Seismic Northwest

There are two parts to this review: 1) Retrofit: A - on time, quick work, fair price, met expectations. But then, I let Rocky talk me into doing the rest of the basement remodel while he was already there. 2) Basement remodel: D. Would NOT recommend. Something that was supposed to take "4-6 weeks" just got done, 7-8 months later. Seriously. There were plenty of hiccups along the way: fair quality work; poor communication (you have to hound them to get work done); discourteous staff (drywall guy especially, others, especially Mik were great); lack of clear direction (see example below, mostly because Rocky never really showed up to supervise); some surprise charges / sloppy accounting; and of course missed deadlines. Perfect example: We had planned a layout with a stacked washer and dryer and a area to fold the laundry. The framers then came (without Rocky) and framed out an extra 4-6 inches too far from the wall for whatever reason. When everything was said and done (i.e. the drywall was in and the plumbing was in), the washer and dryer no longer fit and the whole configuration had to be changed. We had to re-demo and got charged for the work and for the plumber call-back. Even now, the washer and dryer config is not ideal. AND, that was another month added on. So, save yourself the trouble, go elsewhere for your remodels.

Went well. Got permits, performed the work, passed inspection.

They completed the retrofit for my home. They were thorough and left the basement in a clean shape.

great - efficient, accurate

It was fine, the guy was very nice.

Our 1980s era house only had a couple bolts holding it to the foundation. Even a modest earthquake would likely shear the bolts and allow it to move it off the foundation, making it uninhabitable. The crew came and added bolts to the sill around the entire perimeter of the house -- in both the crawl space and garage. The bottom half of the drywall had to be removed and replaced in the garage so that the sill could be accessed. In areas of the crawlspace where two stories were being supported above, cripple walls of OSB were put in place to reinforce the stud walls. We had to keep putting off Seismic NW because of an ongoing remodeling project at our house -- they were very flexible. The only snag we had was that the original bid was for a much broader scope of work and they forgot to change that in the final invoice -- a $7K difference. We pointed this out and this oversight was fixed immediately.

I had to clear away any materials stored within 5 feet of the basement and garage where they were going to be working. I paid for them to remove and reinstall the shelving units in these areas. They also, removed and reinstalled peg boards in these areas. After paying for the engineering drawings and city permits, they showed up for work on 02/08/2018 and finished on 02/19/2018. For the most part, the work crew consisted of two people. They were punctual, professional and readily applied themselves to the tasks to be performed. I tried not to interfere with them, but on occasion I would ask what work they were performing. After they left for the day, I would look at the work they said needed to be accomplished. They left the areas broom clean and hauled off of the trash they generated. From time to time, the city inspector would review and sign off on the city permit.

Difficult to schedule visit, then Rocky did a very cursory look around before noting that he thought it would be very expensive to retrofit. Because the home is built on a concrete slab, Rocky estimated it would need to be treated like a garage, with sheathing all around the first floor. However, he said he would ask a structural engineer. I did not hear from him for over a week, after which I called him. He then said that the engineer agreed.

I purchased the evaluation and decided to go forward with the work. All was done on time and when they found issues on the final inspection, they sent a team in to fix it the very next day.

I thought they did an excellent job on our retrofit project. From the beginning they answered all our questions, told us exactly what they were going to do, and even did a walkthrough a week before the work began at our request to ensure we were ready to go. Once they gave us the initial estimate they stuck to it despite a few surprises they discovered when they opened the walls (our house is old and had some extra curve balls they needed to deal with). They just took care of everything as it came up, even needing to replace some of our old trim and reinforcing a corner of the house that unexpectedly was missing foundation beneath. All of their people were super polite and very easy to talk to, and always patient with our questions. They showed up when they said they would and brought in excellent contractors to do our drywall. We had a bit of unexpected damage due to falling plaster, but they immediately took responsibility and made it right with no questions asked. They also did all cleanup expected and even were willing to haul away some of our old cabinets along with the project debris. Retrofits are big, messy projects but they made it go as smoothly as possible. I would definitely recommend them to anyone considering a retrofit.

