ESG Design

The communication was excellent! I really felt comfortable working with Eli and ESG. He went the extra mile to ensure my questions were answered. I would definitely hire ESG again.

Eli was efficient, clear in all communications and got the work done within a reasonable time. Highly recommend!

Analysis and blueprint notations for a reasonable fee based on the plans I provided, along with his personal connections to the precast concrete manufacturer, who was unwilling to help us directly.

Eli Grassley arrived as scheduled and I was able to show him the wall that I wanted to remove. He was very kind and professional and had all of the equipment he needed to do the assessment. He went into the crawl space in the attic to inspect the roof trusses. I was very happy with the service and would indeed use ESG Design in the future if the need arises.

Contacted ESGDesign. Explained that I needed a structural inspection of a house. Mr. Grassley promptly showed at the appointed time. After an interior and exterior inspection of the building, land and adjacent structures; answered to my satisfaction all my concerns and questions. A written report was subsequently forwarded to me. The report contained Mr. Grassley's findings and observations in greater detail then at our meeting. The report then addressed in great detail the options I had in remedying his finding with advantages and disadvantages of the various solutions.

Eli was super responsive and able to answer questions. The plans he provided were clear, and his advice sound. What has been a stressful project at times was made considerably easier with Eli’s help. I absolutely recommend ESG and will be returning for any future projects we may have.

Mr. Grassley is clearly capable and professional. I was particularly grateful that when an earlier time slot opened up on his calendar, he offered it to us. And when our decision-making timetable necessitated some information ahead of his reporting schedule, he took extra trouble to help us. I really appreciated the whole experience.

The job was performed as quoted, in a professional manner.

Eli was professional and extremely responsive to many follow up questions as the work was completed. Highly recommend! Eli visited my house and gave me a lot of great advice, followed by iterating on a design to improve my basement by removing some posts. This required reenforcing the existing beam with steel c-channels and installing new posts. This job was complex and some requirements changed as the job progressed (for example as we examined the foundation). Eli was extremely throughout the job, and even adjusted his design at one point when we discovered some new information about our foundation.

They declined the job. Said it was a job for an architect, not an engineer. Why did Angie's list send me to an engineer? I'm pretty sure I started out looking for an architectural firm, but I was too uninformed about such things to realize: a. I only needed an architect; b. ESG, the only reference made by Angie's list, did not do both engineering and architecture. The question: "Would you hire again?" Only "yes" or "no" was available. My answer is "MAYBE" if I needed an engineer, but I don't foresee such an need. Also, "again" is wrong, since I didn't hire them in the first place. Which brings me to the point of saying, I have no real reference about their work to provide. Better the potential buyer obtain references from the firm, itself and then, have a look at the finished product.

The consultation was tailored to my questions about a specific area of the foundation. Eli was prompt, professional, and easy to talk with. He provided valuable insights that I'll use to guide my decisions. Bonus: the Angie's List coupon helped defray part of the cost of the consult.

ESG was very professional. Showed up on time and did a detailed inspection which included climbing up into the crawlspace. We found out our walls we wanted to remove were not load-bearing. We tore them down without any structural issues the following weekend.

The meeting was great, discussed 4 different projects, got an early indication of what needed to be done, and all my questions were answered. Now it's clear what is viable and how I can move forward. Scheduling could have been better (I was moved at least 3-4 times), but everything was otherwise very professional. Would use again.

Although Eli arrived on-time, was professional and knew his trade, we paid $400 for what amounted to an estimate, delivering no usable reports or products other than an engineer's estimate that our home would support a second story after some foundation repair. This did not meet our expectations, since an estimate is basically an audition for future work. Perhaps his services are more suited to much larger projects with much bigger budgets than our 1600sqft house required.

Eli’s survey was thorough, and he discussed his findings briefly with me on site. His structural report includes an overall assessment, structural & seismic evaluation, and specific recommended retrofit actions. The photos and details in the report will make it easy to get a clean bid from a contractor, and he also recommended contractors that do the necessary work. I would absolutely work with ESG Design again.

Expert advice and very thorough. I will hire again when I rebuild my deck.

Very happy with your help. Thank you.

Great, quick and simple. And we got the news we wanted :). He followed up with his findings and emailed that to us. It was a 4 week wait to get on his schedule, that was surprising but everyone else's schedule was about the same. Money well spent!

Engineer was punctual and took the time to thoroughly inspect the house and make recommendations. Overall visit was < 1 hour.

I contacted ESG Design to submit a bid to run calculations on some plans I created for a patio roof. They were very prompt and competitive with their bid. I worked with both Eli and Denise and they were very helpful in answering any questions I had very promptly and professionally. Eli helped me get the structural part of my permit submitted and approved by the city. If I have any more needs for engineering work I will definitely contact them again.

Really well! Eli was able to fit me in WAY sooner than originally expected so that I could keep my project on track. He spent about an hour at my house. He examined the area and took measurements. He asked relevant questions as I explained what my goals were and I felt like he really heard me on that, which is not something you always get from contractors or other folks in this field. He gave me the advice I needed on the spot and followed up with an email that confirmed exact specifications for lumber size and what screws to use. It even had a photo that he marked up to make the instructions clear. When I had a follow up question a week later, he answered quickly. I was very happy with the experience and would recommend wholeheartedly.

I had to cancel as we sold the house

Eli is very busy so it took a while to actually get him out, over two week wait when we made the appointment. He was very pleasant and knowledgeable and found some issues in the attic. While he was here, we let him know we were in a legal dispute and needed his report asap. He stated it was normally 7-14 day turnaround. When the lawyers moved up the deadline for getting the information to them, we contacted Eli to see if the report was going to be done soon and he didn't seem to remember anything about the legal issue. While his response was less than friendly, he did complete the report and had it to us the next day which would have been day 9 after the inspection. The report was very thorough.

The engineer arrived on-time and was courteous. We are a no-shoes house and he recognized that and quickly offered to remove his shoes. He reviewed the plans of our house at length and checked out areas inside the house. Next he went into the crawlspace and checked out the foundation for any issues. He said that there was likely some settling, but nothing structural seemed at risk. Otherwise the foundation seemed fine, he did mention moisture in the crawlspace that I should take a look at. As part of his report, he provided some contractors for the drainage mitigation.

We did not end up using ESG, but the office management, Denise, was very responsive. They had a $700 flat rate fee for inspections which is not "cheap", but great to have out front.