Norton & Schmidt Consulting Engineers

Beware. They were supposed to provide an independent, third-party assessment of what was required to repair our storm-damaged roof in compliance with the KCMO building code. But they were nothing more than "guns for hire," basically inventing something to put in a report to make our insurance company happy. They clearly care more about keeping a bunch of insurance-company work coming through their doors than providing an honest, ethical assessment. They also refused to communicate with us, and ignored what the city codes department repeatedly said about how the building code applies to our specific roofing issue.

Inspector visited my home and did a floor system inspection of sagging joists. His repair report was thorough and complete.

Very realistic on what needed done, not over the top

Did not need $15K to $30K of repairs foundation companies recommended so it was well worth the money

It was less than 30 minute and $350 to tell me I should check with landscaping services to see if they could improve drainage.

Ed came the next day, he squeezed us into his day. He thoroughly inspected the basement foundation inside and out, and explained his findings to us. He recommended a few things to do with the drainage of the guttering as well as the landscaping which we will do. He was very professional and remembered our names as well as our infant son the entire time he was there and addressed all of us by name every time he spoke to us. This service was well worth the money, we would highly recommend this company to any friends or family.

Barney was right on time, we were given a 1 hour window and he showed up right at the start. He did a thorough walkthrough of the basement looking from floor to ceiling on each wall. He explained what exactly was happening to the house, likely causes, and told us the severity of the crack and that it was not yet bad enough to require a full excavation around the foundation. He explained which cracks require attention and which do not, he even suggested some places to find good, inexpensive paint for after we have the work done since concrete sucks up paint so fast. And most of all, he humored all of my father's questions that he asked even after Barney had already explained it before. He gave us a detailed description of the work that needs to be done, including specific spacing and size requirements, and will email us a written plan for us to use with foundation companies.

Brandon came over promptly at the day and time scheduled, to evaluate our roof prior to shingle replacement. He thoroughly studied the involved structures from outside the house, the attic, and other rooms that related to the project. During the inspection, Brandon was very informative about the structures, the design, and how it all interacts. He was also personable and very knowledgeable. A week later, Brandon emailed a report to me about the findings. I would use Brandon and Norton & Schmidt Consulting Engineers again for future project evaluations.

We were real happy with them. We had a crack in our floor and thought it was foundation. It was from it being so dry and he said when we had the first rain that it would probably go away. He was very thorough and knowledgeable. We thought the price was good for them having to travel so far to get to us. He explained things to us and why we needed to do some other things. He stayed until he was finished and didn't try to rush through the job.

Very smooth. He did not recommend piers, and said a better investment would be sprinkler system to keep the moisture level in the soil around the house constant. He also recommended removing a couple of trees that were probably pulling a lot of water from the soil.

It went well. Ed was professional and punctual. He was able to look at my house within a week of calling. His written report was done a few days after viewing my house.

They basically came out and told me they couldn't help me and charged me their normal fee for doing it. They charged me $350 which is their normal rate. To be fair they came out and talked to me but they basically told me that they couldn't assist me that it wasn't safe what I was asking for. They were saying that they needed somebody else to come up with some amount of it and then they could say they agreed or did not agree.

We had multiple wall cracks, ceiling cracks and cracks in the concrete basement floor. After getting several estimates from foundation repair companies recommending a wide range of costly remedies, we decided to take the advise of one such company and have a structural engineer first inspect our house and make recommendations. Base on the conditions of our house, the soil conditions, and the rain that we've enjoyed this year, his assessment was to invest in less costly remedies to our soil shifting problem. The company's representative was prompt, very professional, very helpful - answering all our questions, and very pleasant. If, in the future, we have the occasion to need the services they offer, we will not hesitate to call them.

