TUAN & ROBINSON STRUCTURAL

While my loft renovations were relatively minor, I was changing the loading of the floor.  Given that this was a multi-unit building and my unit was on the top floor, I considered it critical that I determine the safety of the project.  In addition, the City of San Francisco required both calculations and drawings to obtain permits in this situation.

Trying to get a structural engineer to even look at such a small project was a nightmare.  I contacted fifteen different structural engineers.  A majority never returned my calls, only six would even look at my project (due to its small size), three had a minimum charge of $5,000, which was more than the construction portion of the project itself. Two offered more reasonable bids, but when it came to sign the contract and start the work, neither ever returned calls to schedule the meeting.  The only person who understood my dilemma and took the project seriously was Alan Robinson of Tuan and Robinson. 

Alan was recommended to me by a friend as being a honest, down to earth, fair professional.  He was all that.  He visited my unit, reviewed the project and the original building drawings plus the additions, and gave me an estimate on what it would take to do the work based on time and materials, not a minimum charge.  He was also up front in explaining that the work would take a bit longer than usual since he was squeezing it in between his other large scale projects.

Alan completed the work to budget and even offered suggestions on how to improve the loading vs. the original design.  He then created a drawing set that met all the city's requirements.  While the responsiveness and timing could have been better, it was acceptable considering the circumstances.  I was very happy overall with the work and would recommend him to anyone needing a structural engineering project done, not just for this work, but also for his attitude and the respect he gave me.