Couch Engineering

Everything went fine, we have no complaints. Mike Couch came out 2 times, was punctual , friendly, informative and professional. He addressed all our questions? He identified some minor issues with the slab and advised us on corrections. He advised us both verbally and in his written report on maintaining the foundation, long-term. Later, I asked for help on backyard drainage, and he came out, after writing the report, and walked the property with me at no extra charge. Again, Mike provided valuable insights and advice on backyard drainage issues. He helped us feel confident about buying the home. We recommend Mike Couch.

Mr. Couch came twice to my house at the appointed time. He surveyed the drainage problem near my garage and later surveyed and measured the driveway to solve my problem. He discussed everything with me and offered solutions in a very professional manner. He produced professional drawings of the solutions explaining every step of the way. He also suggested a couple of companies that would be able to do the work to my satisfaction. I followed Mr. Couch's advice and have not had any more problems with standing water or water in my garage. I am very happy with the assistance Mr. Couch provided to solve my drainage problems.

He was terrible. I complained about him and I won my complaint. He wrote a letter saying that he viewed the hole and they were 24 inches deep and that the sonotube and the rebar wasn't placed. We went out to have a look at the property when the job was finished. In fact, tears were made by not using sonotube, but by wrapping paper with metal chain and wire. There was no rebar in there and it wasn't 24 inches deep, as we dug them down and photographed it. He did admit that he shouldn't have written that letter. I had to get everything redone and it cost me a lot.

It turned out to be a really bad experience. He submitted a faulty report & lied to the city concerning the work that had been done on our foundation. He wrote a letter to the city saying that the foundation work met all requirements & consisted of 'sonotubs.' The foundation was originally was suppose to be 'sonotubs,' but the foundation company didn't put them in. They had done something completely different. We didn't have sonotubs on our foundation. Mr. Couch lied to the city & to us & we are pursuing legal actions now. I would not recommend them to others.

I searched very carefully for a professional, licensed organization that could give me an honest appraisal of the structural integrity of my residence, with particular emphasis on the foundation. I am currently in the process of selling my home. Naturally, the buyer's real estate agent and home inspector will do their best to call into question anything that they think they might be able to hold against the residence to in order to bargain down the price of the home. I had called Couch Engineering in July 2006 because I had decided to put down laminate flooring in place of carpet and I wanted an unbiased, no agenda evaluation of my foundation because the contractor I was considering to hire to put in the laminate flooring noticed some cracks in my garage floor and questioned the need for foundation prepare prior to installing the laminate floor. If you are reading this, then you have probably been put through the ringer by just about everybody and it is hard to find a company that has absolutely no vested interest in the outcome of their inspection service. Couch Engineering did a thorough inspection on my residence in July 2006 and now, again, in April 2008. Couch Engineering is not a construction company nor will they recommend any company. They just do a skilled, licensed assessment of the structural integrity of your residence. The real estate agent and the home inspector did not want to accept the 2006 report (which showed that my home was structurally sound and any cracks present were normal and of no structural concern) because that report was almost 2 years old. So I took the initiative to have a completely new site visit and evaluation done for my own peace of mind. Again, my home had no unusual cracks or variations. It was actually good to have the 2006 report to compare to as evidence that my home had not shifted nor had the foundation become an issue from 2 years prior. Mr. Couch even went over the inspection with the buyer and his Realtor and directly addressed any and all of their specific questions and concerns. In addition, you receive enough copies of the report for yourself, the buyer and for the realtor's listing files.