Cowen Associates - Consulting Structural Engineers

DO NOT HIRE. If you're looking for a misogynist old man to tell you he did his job when he didn't hire Cowen Associates. The worst customer service I have ever experienced. Fred, the owner refused to give me measurements that he claims were written in his drawing and then called me to tell me it's not his job to give me the measurements. He charged me $200 per hour to then tell me I shouldn't be the general contractor on my own job and that I don't know anything.

Engineer only assessed the condition from afar (did not venture to the far side of the attic to assess the concerning joist that we were most concerned about). Billed us before sending the written report which took 6 weeks to receive and then sent a second bill for an additional amount with no explanation. No response when I inquired via email about the second bill. He then resent the unpaid second bill 4 months later with no explanation. Very unprofessional. Would not trust him to do any significant work on our home.

No response.

Cowen Associates did a great job of analyzing the structural integrity of the entire floor assembly of the basement room and proposing how to repair. They examined how and why the beam was sagging, how floor joists attached to rim joists (notched); examined cutouts in middle of joists; examined how walls in each room/floor above the basement beared down on each other (first-floor kitchen, second-floor bedroom, attic); studied integrity of masonry.

Fred responded promptly to my initial call. He told me that he thought the job of creating the report and plans would amount to 4 total hours of work. He came to our house, made the necessary observations and explained his thinking. He then emailed me the completed report with sketches THAT AFTERNOON. Also, he only charged me for 3.5 hours, which I was very impressed with. We had discussed 4 hours, so there was no reason why he couldn't have simply charged me for all 4 hours. Overall, I found Fred to be knowledgable, efficient, and honest. I would absolutely use him again, and I would recommend him highly.

Received a detailed analysis and report.

Ray was super helpful during both planning and for questions during the framing process.

Very responsive, friendly, and professional. Dan is very insightful, open to discussing ideas, and always available to talk. Cowen Associates is reasonably priced. I highly recommend Dan Leonard at Cowen Associates.

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He was prompt, and very professional, and appeared to be very knowledgeable about work that needs to be done. I am in the process of following through on his suggestions.

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We worked with Dan Leonard who was extremely responsive in spite of our stop-and-go project. The drawings were what we needed for an RFP and for our contractors to follow, and when we needed signed and stamped drawings on short notice he provided them. Additionally, we had need for side elevation drawings (an additional design requirement by the city of Boston), and Dan provided those as well on short notice.

I worked with a draftsman to develop plans for a second story dormer and bath. The last round included framing plans with "to be verified by a structural engineer" marked in several places. The draftsman was no longer available to make further changes to the plans. I wanted to move forward with the project and knew that the town building inspector would require a licensed structural engineer to review the proposed framing. I contacted 4 different structural engineers. One estimate was far too high ($3500+). Mr. Cowen's estimate was at the lower end of the range quoted by the remaining 2 and was not as vague about potential final cost. Fred made a site visit; took notes and mentioned area of concern. For a price that was as low as the lowest estimated range, they were able to complete the structural analysis and update the original Autocad documents, provide pdf versions of the sealed plans. I highly recommend Cowen Associates.

Cowen and associates do good work, but Fred was difficult to work with and did not seem to understand the job at hand. I'm sure he knows his engineering, but he was not pleasant or efficient to work with.

After noticing a crack in my concrete foundation, I called the closest structural engineering firm, twice, and left messages. I then called Cowan Associates and spoke with a person who assured me that Mr. Cowan would call by Monday evening--and he did. The crack goes all the way through to the outside, and it only showed up recently (though we've lived here for almost 17 years). Mr. Cowan explained the likely cause (settling) and also made it clear that although he could come out to inspect it, I would be better off simply calling the repair service and having it fixed--as his charges would be almost as much as it would cost to fix, and all he would provide would be a report explaining the problem and that it was not cause for concern about the structure (and that it should be fixed). He did indicate that if I needed such a report, he would be happy to come out and inspect. Mr. Cowan was very patient with my questions, and answered completely and in plain language.

