Fortress Engineering Group

I've done 3 remodels, built 5 homes, & 3 additions in Jacksonville. I have experience working w/ many engineers & never had to fire an engineer until Fortress. I chose to call Fortress based on their numerous good reviews & had high hopes their performance & professionalism would match. I was highly disappointed. Today I was told by 1 of the 2 owners (Steve) of Fortress that I would have to “choose between getting a refund & talking online.” Those were his exact words. In a split second, I knew the right thing to do…write an honest review. I didn’t know companies could literally silence customers from writing or speaking honest opinions & experiences. I was stunned. I lost faith in reviews. I lost faith in companies w/ 5-star reviews. In that one moment when Steve said that to me, I knew I had chosen his firm as structural engineers for my remodel based ENTIRELY on their 5-star reviews. I'd never worked w/ them before. I had no trusted friends, colleagues, or contractors that could vouch for them. No one recommended them or could stand by them. I did my best to research online & read reviews of customers that had gone before me. I trusted the info I read. But now, I wonder HOW MANY NEGATIVE REVIEWS WERE SILENCED FOR A REFUND? Frankly, my experience w/ them is just that…MY experience. But it certainly has me wondering how many OTHER people had a similar experience? If you want quality, courteous customer service, go elsewhere. If you want experienced engineers, go elsewhere. If you want knowledgeable staff answering phones, go elsewhere. If you want projects done in a timely manner, go elsewhere. If you desire clear expectations & clear communication thru the project, go elsewhere. Those are the main reasons I myself decided to go elsewhere. They kept my money because I wanted to keep my voice & honesty. Here are the indisputable facts. They charge in advance & don't work on your file for weeks. I paid between $500-700 for initial site visits & consultations. I paid them $1600 additional to take my job. No clear timeline was outlined in the contract so I had no recourse. No calls, no emails for weeks after paying. I called several times & made no forward progress. I expressed serious safety & timeline concerns about trusses that Fortress didn’t acknowledge or address. I was surprised how few years/months of experience all 4 of the engineers I met at Fortress had. I encourage you strongly if you're desperate for an engineer, proceed w/ caution. Interview them well before paying. Visit in person. See their operation. Meet their team. Research their engineers. Ask for years (or months) of experience they've worked in engineering & construction in general. Clarify which engineer will be assigned to your specific job. Clarify engineers you pay to inspect your job site will be the same engineers working on the required drawings & plans afterwards. Get it all in writing. Clarify expectations & project scope. Clarify timeline & turnaround. Clarify how to reach the engineers you paid. Clarify the process to address future concerns or changes. Clarify how to resolve issues, create solutions & navigate through construction challenges. This was my mistake. I never would’ve hired them for remodel plans if I'd met them in person. I wasn’t there initially due to health reasons & missed that important meeting up front. Experienced pros on my job who met the owner & team on site said Fortress lacked experience & knowledge & skipped steps. If I knew THEN what I know NOW, I wouldn't be out another $1600 that they refuse to refund me w/out signing a release including a clause that says I won’t post a review or speak of my negative experience w/ others. I feel that’s unethical. Nic & Steve PUT IN NO EFFORT to meet, propose solutions or resolve stressful situations. Reviews are a platform to share honest feedback & personal experience w/ new potential clients looking for references. I didn’t have trusted references for Fortress Engineering. Reviews were important to me. Please keep searching. Ask good questions. Good luck on your project!