Mattson Macdonald Young

Shannon called me back soon after I left the message with the Receptionist and we talked about what I was looking for. I sent him a few pictures at his request to get an idea of the projects and we set up a time for him to stop by. He was a a sharp and easygoing guy and was easily able to answer my specific questions as well as provide (as detailed as I wanted) guidance, suggestions, specifications or drawings, as I desired. He was easy to communicate with and I felt confident that I could move forward with my plans after he confirmed the specifications I needed to know. I would recommend Mattson, Macdonald, Young, Inc. generally, and Shannon Pierce specifically.

They were excellent except they did not call back initially but once I got to one of the engineers, they handled me quickly.

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The engineer assigned to our job was polite, prompt and knowledgeable. He made his assessment, pointed out what he was looking for - and did NOT see - in the way of damage so we could be well-informed and alert for any future problems. My only and quot;mark-downand quot; is on cost - which is merely a reflection of my wallet, not of the value of the services offered, which was stellar.

We originally attempted to get quotes directly from various contractors to remove a structural wall in the middle of our basement (and replace with a single beam). When it became obvious that the contractors did not know how to price this with what size beams or columns we decided to get a structural engineer directly (rather than as part of the contractor's scope). Mattson MacDonald were the most cost effective and because I am an engineer also I believe they were able to complete this using our drawings and measurements (without a site visit). The site visit seemed to be the cost difference that other structural engineers were not able to do without. Therefore, without the site visit their quote was half (or less) than all other quotes (all others included a site visit). Mattson MacDonald were very professional and they provided drawings with more than enough options (multiple sizes of LVLs and steel beams to be able to get proper reasonable quotes from contractors). This enabled us to select the proper size beams to fit in the pocket and provide the most headroom possible in our soon to be finished basement. I sent them the dimensions and information one night and because they were going to be busy for the next week they completed the drawings and calculations that very night. Quick bid, low cost, professional and complete drawings, and quick turnaround. I would recommend them for any structural work (commercial or residential).

The evaluation was very informative and left me with a number of options based on price ranges and effort.

We had been told that one of our basement walls was bowing in. There is a very large ash tree planted about 5 feet from the wall so we suspected that might be a factor. Shannon came to our home and spent about 45 minutes to an hour looking at the foundation walls and taking photos. He gave several options for what we could do and discussed the pros and cons of each. He also answered several other structural questions we had and gave advice on how to handle them. Then he took the information and photos back to his office and emailed us a detailed plan a few days later for how to reinforce the wall against the weight of the tree. The plan specifies exactly what will need to be done and we can just present it to a contractor when we are ready to have the work done. We feel we got a good value and we will sleep better knowing that we had professional structural engineering advice about our problem.

We were told that the City of Minneapolis wanted an engineer to be involved in this project. The contractor brought Stephanie Young (from Mattson MacDonald Young) with him. She was pleasant and very knowledgeable. She explained things using terminology that was easy to understand. We discussed some options and she drew up several plans. It was determined we would go with the plan that would keep the original configurations on the floors above and would meet the design goals of the basement layout. LVLs and PSL posts would be used once the bigger and deeper footings were dug and poured. A couple of months into the project, the relationship with the building contractor had deteriorated. The contractor said the beam was done but it didn't look like the Stephanie's drawing. The posts were crooked and visibly out of line and there were steps that had been skipped. Our concerns were met with arguments and resistance. Finally we called Stephanie back in and she determined that parts of the beam needed to be replaced. She really and quot;saved our baconand quot;. Had it not been for her, we would be stuck with an inferior beam. We are definitely going to ask for her and her expertise as the other levels progress. She's an A+ in our book!!

They were great! I called and was able to schedule an appointment the same week. Mike came out to my house and took a look at my sinking basement foundation issue. He was very thorough - took a lot of notes, pictures and measurements - and went back to assess the situation with his team. He then prepared a report for me which I was able to submit to contractors when I was collecting bids for the repair work.

Went smoothly and in a timely fashion.

The garden level of our 4-level split house was experiencing settling to the extent that step cracks were appearing in the block foundation. Cracks in the drywall inside the house showing additional signs of shifting. We wanted an assessment of the problem and direction on how to correct and stabilize the foundation. Stephanie Young came out and looked at the foundation and took pictures, she came back within a week with her assessment of the problem and her solution. She recommended a few companies that could handle the work. We had follow-up questions after contacting the foundation companies and receiving their quotes which Stephanie also addressed.

I tend to overbuild, doing most of the planing and installation myself. The last thing you want is to find out your project is structurally marginal after it is complete - especially when you plan to upgrade the floor to tile with heavy appliances. Mattson Macdonald Young Inc did a great job in eliminating those fears - including the documents and figures to support their recommendation.

Stephanie Young (a principal of the firm) came to the home and provided exactly what I was looking for. She was very helpful providing the information I was looking for about the structural integrity of the roof and it's ability to carry the load needed to turn it into livable space. She also was able to provide a great deal of information about the visible condition of the home, the lack of any real structural issues (wall cracking, structural

They were able to answer our questions about the way the house appeared. For example, they explained that the slope in the porch was designed that way for drainage and was not a structural flaw. They gave an opinion on the quality of the stucco and window exteriors and were able to look in the basement and comment on the integrity of the wood beams and limestone. They were far more knowledgable than the home inspector and even provided education to our real estate agent.