A-1 Engineering

We had a simple plat process where we split one property into 2. We relied on A-1 to provide the service. Not only did it take 24 months to complete (yes you read that correctly), but we had to hound the team to get it done. Some of the delays were basic. Hays County had a checklist of requirements for electronic files, it took multiple rounds to get these corrected and added to the delay. That delay, because of price inflation, has cost me more than $12,000 in additional costs for septic components. Would not recommend, not even to my ex-wife.

Tried contacting this company a few times now. Called multiple times with no answer during business hours, and tried their online contact form. They have good reviews, but other engineering firms have been exponentially more responsive than A-1 has been.

Work was great. Timing slowed up by a variety of things including communications and holidays. Did not proceed with project for non-engineering reasons and work was first rate.

Found that we did not have a problem.

Thorough assessment. Informative. Money well spent.

Moises was prompt, professional, and very knowledgeable!

Outstanding work. Very knowledgeable. Friendly, prompt service that exceeded my expectations.

I highly recommend A-1 Engineering. They are structural engineers and give an objective analysis of your foundation. As a result of their findings they saved me thousands of dollars! They also gave me great suggestions to prevent future problems. The people at A-1 Engineering were professional, warm and it was a pleasure to get to work with them.

Extremely well!!! People talk about other people's trades and discuss levels of proficiency all the way up to experts of their line of work. I would have to say that John Marin has reached the pinnacle of expertise and has combined it with the ability to explain it in nomenclature that us common folk can understand. Also, Shannon (scheduler) speaks to you with the compassion you would embrace with a close family member. The congenial nature of the A-1 staff exceeds any and all expectations. (sorry about the "chatty.")

The A-1 representatives that I dealt with were very courteous and professional. It was easy to schedule an appointment and when the appointment date arrived, the A-1 engineer arrived right on time. He carefully performed a very thorough assessment of my foundation. At the end of his review, he provided us with a verbal report on our propertie's condition along with recommendations. He said they would provide us with a written report in 10-15 days which they did indeed provide. The services of A-1 saved us thousands of dollars on unneeded foundation repairs. Furthermore, they provided us with good recommendations to avoid future foundation issues. We were very impressed with everyone at A-1 and we have followed up on all of their recommendations. I would strongly recommend anyone that is considering foundation work to first have A-1 come out and take a look. The foundation repair companies will always tell you that you need expensive work to be done. A-1 engineering will provide a much better and professional assessment of your structure(s) and it will be money well spent.

I scheduled a foundation inspection appointment for 8/3/15; I have some cracks growing and other issues that seem to indicate a leveling problem. I selected this vendor due to them having a glowing writeup in the AL magazine a couple months back. . John arrived on time, explained what he was going to do, and got to work with his equipment. He inspected the foundation thoroughly inside and out, which took him about an hour, if I recall correctly. When he was done he went over his findings with me. He had made a diagram of my floorplan (outside dimensions) with the slope lines and other notes on it. I asked him if I could take a picture of it, because it was very useful information, and he said not to worry about it, it would be included in the $125 report (I think that's how much they charge for it) I was to receive in approximately 2 weeks. (The ratings above are not reflective of his performance; he was "A"s all the way down.) . On 8/18 I received the pdf report as an email attachment. Four pages, very thorough, matched what he told me, exactly what I expected--except the diagram wasn't included. I replied to the email on 8/30 (I had been out of town) inquiring where the diagram was. I then heard nothing for three weeks. . On 9/22, I replied a second time, inquiring about the status, and cc'd the "contact" address from their website. Meredith responded on 9/23, asking if the issue had been resolved, and on 9/24 I indicated it had not. I then heard nothing for a week. . On 10/1, I replied for the third time. I then heard nothing for three weeks. After two months of trying, I have given up. I wouldn't have paid for the report if I'd known I'd never receive the diagram... or I would have just taken the picture anyway to be sure.

A-1 came out the very next day after our initial phone call, they did a very through job investigating the structure and taking measurements. In the end it revealed that the house was structurally sound and did not require anything other than minor cosmetic repair (if desired) and some minor preventive maintenance. I was impressed with the depth of knowledge and experience that Engineer displayed, and it was clear they were using official guidelines instead of "best guess". Additionally we needed the report turned around in quick order, and Meredith the head office coordinator was very helpful in making this happen. A-1 is professional, ethical, and responsive to their customers, and I recommend them without reservation.

Still pending. I wasn't able to actually be at the property when the analysis data was measured/recorded. Meredith was super thru the entire process as was Fernando. Make sure you don't have your spam/junk filters set extremely high. I would refer them to others. Before you get any foundation pier salesman on your lot make sure you have the engr report completed first. You can judge the bids offered against what actually needs to be done per a licensed civil engineer.

Felt everything went well. Showed and told me about all cracks in the foundation and brickwork. They have a registered engineer on staff which is quite helpful.

I called with a very short time frame for having a roof truss inspection and Fernando who answered the phone was so professional, polite, and accommodating in helping to work us into the schedule despite being very busy. We ultimately did not need to have any services done by a structural engineer but will call A-1 Engineering first if we ever do!

He arrived on time. Very nice, friendly and patient. he answered all our questions. He inspected in the attic and the exterior. took photos and measurements. clarified his thought process as well.

Quite well. A-1 took care of all plumbing and other disruptions caused by the lift.

