Rene Mugnier Associates

Structural engineer report

good goodgood goodgood good

Rene Mugnier caused us an enormous amount of unnecessary stress, time, and money. When we were trying to renovate our condo many years ago, the owners of the apartment below us hired Rene Mugnier to conduct an engineering review of our proposed renovation plans (according to our condo docs, we needed their permission). Though our own engineer (and several subsequent ones) signed off on our plans, Mugnier wrote up a report warning of all sort of outlandish risks associated with the project. He worried the other unit owners so much with his outrageous report that they refused to give us permission to conduct the renovation for nine years -despite our many attempts to revise the plans and despite the several other engineers who indicated that our plans were sound. Apparently, Mugnier has a reputation for killing projects such as ours. When we told our real estate agent this story without indicating his name, she asked "Is it Rene Mugnier?" She had heard of him doing this multiple times before. Finally, after 9 years, we bought the downstairs unit and after another year were able to do finally complete our renovation (of course approved by a qualified engineer). It looks beautiful, and it was conducted in a very sound and professional way. I recommend you stay away from Rene Mugnier.

Rene and his team were very professional and prompt in their replies to my last-minute request for a foundation inspection. My wife and I are first-time homebuyers, and when foundation damage turned up on our initial inspection report, we took seriously the suggestion to get the opinion of a structural engineer. Thanks to a cancellation, we were able to get Rene onsite within a couple days. He was very direct and clear in his communication, and answered all of our questions.

Excellent! Knowledgeable, professional, answered all questions, made recommendations, prompt follow-up report - a class act all the way !!

He covered the whole outdoor property and the basement. He pointed out some additional problem areas that were not on my radar. He also provided some info as to how to go about working with the town on possible storm drain access. Then he followed up with a report that detailed his findings. He's been doing this for years and his experience shows. Appreciated that he didn't try to upsell me.

Rene did a very thorough job of inspection and reporting on the results. We have a barely accessible attic so it was not an easy job but he managed to deal with that and took pictures of the damage he found.

Exactly as needed

Rene is a man who loves his job and he does it very well. He was punctual, friendly and explained EVERYTHING. I would use him again and again. The inspection should have been routine but due to the odd framing of our condo even Rene scratched his head a little. Rene was really very thorough. He went checked our basement, 1,2 and third floor many times to determine the framing. He was a bit uncertain at first so to be sure he requested two holes to be opened up in the drywall. I had to open it up so he can confirm. I am glad he takes no chances.

He showed on time, thoroughly went through the house, and patiently answered all the questions I had. The final report was written in detail and any unclear part was answered when asked.

Very well. Renee is very knowledgeable, very thorough and took the time to explain things to me. For $350 he went through the entire property, took photos of issues I'd need to address and made recommendations on how to prioritize it all. Money well spent that gave peace of mind & some knowledge to help me manage my general contractor.

Rene came to my house and listened to my concerns, then proceeded with a thorough structural inspection of my home, both outside and inside. He explained his findings very well, recommended solutions. The entire experience was great. I fully trust and respect his opinion based on the interaction with him. He proved to have extensive and solid knowledge. Money well spent because now I know that before a start my home renovation I better address the existing structural issues. Highly recommend his services.

It was a very good experience.

It was a disaster. Our plans, which had been approved by another highly qualified structural engineer, were quite sound. Mr. Mugnier's assessment of the plans, however, sunk the project. His assessment recommended all sorts of investigations and modifications that any other engineer we consulted said were not only unnecessary, but actually dangerous in and of themselves. This resulted in our condo association blocking our very reasonable renovation plans. We later heard from our real estate agent that Mr. Mugnier actually has quite a reputation for doing these types of reviews and killing projects.

Although nobody wants to spend a lot of money on structural plans, I felt this was important so that inspection by the town would go smoothly and there would be no questions when time comes to sell our house. Rene and his office are very professional and provided all of the services they promised. Everyone in the office was punctual and friendly. Very pleased with the end result.

Rene was extremely thorough in his assessment of our foundation. Despite the working conditions (a dirty crawl space underneath the house) he was very professional and spent a long time performing the assessment. We were very happy with the written report, it was detailed and accurate, and was provided quickly as needed. We will be hiring him to oversee repairs.

I had a positive experience with him. The pricing was pretty standard.

The visit went well. Rene showed up on time, explained everything clearly, and gave me recommendations on how to proceed in repairing the cracks.

great, he was on time, responsive in the main, and delivered the plans in good time.

I got a thorough report

So far so good ...

Prompt, professional and shared findings

Rene and his staff were able to accommodate us on short notice to come out and do an evaluation on a home in Brookline we had under contract. The floors were slanted and we wanted to ensure the safety and structure of the house. Rene was able to come out the next day even with us changing the time on him 2-3 times. He gave us candid and helpful advice and was able to identify 2 structural issues that needed to be fixed. They were also able to get the report to us over quickly as we had a tight deadline to do our research. Overall it was a very helpful and I would recommend his services for anyone else looking to buy a home/building that may have structural concerns

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