White Castle Construction

I thought they were great. My insurance was heavily discounted because I had it done. The reason I like them is because when I received my California earthquake bill and it said on the bill that I could apply for certain discounts if I’d had certain work done. And I had to supply evidence. And I couldn’t find the bill from way back when at the time. I called the company and they asked “what’s your address?” and I gave it to them, and they said “oh yeah, we got it right here, we’ll send it to them, we’ll take care of it for you.” They were very helpful, very quick in responding and taking care of the issue for me. And sure enough, I get my bill from the California Earthquake insurance, they had already marked it down and sent me a rebate for a previous bill I that had paid. Because I already had this work done. They were very good. They do a great job. I like the company. I like the people who work there. They helped me, here it was 2016 when I got that bill from my California Earthquake coverage. Look maybe I can get a discount, I was like how am I going to do this, I don’t even know where my receipt was. Called them up and the fact that they had records from that long ago and hadn’t been purged and were still able and willing to help me. I thought they were terrific! I don’t use them for other construction, but I used them for this. I have recommended them to others. I didn’t know what to compare the price to, I presumed it was probably a reasonable price because I knew what they were going to have to do. I didn’t have to provide supplies. I know that drilling into cement is no easy task. That’s fine, it’s worth it. I know I’m doing it for a good reason. They were very clean and on time.

Not well...

They did the work but when it came to follow-up questions about the work and other issues related to the house bolting, their response was terrible and the follow-up was even worse.

Michael Goldberg is absolutely one of the best in the business. We just bought a house, and needed simple foundation repairs and serious retrofitting. Our house is at the top of the hill, so if and when the big one hits, we wanted to be prepared. Michael came over and gave us a very detailed presentation. It might seem salesy to some people to see before and after photos of houses, but we live in California. The risks are real, as is his recognition for outstanding work by FEMA. Michael created a plan for our retrofitting that not only meet today's standards, but will also meet stricter standards starting in 2019. He came in with a very fair price, worked with our schedule and got the job done. We had a perfect experience, passed inspection, and now feel truly confident that the foundation of our house will survive a quake and stand the test of time. Thank you, Michael. You're the best. My fiancé and I are so happy we found you guys!

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Great experience overall. 30-40% less expensive than other companies and they let me pay over 6 months (I gave them 6 checks post dated).

I can't say enough great things about Michael (the owner). I should have written this review last August but got busy with my construction and yatta yatta. Finally sitting down to write a long overdue review.
I want everyone to know what an great job White Castle does, how honest they are, how informative they are ... just an overall great company.
Michael's bid was lower then other bids AND he gave me a contract with a solid price (the other companies that gave bids had and quot;the price could change once the work startsand quot; hidden somewhere in the contract). Michael's guys showed up on time, worked hard and did an exceptional job. They even repaired a few cracks in my driveway for free! Michael himself is a wealth of knowledge and just an overall kind person. He really cares about his work and doing things right.
I 100% recommend White Castle and if I ever buy another place I'll use them for sure.

I was very pleased with White Castle services. The day of my foundation inspection the owner arrived to personally explain everything after his employee completed the inspection and provided pictures, report, etc. I was happy with the no-nonsense explanation and sales pitch. When I hired them to complete the repairs, the crew showed up on time, was respectful of my property and cleaned up completely after each of the 2 days of work. One week later, the city inspector signed off on the work. I feel better having the work completed and would recommend them to my neighbors.

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They were horrible. They destroyed a bunch of siding during the process, which was impossible for me to replace. The siding they actually did put back on was put on incorrectly. The foundation was supposed to be repaired but there was already cracks and sinking within a year of them doing the work. They said it was because of our fireplace, which was there from the beginning. They offered to fix the damage if we removed our fireplace. They did correct the repairs, but we had to pay an additional $1000. The owner of the company screamed at both me and my husband. Even though I had mentioned that I had issues with smoking under the house, a worker continued to smoke. They were supposed to be lifetime guaranteed, and I am not confident it will last.

Very happy with the outcome.

The owner of the company came out directly and was able to provide a quote on the spot. He obtained the permits needed to do the work and once they were received did the work as planned. The city inspector came out and confirmed that the work was done correctly. Overall very easy to work with and the whole process went smoothly. Would recommend them to all of our neighbors.