Great!. I would hire Mr. Cowen anytime! He was clear about his price. He was prompt in repsonding to the phone call and in arriving to do the work. He was practical in his solution to the issue and he worked with our contractor. He gave us the stamped sketch/plan on the same day. I cannot say enough positive things about him.

They were willing to work with me on the cost.

He showed up on time to our house and was all business. I felt like my questions were thought of as bothersome. For example, I didn't know what to expect from the structural engineer process and just asked him if he wanted me to walk through with him or if he needed me for anything. (I just didn't want to be in his way). His response was that I could do anything that I wanted in a very short tone. He focused on the removal of rock foundation- which is an extremely expensive option and could not find any creative solutions for the job. His report mentioned to fix a vertical beam in our barn, but did not give us specifics as to how. Overall, he accomplished the job, but only wanted to give us the best options rather than to help us brainstorm an affordable way to make our barn safe. We have chosen to use a barn specialist to fix our barn- perhaps we should have went that route to begin with.

Fred was very responsive, and came out the day after we called. He arrived on time, and carefully inspected our basement. He offered a thorough report with drawings within a day, documenting what work needed to be completed. I feel much better about having work done on the property, now that I know exactly what needs to be fixed. Prior to Fred, we had a few contractors come out and each one told us a different story about what needed to be done to the basement. After their conflicting reports, we decided to get a structural engineer's point of view. It was great getting an expert's opinion, especially since I know he is not trying to beef up the contractor's bill. Though the visit was costly, I think it will save us money overall by having less work done by the contractors (because Fred said most of their suggested projects were unnecessary and could be done much more cheaply with joist hangers rather than sistering). My only minor complaint was that he seemed reluctant to answer some of my questions, and said I should refer to the report when it arrived. However, the report doesn't have answers to some of my specific questions. I'll probably call back when I choose a contractor to work with, to have those specific questions answered.

I contacted Jon directly based on his email that was posted online. I explained the project and Jon noted that he had interest and this was his type of work. He let me know that he did not do free estimates but he gave his hourly rate and said he would come out to a****. I agreed if this was not something that could be done I would pay for his time which was reasonable to me and the cost was not high for an experts time. I should also note that I had CAD drawing of the existing floor plan and structure. Jon agreed that these would be useful and he could reduce his fee if everything proved to be accurate. Jon came to my property exactly on time. He came prepared with printouts of the CAD I provided. We reviewed what I wanted to have done and he familiarized himself with the building. He confirmed the drawing and provided advice on the best location and changes that would need to be made to the existing structure. He explained in detail what he would provide, what was needed for the building department, and when I would receive the stamped drawings. He also took into account that I would be doing the work myself, and made recommendations that would make things easier on me. I received the drawings which were complete in every detail. Specifications, part numbers, etc. Everything needed to place an order and also to have the building department sign off on the drawing. He cost came in right lower/middle end of the estimate he provided. After poor experiences with home inspectors and well as another structural engineer that wanted to charge me $1900 for drawings after a $355 house visit Cowen associates was a refreshing experience. I would use these guys again in a second.

Jon did a wonderful job in short notice. He inspected the house very carefully and took many measurements. He explained to me very clearly what the options were. A day later he sent me the detailed plan through email and regular mail. The plan included two options: 12 feet opening or 15 feet opening. And for each option, he described two methods (wood beam or steel beam) of installation that my contractor could follow. Jon is very patient and very good at explaining those technical details to me in plain English. My contractor has called him a couple of times about some minor changes. Jon answered those questions quickly. My contractor enjoyed working with him too.

I was able to schedule his visit quickly. He arrived on time and performed all services requested. Later that day he sent me plans of the work to be done in an email. He followed up with a letter containing the documents with his stamp to be put on file with the local permitting office. He rendered his services flawlessly and I am very happy with his work. If you visit the website it appears his firm does a lot of larger work than residential capes, but he took the time to visit me and deliver a thorough product.