Get matched with top earthquake retrofitting specialists in Troutdale, OR

"I hired TerraFirma Foundation Systems to level my home, expecting a professional job with clear communication, but the entire experience has been incredibly disappointing and costly. From the start, I hired the company to level the floors in my home, specifically to address a nearly 3-inch dip in my kitchen area, a 13x10 room. Yet after they “completed the job,” I still have a 1.5-inch dip in the center of the kitchen, and a corner of my home/kitchen that sits half an inch higher than it should be (above 0%), creating a full inch rise from the living room to the kitchen. Now they’re saying that leveling the kitchen wasn’t included in the original scope, blaming the remaining dip on my kitchen island and fridge being “too heavy” and lacking proper support—an issue they failed to identify in the initial assessment. To properly address this problem, they’re now asking for an additional $7,500, claiming this work was never part of the original job. This feels like a classic bait-and-switch tactic, and I can’t help but feel taken advantage of. To make matters worse, I discovered that they used an uncalibrated machine during the initial leveling when installing, which raised my house over an inch more than necessary, causing significant damage that wasn’t there before. Partway through the lift, they even asked me to sign a waiver to get my house closer to 0% level, effectively absolving them of any damage caused. The technician stopped mid-lift to show me the damage that was already occurring and warned that more would likely follow if we continued. I agreed to proceed, trusting their assurances and assuming their equipment was properly calibrated. I even pointed out to the technician at the time that it did not look level, and he assured me the machine was correct. Now, they refuse to take any responsibility for the resulting damage, dismissing it as “standard” and providing terms within the contract absolving them—despite them overcorrecting the home. There were also repeated measurement discrepancies, with reports showing one reading and verbal statements/emails suggesting different levels. When I sought clarification, I received vague responses and empty apologies. After all this, and nearly $30,000 invested, my floor remains unleveled. The only resolution TerraFirma Foundation Systems has offered is for me to pay additional money to level the kitchen and to wait for the overcorrected area to “settle naturally”—a process that, according to their technician, could take anywhere from two months to ten years. I hired TerraFirma Foundation Systems to fully level my home, not to leave me with an incomplete job, inconsistent results, and vague promises. If you’re considering foundation work, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere—this company has left me with extensive damage, unexpected costs, and a significant amount of frustration."

"Excellent! The Sundogs, crew of 3, did a marvelous job of changing my wet and moist basement into a beautiful apartment. Floor was removed and a subcontractor hired to replace the floor after complicated drainage system and sump pumps were installed. Due to the small crew and the complicated problems, it took longer to finish, but I have now a beautiful apartment in my basement. They are dear and honest people who work hard. Thank you Sundogs!"

"We needed some posts in our basement replaced with proper footings. TerraFirma was quick to respond and quick to do the work. We are very happy with the result and would recommend."

"I hired Secure Seismic to do a retrofit of my single story ranch built in the 1970s. Though I'm in the southern Willamette Valley and a ways from Portland, Daryl came down to give me a free estimate. Secure Seismic came in below their competitors and Daryl discusssd the plan with me in depth. Based upon the quality of the reviews, I hired Secure Seismic. They scheduled out within a couple of weeks. Johny the foreman kept me on the loop while they were at my house. They completed the job within a day and left the site clean. Pieces of drywall cut for access in the garage were thoughtfully replaced and will take little effort to clean up. Thanks for great work! I already sleep a little better knowing that my house will likely be okay when the big one hits."

"Where to start, I hired Jim at Evolution to do an exterior home remodel. This was three years ago. This included windows, siding, doors, roof, and gutters. Two jobs (the house roof and the gutters) were done by two other companies that he hired. The gutters are leaking and not doing their job at this point. They are not blocked nor do they have debris in them. The seams are failing. There are three spots currently. Also they put a downspout in the middle of the gutter and not on the end. So there’s issues associated with that. Jim was to do the siding, windows, screen doors, basement door, and carport roof. His costs were the best out of several contractors and he was recommended by a friend. We were drawn to another company but we decided to go with Evolution and Jim. So I mentioned the carport, we needed to redo it. I am a novice when it comes to building but I figured I could build the carport and have Jim roof it (originally it was going to be the other subcontracted roofers doing it). So I constructed, after doing research, the carport. Jim arrives and says it’s too flat and that it’s not safe to shingle it. so he says we could but corrugated plastic up in its place. I agree to that as I am assuming he knows what he’s talking about. He proceeds to do the job. The carport roof, the siding, the windows. I recently installed a patio with pavers right before he started his work here. I with my neighbors help did the work. My neighbor then installed a concrete border around the patio. At one point Jim and his crew rent a scissor lift and proceed to drive it (I think the sticker said 2500 pounds on the side of the machine) onto the patio to instal a window upstairs. They cracked the new concrete border and cracked about 10 pavers. They decided not to mention it to me, but I noticed it. I waited till the end of the day when Jim was sitting in his vehicle to leave and I approached him. He said they would fix it. Their fix was flipping the pavers over and not addressing the cracked concrete border. Disappointing but ok. So back to the carport which is my ultimate complaint. Jim completes all the projects including the plastic on the carport. Within days there are multiple leaks on the carport. Jim sends a helper out to put some caulk on it. The next day it’s leaking all along where the plastic meets the newly shingled roof. I contact Jim about the situation and he says “I’m washing my hands clean of this problem”. I plead with him to help address it and he sends me a email saying I screwed up the carport and that if an inspector saw it they would make me take it down. So I drop it. Over the next three years we are to the point of replacing the roof, yet the carport structure is solid. The plastic has shattered on the south side where it wasn’t connected properly, no flashing was installed so the water has damaged all of his supports causing them to warp, it leaks everywhere rendering the carport useless. Since Jim refused to address it I contacted another contractor to see what they could do. They came out and determined Jim botched the carport roof in several ways. No flashing, un proper cross beam placement, un proper overlap of plastic, un proper attachment to my structure. My structure was sound with no issues. So I reach out to Jim again about the issue and asked him repeatedly to come back out to see what was happening, in hopes he would fix it. It has been three years at this point. He doubled down with what he said before. Got upset that I asked another contractor to look at it (even though he refused too). He repeatedly asked me if I wanted him to come out. Which I reply with yes, over and over again. He never came. To be blunt he was incredibly rude. I’ll happily post what he wrote of the need arises. The bottom line to me is this. If I built the structure poorly (as he claimed… even though I think he wanted to initially do it but cost prevented it) why would you cover something that was built poorly. I would of said I can’t legally cover that structure or maybe even it’s built in a way that I can’t insure a leak free roof (again it was a matter of days I reported leaks to him). Secondly after I paid over 50,000 dollars to him, why wouldn’t you try to fix the roof just to be helpful especially since I contacted him within days. Thirdly why be a rude and condescending. Overall it was a huge let down. The new carport roof will cost about 3000. All his supports and the plastic top. The patio damage and the lack of care in fixing his issues he created. I would never recommend Jim or Evolution."

"We had a series of problems but the final straw is the brand new front door to our studio hanging off the hinges after less than a year and the owner will not stand behind his work. We have opened a complaint with the BBB and we had to hire another contractor of Angi to fix their incompetent hung door installation."