It was a very good experience. Our basement floor has cracks and we were uncertain of the cause as we knew our home had been piered during construction. The engineer took one look and confirmed that it had been caused by "heaving". He then asked if we'd like to see what was causing it. Of course, we did! We have a creek in the back yard. A downspout in the front of the house was draining water at the center of our home which ran down, underneath the house and into the creek. Moisture underneath the slab would freeze and cause a lifting of the earth, making cracks in the floor. No moisture has ever been visible. Clark then provided us with solutions to reduce/eliminate the moisture. It was a great relief to finally understand the source of the problem. We had consulted with a foundation company but they only offered a pier solution. Foundation walls in the basement are all fine - no cracks of bowing. Clark also pointed out a few other minor areas of erosion we could address to avoid future issues. Wish we had known about this firm a few years ago! Highly recommend a consultation if you have any building or foundation concerns.

I called Norton & Schmidt on the recommendations on Angie's List and in talking to a person from the City of Lenexa. They had performed work for the city in the past and they were happy with their work. I have a house, detached garage and barn built in 1910 in Lenexa. I have had concerns about the condition of the foundation and the upstairs flooring. Mr Hutson talked to me on the phone and described their process. He also explained about the dry conditions we have had in recent years which has taken a toll on home foundations. For my peace of mind and future work I decided to have him come out. He arrived on time and was very professional. He did a thorough examination of the basement, took measurements, and suggested possible remedies. He used his level and scope and worked around the basement. He then went upstairs and looked at the wood flooring and explained to me why it was lifting in a few spots and what it would take to actually fix the floor joints in the downstairs ceiling. Then we walked around the outside foundation of the house and examined the stone foundation. Ed told me that the grading away from the house needed some fixing and told me what to do. He was also kind enough to give me suggestions on my barn. I received an email report about 3 or 4 days later with a lot of detail. Ed even suggested companies to choose from to fix the basement walls, for general construction and tree trimming companies,since I had discussed the trees needed trimming. Overall, it was a good experience and I was glad I had Ed come out. It will give me some peace of mind and I will work on these areas that need addressing. He said to call if I have questions, and I may need to do that when I contact contractors to look at his drawings.

I'm much better equipped to bring in some repairman now and get bids. I know from an arms length report what the extent of the damage is and what I really need to repair it. That way I can protect myself from getting oversold or under performed on an important repair job.

Engineer arrived promptly, and in a short period of time determined that our foundation settling issues were normal and not in need of expensive repair. He provided suggestions on reducing the settling and performed baseline measurements so that we could track the settling if we needed to. Considering how many thousands of dollars we were expecting to have to spend on the foundation, we were very pleased.

We were on a strict deadline. We were refinancing our house and the VA required a termite inspection. The inspection indicated there was old termite damage to the rafters under our front porch. By the time we were notified that the VA wanted a structural engineer to inspect the damage, we were only days away from closing. The folks at Norton and Schmidt were really nice and worked hard to get someone out in time to meet our deadline. Note only did they get someone out, we got our report that same day. All in time for our deadline. The closing remained on schedule.

I had some wallboard cracking in the basement and suspected some foundation issues. A friend advised me get the advice of a structural engineer and recommended Norton and Schmidt. Clark Kelley came to my home on July 9 and walked though the house and basement. He said the front basement wall was moving in slightly. He also looked around the house and made recommendations about landscaping and drainage. A couple of days later I received a written report with recommended repairs. He also recommended 4 contractors that were knowledgable of the kind of work I needed done. I got bids from all 4 contractors and recently had the work done satisfactorily I would highly recommend and independent engineer to look at any foundation problems. Don't just call a repair company you see on TV.

Each step and aspect of the process could not have been better. When I called to schedule an appointment, the call-taker was friendly and helpful. My appointment was quickly scheduled for the next morning. The engineer, Mr. Schwabauer, was punctual, knowledgeable and professional. The report was sent to me, as promised, the very next day and it was extremely helpful. I am going to act on his recommendations in order to avoid any future problems with my new stone tile floors. A big thanks to Norton and Schmidt. (p.s. I used them about 20 years ago to assess a foundation problem and they were as good then as they are now.)

