Stone Creek Engineering Services Inc

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His name was Russell Strahan and he was excellent. He was thorough, honest and helpful. He explained things well.

The contractor failed to return call from customer (myself) to schedule a foundation evaluation. Cannot evaluate his work, but his responsiveness is clearly absent.

For starters -- our home is 15 years old. Our subdivision was built on what used to be farmland in central Williamson County. Russell arrived on time and spent a total of 2 1/2 hours in our home. He inspected the exterior -- taking pictures and making notes. He walked through our entire house (including closets!) inspecting each room and addressing every concern we had. He then crawled through our attic to inspect our roof trusses. Russell advised us that all of our concerns were due to builder quality issues (i.e. not taping drywall properly), minor repairs needing to be done (door hinges being loose) and typical house "settling" -- NOT foundation issues. He shared ways to repair all our problem areas and even advised us on the best way to complete a master bath remodel we are working on. Russell then measured our foundation for leveling and determined that although we have a very slight tilt (5/8th inch) toward the front of our home, it is considered normal and is well within acceptable perimeters. He advised us that it would be a waste of money for us to attempt to correct such a minor problem. Russell was very familiar with the geology and soil content of our area. He educated us on what is beneath our home and supported his information with maps and soil analysis data. "If this were my home....." was how Russell began many of his statements. We appreciated his willingness to look at our home from an owner's standpoint. Russell concluded his evaluation by offering us suggestions for things we could do to keep our home's foundation in good shape. We are very glad we decided to hire Stone Creek Engineering to inspect our home BEFORE we contacted foundation leveling companies. Our neighbors have paid between $5,000 and $25,000 to repair their foundations. The $250 fee we paid to have a competent structural engineer like Russell inspect our home saved us thousands of dollars. I highly recommend Stone Creek Engineering.

Russell arrived on time and got to work right away taking pictures. He did a quick visual inspection of the areas I led him to that were my greatest concern, then calmly proceeded to begin his methodical lap around the house looking for any tell tale signs of a real issue related to my foundation. He used a flashlight to slowly scan up and down each wall and window joint, taking notes along the way while briefing me and answering questions I had along the way. He got up in the attic and inspected the integrity of the roof support, at which point he let out a sigh and said," I think you're house is in better shape than mine is." "Wheeeeeeeew" was the sound of my sigh of relief But he was not done yet. He also went around the outside of the house and was very deliberate in his observations. (Note: I had read somewhere that you should get Structural Engineers to do home inspections for any home or building you are planning to buy-- boy, after my experience with Stone Creek, I can not agree with that sentiment any more strongly. My experience was that this man spent three times as long examining the nuts and bolts of the house and their quality than my home inspector did.) Then, Russell drew a diagram of the house and proceeded to use what is likely to be a overly expensive device to gauge the various amounts of positive or negative movement of my foundation in relation to the center of the home. This involves moving the device to multiple locations for true measurements and is apparently the heart and soul of diagnosing if you have a real problem or not. After that, we sat down and he patiently explained what he saw (and didn't see). He gave me very specific, practical steps I could take to minimize the chances of a real problem in the future and then answered more questions I had. One last time...if you have concerns about your foundation, getting Russell to come check it out for you is money absolutely well spent. Even if I would have had a more serious problem, it would have good to know the origin of the issue and what I was up against. Highly recommended.

Our home builder told us the leak on our foundation was due to groundwater but we had it inspected by a foundation repair company and they mentioned it was from a leak inside the house. They suggested we get a structural engineer to evaluate and do a more thorough inspection to determine the true cause of the leak... we chose Stone Creek Engineering based off reviews from Angie's List. So glad we went with them! Russell Strahan made an appointment for soon after we called. He was there right on time and got straight to work. He examined the leak and also walked around the entire exterior of the home to inspect for other things that might be related (or any other problems we should know about). He discovered our 2-story deck was missing supports in key areas to keep it from falling- a major issue since we use our deck daily. He then walked through the interior of the home pointing out areas that were being affected by the leak. Our home is only 1 year old so we weren't expecting to find anything. Simple things I thought were due to poor craftsmanship turned out to be indicators that our house is shifting. Had I not hired him I would have never thought they were related. He provided us a detailed report on his findings, including pictures. Russell is extremely knowledgeable about his craft and can answer any question you have. I have full faith and trust in his company. We're currently battling with the home builder and he has been a wealth of information and has been there to support us and answer any questions we have. You can't go wrong with this company. I highly recommend them to anyone who's even thinking about hiring a structural engineer. Russell also does home inspections and trust me when I tell you- you want a structural engineer to do the home inspection! If we ever buy another house we're absolutely going to call him for an inspection before signing any papers.

