Alpha Structural, Inc.

Mark arrived on time as scheduled (in fact earlier than expected). I showed him my areas of concern along with some background information about the house. He put my mind at ease stating that the cracking was nothing to be concerned with and that it was the natural progression of land shifting that one can expect for living on a hill. In fact considering the age of the concrete slab he said it was in great shape. Mark was a wealth of knowledge regarding the plant life and trees in the backyard that I thought may have contributed to the fractures in the concrete. Although no work was required I am grateful for an honest opinion. In this economy it is not uncommon for business to sell you services that are not needed just to boost their bottom line. I truly appreciate Alpha Structural's integrity and will not hesitate to call them if an issue arises that requires their expertise. I would also have no problem recommending them to family and friends for their structural needs. Thank you again Mark and Alpha Construction.

Alpha Structural did the original proposal for the project, coordinated with the soil study firm, handled reviews, permits, and inspections and executed the project efficiently. The design phase was $2800 and the project was $21,136 plus about $3000 in additional fees for reviews, permits, and inspections. The required soil study conducted by another firm was $3125 plus an additional $750 for reviews and inspections. The work was done as planned in a timely manner. They had support services scheduled and ready to work as needed. The main delays were waiting for city reviews and permits and waiting for city inspectors. The foreman and workers were polite and respectful of our property. They worked diligently with few breaks and left things clean and organized at the end of each day. It would have been helpful for us to have a list of potential "additional expenses" in advance for such things as applications, reviews, permits, and all of the various "observations" and "reports" and inspections. There was some confusion over invoices and payments and a little fine tuning in financial unit would be beneficial.

Everything went incredibly smoothly and I highly recommend Alpha Structural. The crew was very professional and very hardworking, there was always something being done and a lot of progress every day. The crew chief Lupe always let me know what was going on and what to expect for the next day. There was an issue with a branch of the sewer line which was not where we had expected to be, but they didn't just charge ahead and "make do" with something. They made sure nothing was damaged and called in the engineer to adjust the plan and ensure everything was done right. I always felt that Alpha knew what they were doing and could take care of things. Sixteen 4 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft holes means a lot of dirt piled around the house, and one dumpster-full hauled away. The crew did a very good job of keeping the site neat and accessible, with my busy family walking through 10 times a day during the week that it took. Even though one of the foundation pads was directly in front of the front door, and another directly in front of the back door (just the way it had to be with the location of the doors along the length of the wall) there was only a couple hours of one day that we were "trapped" in the house. And the replaced concrete on the side of the house looks better than what was there before. The estimate process was very professional, and I had a good sense that their engineers know their business (and I am an engineer, just not this kind of engineer). I had a couple of other estimates, and Charlie did the best job of describing the situation with my foundation and what needed to be done about it. The bids I had were all competitive, but Alpha's was the most thorough, and gave the best price per foundation pad. I'm extremely happy with my choice.

My neighbor had drug me into a law suit a few years ago and the out of court settlement was that I would replace a failed retaining. Alpha knew going in here there was animosity but assured me they were used to dealing with that. come to find out the original wall was about two feet off from what we found to be the property line. Alpha's way of placating my neighbor was to give her wider walkways, which meant taking more of my property, wait, who hired you? Yeah, no I am not giving her my property after dragging me into a lawsuit, calling the building inspector out on work another neighbor and I were doing and running up costs on a city defined yard structure. Oh well, now we have had to reinspect the lines, redo the design and engineering of the wall, get new permits. Now we are going through this period of letting me stew. They did a bit little something a week and a half ago, I sent them an email three days ago asking for an update with no response yet and now I have a giant excavation between me and my litigious neighbor for over a month now. I had spine surgery a month ago and really don't want to have to hire another contractor, they were the third for this job.

We had a good experience when they came out to give the estimate. We are considering using them.

It was great. He recommended I use someone else because my problem was minor. He was great at helping me figure out why the ground was staying wet in one area near my house. He was professional and knowledgable.

In short, the job was expensive but worth every penny. Alpha is a highly professional company, they did exactly what they said they were going to do. The workers were tidy and respectful. The job was completed within five days, and passed city (San Gabriel) inspection with no problems. Price would have been lower if a missing 10 foot section of foundation would of be there. Alpha took pictures of the completed job and the new section of foundation. We were completely satisfied. Note: This was our childhood home since 1957, after probate my brother now owns, I found Alpha for my brother on Angie's List. We're grateful to Angie's List and Alpha Structural A+.