The representative showed on time and verified what service we were requesting as well as the cost. The house we live in had foundation work performed by a previous owner. We thought some more work or adjustments needed to be made, but didn't want to get ripped off by the foundation company (FYI - the work in place was done by Olshan in early 2000's. The company has a reputation for aggressive sales and we don't want to be manipulated through lack of knowledge.) The rep took detailed measurements and discussed the results before leaving. He said to leave the foundation alone and advised us on other areas that needed work, as well as how long to wait before reassessing the foundation. We had a lot of questions and he answered all of them. We discussed everything including what is the best type of pier (not what Olshan uses!), where they should go, how deep they should go, the possibility of getting more work from a different company and how to handle other areas of future work. He provided a detailed report within a few days, including a sketch of the house with all of his measurements. My only regret is that I should have asked him to use the same starting point that Olshan had used on previous docs. Olshan considered "zero" a point in the living room, where the A-1 rep considered "zero" the front door. Either way, I felt better having an unbiased professional opinion and will not hesitate to call A-1 for future services.

Mr. Cruz was very thorough in his assessment of the property and advised us that there was a drainage problem and not a foundation problem. He answered all of our questions and offered recommendations. The fee was well worth it and I just regret I didn't call sooner.

Was noticing some new foundation cracking on my garage floor and had visible cracks on exterior brick and mortar near large oak tree. Had A-1 come out and perform assessment. I originally used their online submission form. After a few days, I didn't hear back from the company so I went ahead and called. I left a message and within a half hour received a call back. I had a hard time speaking with the representative because he either spoke really fast or spoke over me. I had several questions, yet felt rushed over the phone. We hung up and I called back an hour later to book their services after doing a little more homework and reviewing their glowing reviews here on Angieslist. Another company representative answered and she was very pleasant to speak with. They were flexible in their dates and were able to come at the end of he week and my preferred time. The day of the appointment and John, the engineer arrived, 20 minuted early. He quickly explained the process and got right to work. He performed his assessment outside first, then inside, after removing his soiled shoes. He took various measurements and performed a very thorough visual inspection of the property inside and out. John was a very nice man and wasn't bothered at all by my children as they periodically shadowed him. After his assessment, John patiently explained his findings to my wife and I. He provided explanations as to what he saw as well as some helpful recommendations. Ten days later, an emailed report was sent clearly identifying his findings and recommendations. I was very pleased with John and his assessment.

This is the second time we've used A-1 Engineering and we couldn't be happier with their service and professionalism. About 8 months ago we purchased an older home, our "empty-nester" home, even though we knew prior to purchasing it that it showed some signs of foundation settling. Our general home inspector had told us (correctly, it turns out) that the settling appeared normal for a house this old and for one built in this area, which is known to have expansive soil. So we purchased the home without having a professional engineer perform a more thorough inspection. (I wouldn't do that again, but thankfully, everything turned out okay!) After a few months, it was clear that we loved the home, the area, and especially our neighbors, and we knew we wanted to spend the next 20 to 30 years - or whatever we have left! - right here. That's when we started to wonder if we should take any action to make sure our slab was going to last that long. Had we made a mistake in purchasing this house? Were we facing thousands and thousands of dollars of foundation repair in the near future? We just didn't know. And despite the original inspector's opinion, he wasn't a professional engineer so the uncertainty began to haunt us. That's when we decided to call A-1 Engineering. We'd used them on one of our previous homes and were very happy with the entire experience, so there was no question who we'd call this time. And once again, A-1 delivered. Meredith, who took my original phone call, helped us determine the type of inspection we needed and was able to schedule it for us on the date/time of our choosing. And Thomas, our inspector, was a true professional from the word go. He listened to all our questions and concerns prior to the inspection, then went to work. He was thorough, friendly, kept us informed of his progress during the inspection, and then met with us to discuss his findings. In short, everything looked good! Yes, there'd been some settling, but - as the original inspector had told us - it wasn't anything to worry about. Still, he gave us some ideas as to how we might reduce the chances of future problems and described some things we should look out for in the unlikely event anything was to happen down the line. Words can't describe the peace of mind this inspection has given us. It was worth EVERY penny and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use A-1 Engineering again in the future or to recommend them to family, friends or anyone else who might be looking for a top-notch structural engineering company.

It was less than I expected. They basically recommend that I put a lining. That I didn't need to fix the foundation but put a lining and but didn't work then fix the foundation.

I had high expectations after reading the other reviews on Angie's List, and I was not disappointed. Mr. Cruz was very professional, but personable as well, and did a great job of educating me as he went through the process of assessing the condition of the foundation. He gave me information about everything that he was analyzing, as well as what all of the findings meant in relation to one another. I would highly recommend him if you are considering hiring a structural engineer.

We got a discount on it from Angie's List.

It went well, the provider is obviously used to clients who have little knowledge of structural engineering practices so it was a little difficult to get the tech to not repeat things that I said I already knew. However, I would not be surprised if a number of people say, "I know, I know", but do not really know what he is talking about. His explanation of the process was clear and complete and he did not waste time completing his evaluation. He did a thorough evaluation of the exterior of the home, all areas of the interior, and crawled into the attic to look at the framing of the structure. I was well satisfied with the completeness of the evaluation. The report was also clear and complete. It was a little bit generic, but I understand I purchased a basic evaluation, although a schematic or at least a table of the elevations throughout the house would have been nice. Basic versus advance evaluations are understandable, but he already had the rough house schematic with elevations in hand, that should be a standard with any evaluation. Parts of the written evaluation are obviously copied and printed from developed in house texts, they surely have a diagramming software program (more likely a sophisticated one). eral question of whether to pursue 'repair' of my foundation which would surely have been the recommendation of a foundation repair 'engineer'. In that respect it was worth the cost. It was a reasonably priced evaluation completed by a reasonably competent technician. I would recommend their services to others (and have done so already), with a only a slight reservation about what their services entail.