safety and were insured and bonded by their company. They worked really fast. They were under my house for about 3 weeks, which is extremely fast if you saw how much dirt and concrete they moved around. The foundation took 1 week. The cellars walls took 2 weeks. I was disappointed with only two aspects of the project: (1) The contract said that they would do "some leveling" but I saw no evidence that anyone even checked it before they started. Now, I'm stuck with un-level floors that are bolted down to a foundation, making it that much more difficult to perform the necessary leveling. (2) When digging the footing for the cellar walls, vertical posts supporting my house were removed for about a week. Since the weather was dry, this was not too much of a problem, but I was worried enough to move furniture around to keep weight off that portion of the floor. Also, I had to ask them to add better bracing on the new support posts that they installed. Some good things about the project: I had moved my water heater to the middle of the cellar where no wall footing was required so that I didn't have to go without hot water for 3 weeks. They put up with it even though it was in their way and did not complain. Everyone who sees the work they did is impressed by it and I love to show it off. (Hey you! Want to come over to my house and hang out in the cellar?) :)

We found this company in Angie's List - and while they do not normally service our area - they were so informative on the phone - we didn't want to use any another company. So they very kindly said they would schedule a visit the next time they were "in our area". We agreed to pay $200 to check our bolting. Since our home was built in 1959, they told us that by code it would have been strapped - but we insisted on confirmation. So Dave came out - and went under the house into the crawl space. He explained that our type of house foundation hides any earthquake bolting - he also assured us that our foundation was in excellent condition. Another way to check for earthquake bolting would be to look in the garage - and there we uncovered a bolt just where he expected it to be. The house would have been built with the same bolting. Dave provided a condition statement for our files - and we are very pleased and reassured.

The job could not have gone any better. They started within a week of the estimate and completed the work in a few days. A minor problem with a leaking refrigerator line was quickly remedied. The hardest part was getting the county inspector to take a look at the work (didn't do more than knock on the door the first visit) - though when he did, he mentioned that he had seen this company's work before and always found it to be high quality.

I contacted Ed Sylvis by email and he asked for a detailed description of my problems before sending anyone out. He wanted to be sure I needed to spend the $225 they charge to crawl under the house and check the foundation. After our email exchanges, he sent David John out to inspect. David was great. He walked through the property with me, both inside and out, looking at every crack and checking all the doors. Then he crawled under the house and examined the foundation. He told me it looked solid and that the settling and cracks in my house were from the recent heavy rains. He suggested I get gutters with extensions to run the rain away from the corners of the house, and gave me some tips on what to ask for with respect to the gutters. He was very honest and wondered where I got the company name. He said many companies will come out and tell you you need thousands of dollars in work, especially if they see its a woman who doesnt know squat about repairs and construction.

Very fast and professional. Good clean-up afterwards. One of the workers accidentally put a nail through a water pipe. They got a plumber there on the same day to replace the portion of the copper pipe.

It is a wonderful feeling to have total trust in a company and its work. The city inspector hardly even checked the work. He knew how good they are!

It is a wonderful feeling to have total trust in a company and its work. The city inspector hardly even checked the work. He knew how good they are!

Dave and his team did a great job. During the estimate, he reviewed the entire foundation area thoroughly with me and answered all of my questions clearly. His suggestions for repair were conservative and he indicated our problem was minor and didn't warrant major work. When I asked for changes to the contract, Dave negotiated a compromise with the owner. When the city explained we needed a grading permit, Dave helped me understand the implications and supported my decision to skip it even though they'd already applied for the building permit. Although only 3 posts were targeted for replacement, Dave's team threw in additional 2 new posts when they saw that the adjacent lifting process had raised on them off their footings. (Only the posts were replaced on the existing footings with no new piers). The sheer panel blocking was also done well. The team was friendly, on time, and on budget. Margie in their office was also very helpful.

Dave and his team did a great job. During the estimate, he reviewed the entire foundation area thoroughly with me and answered all of my questions clearly. His suggestions for repair were conservative and he indicated our problem was minor and didn't warrant major work. When I asked for changes to the contract, Dave negotiated a compromise with the owner. When the city explained we needed a grading permit, Dave helped me understand the implications and supported my decision to skip it even though they'd already applied for the building permit. Although only 3 posts were targeted for replacement, Dave's team threw in additional 2 new posts when they saw that the adjacent lifting process had raised on them off their footings. (Only the posts were replaced on the existing footings with no new piers). The sheer panel blocking was also done well. The team was friendly, on time, and on budget. Margie in their office was also very helpful.

This company was fantastic. When they had no openings for three weeks they sent out a crew on a Saturday morning to do a quick job stabilizing the floor under the fridge because I was starting to panic (I did pay a little extra for this but it seemed very fair.) They came back in a couple weeks and completed the work and the results are outstanding. They were careful and thorough, and cleaned up both under and behind the house. The work looks great, feels solid, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Great -- they were able to come in a few weeks earlier than they had originally planned and completed the work in less than two weeks, including inspection.

Great -- they were able to come in a few weeks earlier than they had originally planned and completed the work in less than two weeks, including inspection.

They were extremely professional and easy to deal with, including the office staff, workers, and supervisors. I felt they gave me a thorough inspection and analysis, but were responsive to my cost considerations and did not push me when I declined to do all the work they recommended. All work was completed in a day and a half, and the workers were prompt, courteous, and cleaned up completely when the job was done. I don't know how their rates compare to other foundation contractors, but I was comfortable with what they charged, and their final bill was exactly what they quoted.

Overall the contractor did a good job, and all their people are nice and professional.

VERY EASY COMPANY TO USE. PROBABLY THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO BEING HELPFUL AND GIVING GOOD ADVICE. VERY KNOWLEGABLE ABOUT RETROFITTING.