We had used the firm in 2007 to evaluate the stability of our home. We had significant cracks in one basement wall and were concerned that the house was falling down. The consulting engineer explained the problem (expansive soil) to us, assured us that the house was not falling down. The engineer's visit was followed a few days later with a written report stating the results of their analysis and more importantly giving specific suggestions on how to shore up the damaged wall so that it would remain stable. Their recommendation also included instructions on landscaping change to divert water away from our foundation. Recently, we have experienced more damage to the basement walls. Also we have noticed definite signs of the house settling. Many other homes in our neighborhood were experiencing similar problems. Our next door neighbor had spent over $30,000 on piers to re-level his house. I feared that we would need the same, but before I spent that kind of money, I wanted an independent unbiased professional opinion. Since we felt that we had received good service and advice from Norton and Schmidt in the past, we called and asked for the same engineer to come do another structural evaluation. The appointment was made and within a few days, Barney arrived right on time. We discussed his prior visit and reviewed the changes I had made at his suggestion. He thoroughly examined the whole house inside and out. He patiently let me show him every minor thing I had noticed and pointed out other things I had not noticed. At the end, he said that the problem was much the same as it had been 6 years ago. Expansive soil expanding and contracting with the severe drought etc. He showed me problems with my landscaping (some of which was the same as before, but I thought I was smarter than he was and didn't do the changes quite the way he recommended). At the end, he assured us that the house was NOT falling down. He told us that our problem was made worse because of the mature trees sucking up tons of water. He stated that piering was likely a waste of money and that what we really needed was to either cut down our trees or install a sprinkler system - he felt that hand watering and hauling hose would not be adequate. He told us that if we monitored the cracks and signs of shifting, we would most likely notice improvements as the soil became more moist outside. Since his visit, that has proven to be true. Promptly after his visit, we received a written report detailing his findings and recommendations. I would definitely recommend the services of this company. If you think you might be having structural problems with your house, call these folks first. They will give you enough information to either save you a ton of money or know exactly what you need to have done to fix your problems. If you call the repair people first, you will be at their mercy.

Due to heavy snow on the roof, a beam in the attic came through our ceiing. The engineer went into the attic, evaluated the situation, took some photos and gave us a verbal report on the spot. Within a few days, he e-mailed, as well as, mailed us a hard copy of the report with photos. He told us to hire a roof framer to make the repairs. The framer concurred with the engineer's report. We were very impressed by the engineer's expertise, as well as his courteous, professional attitiude.

Came out at a time convenient for me. Did a thorough review inside and out of the house over 2 days (before and after the snow melted). Discussed the house with us as we went along listening to our input and explaining things to us. Wrote up a detailed report that we can use to get estimates from foundation and landscapers. Includes specific diagrams and technical information useful for other contractors. This review will allow us to ensure that our contractors know what it needs and don't take advantage of us or misread the situation. Especially important as our house has some of the opposite issues as many other houses currently in our area. We hope that it will be well worth the cost of an independent structural engineer when considering the overall cost of the project.

I called and he didn't come out, but he gave me so much information over the phone. He told me how much it would be, about $315.00. He said the way the weather had been and being familiar with the ground in this area, that it would be wasting my money to come out now. He said he if he waited until Spring, we would have some moisture and that would change some of the problems we were having; if he looked at it then, it would probably be much different than it is now and we would probably have to spend less money. I was very pleased with him being so honest about it. He told me how to water to help restore the moisture to the soil; what strength to run the water and how long in one place. Also, for the one spot where the basement was leaking, he told me how to take care of it. I was just very pleased with him because he could have easily come out and done the inspection even though it would have been better to wait and I wouldn't have known the difference. The person I talked to was Ed Hutson. When Spring comes, I will be having him out to do the structural survey to know exactly what has to be done.

David Dorau arrived on time and went to work immediately. He was personable and professional. He examined all the walls and foundation at our house. He spent a lot of time in the attic suspecting that the cracks in the ceiling were due to a leak in the roof. I think that all the work he did in the attic was above and beyond. He could have said, "Not the foundation' and left me. I feel totally comfortable with everything David told me. I recommend him wholeheartedly.