First an engineer came out from Alpha Structural to examine the job and see if it is a project that their company is appropriate for taking on. We were concerned about the stability of our garage since we have installed solar panels on it which makes it rather top heavy and we wanted to hire an engineering firm who knows something about structures, rather than a general contractor. The initial engineer said that the fix would be rather straightforward. Since plywood provides a lot of shear strength, he proposed taking off the old board and batten walls (which were rotting anyway) and replacing them with plywood walls. This adds enormously to the shear strength of the structure. Also, he proposed strengthening a post in the center of the garage and giving it structural hardware that would also add to the rigidity of the structure. Two weeks after the initial meeting, a crew came to start the work. There was usually an engineer overseeing the work of the crew. There was a lot of demolition involved because as well as taking off most of two walls of the garage, they also demolished some old nasty shelving that I asked them to remove. In fact, that wasn't in the initial scope of the work but they did it with no extra charge. Perhaps it made the job a bit easier for them because it would have got it their way if it were left where it was. At the same time they had a crew cutting the old concrete and removing it in one half of the garage where it had large cracks. They brought in a large truck to remove all the debris, including all the junk that I had cleaned out of the garage in preparation for the project. Then they brought in their framing and their concrete crews. They put in a lot of new framing to replace the rotten framing that they had torn out. And they put black tar paper and plywood on the walls. The concrete crew cut dug out the side of the garage that was getting the new concrete, put in rebar and poured the new concrete. They did a great job of matching the new concrete to the old concrete. Our old concrete, it turns out, was very thin so the new side is now much better quality than the old was. I think the job took 7 working days in total. A week after the job was finished and paid for, the owner of the company came out just to make sure he approved everything. In fact, I had just had new garage doors installed and the installers pointed out another rotten framing 2x4 on a different wall. So I pointed that out to the company owner and he sent someone out to replace that. He also complained that the drainage wasn't proper so the following week another couple of guys came out to dig a better drainage ditch behind the garage. Then they sent out yet another inspector. I was totally impressed. They are really conscientious and want to be sure everything is done properly. I would certainly recommend them to anyone who wants or needs a structural engineering & construction company. I am completely pleased with our much improved garage.

Inspector showed up on time Inspected the living area 1st to see if there were any obvious signs of foundation issues Then went under the house and inspected foundation. Verbally communicated that everything looked fine and left. Written report was extensively lacking in any sort of detail related to the existing state of the foundation and framing. No pictures. Provided an estimate for earthquake retrofitting that was quite vague on exactly what they would do. They also made no mention of or recommendation on how to improve the susceptibility of the soft story that resulted from a garage that is tucked-under the dining room of a one story house. I eventually ended up buying the house and got three additional opinions and estimates for the work. The other contractors (Avalin Construction, Seismic Safelty, and Julian Construction) all provided much more detailed information and estimates that were approximately 50% lower than Alpha's. I know Alpha is a good company with a solid reputation but it appears for small jobs like home inspections and retrofitting they don't; really provide great service. I also had to bug them to provide the report on time and respond to my follow-up questions.

It went smoothly. Alpha personnel were friendly, helpful, and accessible throughout the project. They began by giving us an estimate, and writing a letter explaining the degree of danger with the existing wall, which was helpful in getting our neighbor "on board" with the project. The project began and ended in a timely manner. Alpha took care of everything, including permits, and cleaned up at the conclusion of the project. We have gotten many compliments on the new wall. Previously, we employed alpha to retrofit our garage. Since we were happy with their work, we later hired them to replace the retaining wall as well.

FINISHED IN 2 DAYS FAST EFFICIENT.

They were excellent. The VP came out and gave an assessment. He was very fair and gave his recommendations. He alleviated my fears without trying to sell me his services.

We had a good experience overall.

All around a pleasurable experience. They are totally professional. The crew was great!