They did a tremendous job both times. I would give them the highest ratings on all counts. I have recommended them to a friend for some work. I would definitely use them again if needed.

Very organized. Told us what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. They were in and outout any problems.

The inspector was in and out. They did the job very efficiently. I really trusted them and trusted that they did the job right.

They did a very good job. We are going to use them to rebuild the basement later in the year.

Be careful! VERY High pressure and scare tactics. I make sure none of my Real Estate clients/friends/neighbors ever use White Castle. I am sure the job was fine (?) but Mike called screaming for money (he had our post-dated checks) and did not have the job signed off by the city. They also placed another ad sign on my lawn months after the job was over. Run don't walk.

I am very happy with the work that Whitecastle completed to seismic retrofit and level my house. The level floors are so much nicer now and stiffer, too, with the addition of the new beam. And I went into the crawlspace with my fiancé to check up on their work, always a good idea. I saw that all the posts on piers had been strapped, as well as the foundation. I did notice some piers that had been skipped. When I brought this to their attention, they fixed those, too. It looked as if they had replaced many of the wood posts as well. The leveling caused huge cracks in the stucco and plaster, as if an earthquake had hit. We did not expect that they would stucco the outside of the house after the leveling. I know the inspector insisted on the stucco work. I do appreciate that it got done, and the additional $500 is a token of my gratitude. Now I am ready to remodel on a firmer foundation. Whitecastle gave us a very informative introduction to the seismic retrofitting process and the actual work was great.

They underbid the job, but stood by their contract, and did a very through job without complaint. The crew was accommodating of other contractors on the site, which was important.

They were very professional, fast, and clean. They did a great job.

They were good.

They came out to take a look at my foundation and see what the problems were and what their recommendations were. The first gentleman recommended that if I fixed the drainage problem in my yard that I would not have to do anything under the home, but that I should so an earthquake retrofit. The second gentleman recommended that some work be done under the home to reinforce the supports.

The story begins with our purchase of an old house, a 1916 California Craftsman bungalow, in July of 2009. The foundation clearly needed some work, as discovered in the home physical inspection during escrow and as evidenced by some unlevel, slanty floors. Mike Goldberg, owner, president, and engineer, came over to give us the pitch and describe the work. He laid out a detailed contract that included repairing the crumbling bits of foundation, sealing the whole thing in a layer of fresh concrete (much like crowning a tooth, as he described), replacing the breaking piers (center of floor supports) that were causing the floors and interior walls to go all out of level, doing a seismic retrofit (bolting the house to the foundation), reinforcing the cripple walls in accordance with the new California construction code due out in 2010, and obtaining City of Long Beach permits for the work. The whole estimate came to around $11,500. A $400 discount is included if we let Whitecastle put up a sign in our front yard for 90 days. We got an additional $400 off for letting them put a second sign in front of my parents' house in LA. As soon as the contract was signed it took a bit of effort to get a call back to schedule the work. Once it was scheduled, their guys showed up on time and ready to go. It took about 4 days of work, but those 4 days were not necessarily all in a row. It was more like 4 days over a week and a half. With the job "done," the documentation was left for the City inspector and the workers left. After about two or three weeks, the inspector turned up to have a look. At this time, I was informed that the job was not completed as I had expected. Many of the old brick-supported piers were still in place with only 4 to 6 of them having been replaced with reinforced concrete footings. The inspector did not sign off on the work, and I had to call Whitecastle back out to finish the job. It took another week or so to get them out to the house, but they replaced all the brick footings with prefabricated concrete (not poured reinforced concrete) footings in a single day. Again, I called to ask about the discrepancy between the contract and the work done, but the inspector had already signed off on the permits. Rather than press the issue, I asked for the difference in cost between installing reinforced concrete and prefab concrete to be taken off the final invoice (around $700). After all the work was completed, it took a couple weeks of bugging them before we got final copies of the City permits. It's not that I mind holding on to about $10k for them, but I needed the approved permit to give to my insurance company in order to reduce premiums. Overall, Whitecastle seems to have the experience and the technical ability, and they are amenable to negotiation and accommodating their clients' needs, however they could use some improvement in the responsiveness and turnaround time categories as well as finishing the job according to the contract specifications the first time instead of mobilizing back to a job site to finish at the request of the client. I would only use this contractor again if I could get a more detailed scope of work and schedule of work written into the original contract. I'm not sure that I would recommend them otherwise.