A small water leak started in my laundry room, dripping from a patch of exposed concrete by the floor. The area had experienced frequent heavy rains during the previous two weeks, so I thought it might be groundwater coming up through cracks in the foundation. I checked the reviews and websites of structural engineers on Angie's List and selected Stone Creek Engineering because the website indicated expertise in groundwater issues. When Russell Strahan arrived, he had already done his homework. He brought a complete soil resource report for my address that he'd printed from the NCRS wesite. He inspected the site of the leak and we walked around the house, looking at drainage patterns. After a short time he said he thought it wasn't a groundwater leak. He used an infrared meter to look at the area around the leak and determined from the hot spot visible on the meter that the leak was coming from the pipe running from the hot water tank to the main line in the foundation. To confirm his hypothesis, we shut off the water, drained the hot water tank, and mopped up all the water seeping from the leak, a process that took a couple of hours. The water did eventually stop seeping and the infrared meter showed that the hot spot was gone - proof that he had located the exact spot where the pipe was leaking and that it wasn't groundwater causing the problem. He said that my pipe had a "sizzle leak" where it ran into the foundation and that I'd need a master plumber for the repair. His conclusion was confirmed by the plumber who came later that week. I was truly impressed by Russell Strahan's breadth of knowlege and experience and his ability to put them together for spot-on diagnosis. He seems to really enjoy his work, which would explain why he's so good at it. He's also an excellent communicator with a dry, understated sense of humor - not the most important trait for an engineer, but a nice bonus.

Mr. Straghan arrived close to the appointment time. He inspected the exterior and in the attic. Then he came inside and measured the floor levels throughout the house. Then he sat down with me and went over the findings. The finding was that yes, the house has settlement, but it is still okay. He was candid in his opinions (and pointing out when he was really in the realm of opinion as opposed to fact) and advice regarding whether foundation repair was necessary or even desireable. ('Not a good idea in my case - 'can cause more harm than good.) He studied the reports I have from previous inspections over the past 22 years and commented on how the house is now compared to then. He talked about drainage and how the work I am having done outside right now is a good move. He answered my questions on other house issues: types of insulation and what one is best for this particular house; attic ventilation; (water)mark on the ceiling; a one-time leak several years ago in a bedroom closet; use of soaker hoses; would laminate flooring work considering the house movement, and what one could do to make tile work; recommended finishing the garage floor to keep the superficial cracks from getting worse if I want to, but it's not necessary. (If I want to be doing home improvements, that would be a good thing to select.) He got up on the roof to inspect the flashing and swept off the leaves that had collected in the valley, because they can have a negative impact. He taught about roof construction. 'Too much to write all here. He is very good at educating the consumer. The fact is Mr. Straghan noticed the name on the past reports and asked if I were a widow, which I am. At the end, he charged me only $50 instead of the usual $200 because of that. How about that? It's true. He was here almost 2 hours. If there were a blue ribbon for kindness, I would nominate him here.

I noticed some problems in our home that made me worry about the foundation: corner cracks at windows, nails popped out inside, cracks on the stone facade. I wanted to hire an independent engineer before talking to foundation repair companies. It was a good decision. Russell was professional, articulate and experienced, and a fun guy to talk to. He called when he knew he'd be late, he was courteous and methodical. He could explain his assessments in both technical and layman's terms. He was familiar with soil types, construction methods, and the specific issues that I was worried about, and was able to reassure me that though my foundation had some crowning, it was not in danger of failure or in need of repair. I enjoyed talking with him, he was willing to answer a lot of questions, and he offered practical and helpful suggestions for maintaining the foundation. Overall a great experience. I wish he had been our inspector when we bought the house!

The engineer, Russell Strahan, started out by visually inspecting two decks. He made a minor strengthening recommendation for one deck. For the other, the internal structure was completely covered, so he was not able to comment on it. He then used an infrared camera to analyze water intrusion in the walls. This camera was extremely useful, as it had recently been raining and the cooling effect of the water was obvious within the view of the camera. Using a laser pointer mounted on the camera, we were able to record the exact extent of the leak. Later, Russell was also able to provide some information about termite damage. Russell is knowledgeable, friendly, and humorous.

Sporting a dry wit, Strahan is a pro with the highest certifications in home inspection. He meticulously inspected the property, including looking at floodplain situation and soil type. I used the report to have some minor issues addressed by the seller. I'm glad I went with an engineer with the hightest creditials for my big investment. Expensive, but worth it.