Ram Jack West - Portland

Purchased a 1906 home in North Portland with an uneven foundation that had been patched for 60 years, but needed serious stabilization work. I contacted multiple foundation contractors in the greater-Portland area and Ram Jack was the only team that provided a full worse-case estimate that included everything that I may need to permanently stabilize the home's foundation. Other contractors' estimates were higher, omitted some of the features of Ram Jack's estimate, and involved greater excavation work around the home. While I was collecting estimates, I had multiple contractors check the levels on the house and could see the home was continuing to sink as much as half and inch in some areas within only a few months, so I knew I had to do something soon as the hotter summers are causing significant erosion to the clay soil in north portland. After paying the 50% down payment, I was quickly in touch with multiple project managers and structural engineers who were able to answer my questions as the work plan developed. I work from home and have two cats, so I was a bit worried about the noise and needing to leave at certain times during the work. Ramjack devised a plan of installing 12 helical piers from the basement and 2 outside for a small crawl space area as well as replacing most of the piers in the basement that had water damage. During the excavation and pier installation, I didn't have to leave my house at all, my cats were fine, none of the utilities ever needed to be turned off and none of the neighbors said they heard more than the hum of the generator outside; insane professionalism. The work team kept me informed at every step of the excavation and pier installation and was able to recover an inch of lift with only a few drywall cracks that I patched in a day. I could have gone further, but wanted to avoid any potential damage to the sewer pipes and stay within my budget. During the lifting, I was standing with the lead construction manager who kept me informed of every risk as we lifted the house bit by bit. During the excavation my basement looked insane with mounds of dirt everywhere, but the construction team cleaned everything flawlessly; all I had to do was a quick mop and the basement was good as new again. Overall had a great experience with RamJack; the 20 years in business shows, most everyone I dealt with had been working with them for years; the construction manager had been doing pier installation for 15 years. The work was expensive, but cheaper than the other local contractors, and certainly way cheaper than replacing the entire basement foundation. Ramjack was even able to take a few grand off the intitial worse-case estimate for solutions not needed. Glad I was able to repair my 120 year old home; here's to another 100 years. Big thanks to Pancho and Stephen, as well as the structural engineers and project managers; I'm very happy with the work.

After the permit was approved by Washington County, Kelsea sent me a start date. The Ram Jack crew showed up promptly on the start date and stayed working on site until the job was completed. The crew lead, Stacy clearly communicated exactly what they were going to do, and that's exactly what they did. When finished, everything was cleaned up completely, and that included hosing off every speck of clay on my patio pavers.

We have a cabin on the Northern Oregon coast which rests at the edge of a steep hill. Over the years, we noticed some settling with sloping floors, sticking doors, and a foundation crack. We called Ram Jack West after the local foundation expert in Clatsop County failed to follow up on a promised bid. We are grateful for that lapse because the folks at Ram Jack West were exceptional in the service they provided us, start-to-finish. From the office staff and estimator to the engineer and the team who set the pilings and raised the house in its low spots, we were kept apprised of each step. Communication was excellent. The engineering that goes into a project like this boggles my mind, but everyone we worked with was so confident and knowledgeable, any anxiety I had disappeared fast. We are so thrilled with the top-notch service Ram Jack West provided us and recommend them enthusiastically.

I needed a foundation crack repaired and scheduled for Ram Jack, along with 2 others, for quotes to get that repair done. After receiving a quote from another business, to the tune of $53,000 for "other problems discovered", I had Ram Jack come out and did not tell them what the first place said. After they crawled under the house, took measurements, etc, they found nothing wrong with the foundation, advised me that I was not in need of their services, and provided me with the names of a few well-known and trustworthy local businesses that could repair the foundation crack. I cannot tell you what a relief that was and how impressed I am with the Ram Jack's honesty and integrity! They are definitely on my list of trustworthy people to deal with in the future, if / when needed!

Exceptional customer service, knowledge and integrity. The work needed was not something they do however they referred us to another company. We have 100% confidence in recommending them to others.

Ram Jack West came out several times to assess the job requirements and project needs. The estimator and crew were courteous adjusted the work to the needs of the terrain and house situation. The work crew was knowledge, hard working and completed the job quickly. The work site was cleaned up nicely.

Joe Smith from RamJack arrived on time and completed an analysis of our home. We showed him the areas of concern and the things we have done to correct prior substandard construction work. After the inspection Joe Took great care to inform us that the foundation was fine but showed us some areas where some improvements could be made to steady up a few cross beams under the home and suggested our existing contractor perform the minor work. Thank you Joe and RmJack for your honesty, integrity and great customer service. Wonder company that we would highly recommend.

Very poor commutation between office and contractors. Contractors not in loop with office as where to be or when to be there. Contractors 4 hr late to arrive at job site due to this and arrived at wrong address. Office does not allow any direct communication with contractors to clear things up in a timely manner. Once contractor arrive the lead was more then happy to provide his number as he prefer direct contact to avoid this all to common problem with the home office. Thought I was going to get my two chimneys straighten up but they were unable to and worker said that actually they are only able to get 2 out of 10 to move before lifting which is a stopping point for them. So what this really is a stabilization system. So be aware of that before thinking this is a good route to take. In my case I would not of hired them to do both as my goal was to straighten up the chimney and could of had it completely tore down and rebuilt new for just $3,000 more then what they charged to stabilize it. So now I have a stabilized leaning chimney....