I was especially impressed that they explained everything they were going to do, and why. I appreciate that they work with a structural engineer, that they will provide documentation of what they've done. There was some unintended damage done to our bathroom in the process, but they repaired it. There were a couple places where we asked them to come back and re-do something differently so it would be stronger and they did. They told me they always pass inspection and if they don't it's a very big deal. I put a "B" for price, because I thought the price was fair, but honestly I didn't shop around for price so I don't know how they compare. I wanted my house to be made as strong as reasonably possible and I believe they've done that. The price they quoted me for drywall repairs was unreasonably high, but they told me they're not drywall experts and I'd get a better deal if I went to a drywall company. I was annoyed a couple times when the person they sent back to fix something was not the person who had previously done the work, but I think things have worked out okay in the end.

They showed up on time, worked hard, dealt with some surprises quickly and professionally. They were good about making sure I knew who to contact with my questions about the work. This is not a quick process, so I dealt with them for over a month, and I was always impressed with their work.

Prompt, professional, personable. My old house was not a candidate for easy fix retrofitting. No high pressure sales to do the work anyway. Received good advice on what to install for my new addition. Would recommend.

Mr. was very personable, polite, and explanatory. When it's time, I will hire their services.

I own a home that was built in 1900 that I had previously retrofitted for earthquake protection. I took advantage of the $49 consultation offer from Seismic Northwest to review what I had done and see if it was acceptable. The consultant, Rocky, was very complimentary of the work I did. He made some recommendations on things I could do myself to strengthen the structure, but didn't try to sell me any services that may have been unnecessary. I believe that because Rocky stated my work was sound and didn't try to sell any services indicates he is an honest contractor and could be relied upon to provide quality service at a reasonable price.

Went very well. Right on time, able to provide an estimate quickly. Appears very competent. Included all permits and Engineering in the price.

Rocky arrived on time, looked around the garage and basement for about 15 minutes and told me that it would cost roughly $25-30,000 to retrofit the house. He explained that they would inject cement vertically down thru the cement blocks that make up my foundation, that they would do this around the entire perimeter on all exterior walls and it would take a couple of weeks. He said that my foundation was very unstable (house was built in the 50's) and I should either move out ASAP, get their retrofit or get earthquake insurance if I could get it. He left without giving me a written estimate and I had to call him to get him to send me a written quote. When I e-mailed him with a question about how they stabilize the house horizontally he did not return an answer.

I purchased a Big Deal. The guy (Rocky) was running late, so he called. He gave us a good estimate and told us how long it takes to get a permit, and what other people have done and how much we need to move downstairs and how far out things need to be from the work space.

Rocky came out immediately and conducted a professional evaluation of the property and determined that the house was bolted to the foundation. He then provided a letter with the required certification for me to send to the insurance company. He was prompt and professional.

It went just fine and they cleaned every thing up great. Very courteous and knew what they were doing. One curious thing was the inspector came but didn't go in the crawl space to check the work. Perhaps he had another way of checking. That I do not know. This is the second review I have completed. They also answered all questions and worked with me on a few suggestions is offered.

The gentleman doing the inspection was friendly and professional. No complaints about the company. I just feel the price for a 15 minute consultation to be told basically I had to re-build entire home was a bit much.

They were professional and knowledgeable, they measured and looked at the basement, and then provided an estimate via email. They had recommendations about how to reduce the cost of the work.

I really appreciated their expertise and advice. Our home has a partial foundation and consequently, they weren't able to do a retrofit, but their advice was critical to us understanding what our next steps are to secure our home. Many thanks!

Consultant was very helpful and, based upon my earlier research, was very well informed on the issues to address and the available options. We're reviewing the bid and will probably proceed with this contractor.

Company promptly performed assessment of existing home.