Whole thing was very smooth. Contacts were with Maggie in the office, Charlie Rosenkranz who did initial review, estimate and plan/contract process, and Rejean Guy who was the project superintendent during the work. Alpha was responsive, reasonable in their approach to the problem, and professional. Answered every question during contracting and the work itself. All catgories marked as excellent above except price. The price may have been excellent as well, but we did not get a comparison bid because although we were taken aback by the cost of repairing a garage floor crack, we had confidence in the approach and the estimate - for the work designed to fix the problem - seemed right. We took "it's just a garage" approach - i.e. could have gotten quite carried away in the repair - and Alpha was excellent in explaining the options along a continuum. Great people to work with, competent, responsive, efficient, respectful, and clear. I would definitely use Alpha again, although I hope I don't ever have to!

Mark, from Alpha Structural, surveyed the drainage surrounding our property, and we were very pleased with his professionalism and knowledge.

1) Charlie came out for an inspection and was thoughtful, knowledgeable, and had solutions and ideas on the spot. 2) The bid was reasonable and comprehensive. 3) The office and admin customer service follow up was fantastic. 4) They commenced work when we wanted to them to and worked super efficiently. 5) They finished well ahead of schedule, saved us thousands of dollars in landscape and tile repair, and met and exceeded our performance expectations. 6) The work looks great, the attention to detail evident, and we feel secure in our new vintage home. 7) Charlie was ALWAYS available to answer any questions we had -- and we had a lot. He knew how important this was to us and even though this job was on smaller end of the spectrum for them, they put their best teams to work on it. We appreciated that. 8) Mario, their head crew leader was awesome. He ran a tight ship. Thanks for a job well done.

Mark, Dave, Susan and the team at Alpha are AMAZING! They go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure things are done right. A while back, a retaining wall, built by an incompetent contractor, had massively failed on our property in the Hollywood Hills during a wind and rainstorm. The wall was buckling and was threatening the properties below. It felt like it really was a doomsday scenario. The team at Alpha came out immediately to assess the situation and made recommendations on how to temporarily make the site safe while we were dealing with the insurance. They made us feel at ease and held our hand every step of the way. They were always available and incredibly professional. The overall process took several months to complete, from dealing getting structural engineers involved, pulling city permits and the physical building of the wall. Thanks to Alpha, we emerged with a backyard that is awesome to go in to and with a retaining wall that is sure to last as long as LA does! We really appreciate the quality of work and the pride that Alpha has in their product!

Mark Schlaich from Alpha Structural came out to give us a quote on seismic retrofitting our duplex in Highland Park. He was very knowledge and professional. The price was reasonable as well. The crew came out and finished the work on time. I will definitely recommend Alpha Structure.

Yes, I would hire this company for a future job.

While the work took a bit longer than originally anticipated, I was very pleased with Alpha Structural. I just bought this house and the brick foundation from 1904 was (clearly) in shambles. I received several bids from various companies and contractors to redo the entire foundation. I did not feel comfortable paying 25% of the cost of my house to redo the entire foundation as, 1) that simply seems insane, and 2) I don't plan I living here the rest of my life. I brought this up to all the companies I spoke with and Alpha was the only one that came up with a good alternative that would make the foundation safe and lasting without costing me a fortune. Their plan was the most ingenious and sensical of all the people I spoke to. The essentially redid the four corners of the foundation like new, and then replaced any faulty beams throughout. They also cleared out the crawl space (at no additional charge and as part of the package) so that my plumber and other workers would have easier access under the house. They walked me through the process and when, after they had finished, I found a cracked beam, they rushed to fix the small oversight the very next morning. They were kind and clear and very respectful and left everything clean after they left.

Alpha Structural responded to my request for quote quickly. I appreciate their quick response. They were honest in replying that my work did not fit their business profile.

I have not yet moved forward on my foundation work, due to other projects taking priority. But I found my experience working with Alpha very positive through the process of having them come look at my foundation and make suggestions and give me an estimate for bolting my foundation and lowering some high spots in my raised foundation in an 80 year old home. Their estimate was similar in dollar amount to another company that gave me estimates. I had once before had Alpha come out and look at another foundation, a slab, on a home I almost bought two years ago. I was equally satisfied with their professionalism and expertise then as I am now. If/when I move forward on foundation work, Alpha will be on the list of finalists.

My voicemail message was promptly returned. The person I spoke to was very knowledgeable. I basically needed structural engineering and although Alpha Structural does not provide solely structural engineering, I was referred to a few structural engineers on their vendor list. The lady was very helpful and went the extra mile to give me 3 referrals. I've talked to several other companies who were not as knowledgeable and as helpful as Alpha Structural.

Unprofessional and a waste of time.