Steve came over and gave us some good news (not a foundation problem), but also gave us a reference to someone who repairs concrete for the type of problem we have. He really knew all about these issues and told us some signs to look for that would indicate a real foundation problem. Very pleasant company to deal with.

Louise and his crew were very professional, arrived on time, worked hard and kept me informed of their progress. They did everything they said and did it on time.

efficient and thorough and cleaned uip nicely

Bob checked it out and said it was normal wear and tear and nothing needed to be done. Said the foundation was in great shape for a house built in 1941. He actually called me to ask if he could come earlier - something a lot of companies don't do. He said that I could repair the end of the stoop myself to keep it from crumbling.

It was a good experience. They actually steered me out of doing the job. They thought it was good enough. My impression was the fact that they could've sold me something and they didn't. They were honest. They made a good impression of being honest. I would use them again in the future.

Colt was called a day ahead to inform me he was able to come out earlier than expected which was great for my schedule. He was prompt and professional. He didn't give me a quote because it was determined there were no foundation issues. He gave me the contact information for a couple on contractors who could address my property's drainage issues.

It was a great stress free process. They are efficient, there when you need them, and do a good job.

My house is 120+ years old, and the extension (added at some point in the distant past) has been lower than the main house ever since I bought it. In the past few years, the wall between the main house and the extension had sunk noticeably, and I assumed it was the foundation. I work in the trades and therefore knew that if I wanted the addition to be level with the rest of the house, the only solution would be to rebuild it, which I don't have the time or money to do. So my main concern was making sure the foundation was stabilized. If it could be raised at all that would be great, but I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to collapse. The sales person RamJack sent was either not well trained, or their training leaves a lot to be desired. He was young, so perhaps not very experienced. He explained that he was going to determine just how much my foundation had sunk, and proceeded to do so. But really, that wasn't a concern for me. The fact that my house is not level is a given, I don't need to be told how much it is off level. I was more interested in knowing what the company could do for me. After he did his routine, he went out to his car for a very long time (30 minutes?) to generate a report for me. When he finally came back, he told me how much it would cost and then left. I had already contacted another company to come by and evaluate my foundation. When their salesperson showed up, I was expecting the same routine. However, he sat me down and asked me the very important question: what is it that you are hoping to achieve here? We then talked for at least 20 more minutes before he crawled under my house to assess the situation. Then he sat with me while he generated a quote. Talk about a difference in customer service! I never bothered calling RamJack back.

It went fine, and the rep was nice and professional. he was unwilling to go under house to examine footings of foundation. This was surprising to me as I thought this was part of foundation system. Don't know if this is my misunderstanding of what "foundation work" means. After some pressure from me, He did poke his head under the house and said he couldn't see any issues. He was unable to identify the cause of the cracking in my house, but indicated all was level as it should be. I was left feeling uncertain if I had paid $99 for nothing or not.

Great! Friendly, professional service.

Ram Jack was wonderful. My house was moving and placing stress on the roof tresses. I had another provider come and look and I felt they were only interested in selling their product. After working with my own engineer, I had Ram Jack come out. Curt was great. He worked with me for over a year to figure out the best way to approach my problem. He made me feel like he was more interested in helping me, then how much he could charge. When I scheduled the work, the crew that arrived were just as great. Gabe, the crew leader, was thoughtful and considerate. He took the time to explain everything to me and what they were doing. And, the salesman, Curt came by to see how it was going, which he didn't have to do. My engineer came out to inspect and was very impressed with the work. They left everything well cleaned up. I was very worried about the cost of this and Ram Jack made me feel secure in the work. I would hire them again in a minute!

Ram Jack West came out to give an estimate and told me that I did not need their services! He suggested that I work with a landscaper. I appreciated his honesty.

The process was straightforward and easy. A representative assessed the house and gave an honest recommendation that we might benefit from placing the piers under the house to reinforce it, though he didn't think it was absolutely necessary at the time. Given that we were about to do a lot more work on the house, we opted for peace of mind and had the services performed. Though it took a little while between the initial assessment and the actual work, all the work was completed in one day, and seems to be fine (you can't actually see anything where they worked!). The workers left the site tidy and were friendly to work with.

The inspection went well; Colt was on time and thorough. Since I was so freaked out about my house, and everything else that had gone wrong (to great expense), Colt and/or Ram Jack West could have taken advantage of my state of mind. They did not - Colt was extremely honest. I would not hesitate to contact them in the future or recommend them to other.

Although we did not end up scheduling the work at this time, we would definitely use Ram Jack West in the future or recommend them to other friends. We felt confident that Curt gave us fair input on next steps to address our problem.

Ram Jack West Foundation Solutions was professional from start to finish. The estimator, Curt, did a thorough assessment of entire foundation of our home. He gave logical, informative explanation of issues and solutions and did a nice job of reassuring me that the job would go well. It did. The work crew worked hard and relatively quickly ( two-day job). They were respectful, on time, and cleaned up well after the job. The results are actually better than I expected. I would definitely refer them to others.

Ram Jack was great to work with. They gave us a bid, then worked with us on a conditional bid in case the cement porch was in fact supported by the steps they were removing. No one could tell for sure, and most companies would not back up their service if the removal caused damage to the porch. Ram Jack was prepared to jack up the porch if needed and put in the right supports. They scheduled the work for particular days, and kept to the schedule exactly. I think they ended up having to do more hauling work and more loading by hand than they had anticipated, but it was all completed without any additional charge.