Seismic Technologies

OK, but when asked about his evaluation in writing he said he wanted more money. Do not recall he ever stated that written statements cost more. Not sure I would have gone with him. He was a bit crusty.

Jay Kushner came out to our home, took a few measurements and promised to provide an electronic report of beams and column sizes to be used because of load bearing wall removal. He DID NOT provide these promised documents, DOES NOT return phone calls. It has nearly been one month since "service date" and has cashed our check and disappeared. This guy is a scammer and should NOT be trusted!

We hired Jay to come to our home to help address concerns with various cracks that were appearing throughout our home. Jay was very professional and polite. He didn't mind having me follow him around the house while he inspected everything. The good news is that Jay didn't believe we have any kind of major structural issues. The piece of mind I now have made this money very well worth spent. I will keep his card in the event I need his services in the future.

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Jay did a very thorough job and was generous with his time.  He showed an understanding of the evolution of house design, i.e. that our house was designed in the 60s and had the problems of a house of that age and in this location.  He also clearly understood the properties of the region and soil where our house was sited. He listened well and clearly understood that we cared about costs.  He gave us multiple options for making the necessary repairs at different price points and offered suggestions for ways we could accomplish them ourselves if we desired.  He noticed additional potential problems and gave us a sense of how they should be prioritized.  All of this gave us hope that we could accomplish the needed repairs within our budget.  It was money well spent.

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Subject: Angie's list

Because we were concerned about the safety of our garage floor, we did some research and found out that the expert to call is an engineering consultant. I then went to Angie's List and read all the reviews. Seismic Technologies stood out with the most and the best reviews.  I called and   made an appointment in less than a week .  The engineer's name was Jay Kushner.  Jay  was wonderful!  He took his fancy tools and his many years of experience and did a thorough inspection.  He listened patiently about our concerns of possible compromise of our garage floor. He  examined a crack in the floor and  explained that it  was due to a tree outside. He used a laser and measured the floor and said it was rising rather than falling.  He checked the foundation surrounding the garage and found no structural damage to the foundation. He advised us to do nothing and assured us that the floor would continue to be structurally sound.  He even sat around the kitchen table after and once again answered all of our questions and concerns.  We found him to be a very pleasant,  honest and trustworthy person.

 

Obviously, Seismic Technologies was more focused on the scientific evaluation than on trying to drum up foundation work. Jays' experience and credentials were excellent as was the quality of his work. We recommend Seismic Technologies.   The money we paid was well worth it. I would advise anyone who is looking for peace of mind to contact him. 

Worth every penny.
We purchased our house a little over a year ago. At the time of inspection, there were some issues with the chimney and the fireplace/firebox that were addressed and fixed by the owner before we finalized our purchase.
Several weeks ago, we noticed new cracks and issues with the fireplace and some cracks in drywall on either side of the fireplace. We called the company who had done work several years ago to stabilize the chimney for the previous owner. They came to our home, assessed the situation, and then delivered a subtle yet pointed sales pitch based a bit on fear.
We wanted a structural engineer to visit our home to review the fireplace, the chimney, the cracks in some of the drywall, etc. and give us an unbiased opinion. We saw Jay's high rating, and we liked his witty, logical replies to the few less-than-stellar reviews. He made very valid points. We noted that NO ONE seemed to take issue with his knowledge or work ethic. Jay was also recommended to us by two realtors who have used him to inspect foundations, etc. for buyers.
Jay was on time. He was friendly, had a warm sense of humor and was very easy to understand. He spent 3 hours examining our property, looking at the crawlspace and chimney/firebox, taking measurements and answering every one of my 6,547 questions with great patience. His knowledge about the Portland area and our neighborhood in particular was very impressive. He noted that the "fix" suggested by the other company would not likely be a suitable one over time based on the jacks they would use and the type of soil in our neighborhood. He gave us some very practical advice, and when we asked (only when we asked), he referred us to some tradesman who could help us with some necessary projects.
We have two large, rather obnoxious dog who, although crated during Jay's visit, barked at him with ferocious intensity any time he walked by them. Jay was very kind to them and didn't seem bothered at all.
Based on this visit, we are considering hiring Jay to do some seismic retrofitting on our house.

This was largely an assessment of the structural issues of the property. We conversed easily and there was a clear understanding of the recommended actions to correct the deficiencies, whether through Seismic Technologies, another recommended contractor, or ourselves. I am currently awaiting for an estimate for the earthquake retrofitting work and I need to contact the other contractors for other identified issues.

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It went well. He was very knowledgeable and experienced. We live in Vancouver 10 min. from 99th St I-5 exit. We were charged an extra ~$75 that I thought was excessive, but he had good angieslist.com reviews, so we went with him.

He was very personable and knowledgeable. He did what I asked and resolved the issue I was concerned with.

I was satisfied.  They came on time.  They were attentive to my concerns.  They spend a lot of time going through the house looking thoroughly at the house.

Jay was great.  He is friendly, personable and very knowledgeable.  I was able to walk with him while he looked at various parts of the house and he answered all of my questions.  I learned a lot about my house and know what to look for in the future in what to be concerned about.  It was worth the fees to have peace of mind.

Jay is very experienced aond I as a realestate agent use him whenever a home has questionable signs structurallyy. My clients loved him and felt very confident in his insoection & review afterwards. Experience is key in this field, and no one has more then Jay!

Jay showed at the appointed time and he had booties on the second he walked into the house. I showed him where the entrance to the attic was and he jumped into his suit and mask and climbed up in the attic. He spent quite a while up there so we were kind of scared it was major. When he came down and got out of his outfit he showed us pictures of what he saw up there, we were lucky here. He said that nothing was structurally wrong and we can have the ceiling repaired, he did however tell us that one of the cracks may come back because it is not supported, he showed us with a laser where that was. One thing that stood out with Jay was the fact that he remembered our names and used them when he was talking to us.

He was super friendly and helpful. He took the time to make sure I understood what was going on and was very personable.

I initially contacted a different company regarding some cracks I began noticing around our home. I thought the cracks had to be due to foundation issues, since our home is built on a pretty good slope (2 stories in front and 4 in the back). The company I had first called had sent out a representative who took some measurements and then disappeared for over a week.  During that time, I decided it wouldn't hurt to call a civil engineer to get an unbiased opinion on what may or may not be happening with our home. I called Jay on Thursday and we made an appointment for him to come out the following Tuesday. He explained that for him to come out it would be $275, and if we wanted a written report of his findings it would be $495. Since he is not selling a product, but is selling his time and expertise, I was absolutely fine with this.

When he came out, we took him around our home pointing out all of our concerns.  He spent 3 hours going over everything, inside and out, in living spaces and crawl spaces. He even went over the blue prints the previous owner had left, and explained to us how the house was built, pointing out that the home was built to withstand winds of up to 80 mph (code at the time the home was built) and that it meets current earthquake code (and is even anchored per code).

He took the time to spell out exactly what was happening and why, and put my fears to rest. Bottom line there was no movement and foundation is perfect with no cracks.  The cracks on the upper floors are on the south and southwest sides of the house and are wind related.  These are surface issues only due to flexing of the walls.

We had initially said we wanted a written report, but in the end because there were no structural issues, he pointed out that since we were only wanting the report for when we sold the home in the distant future, that I should just make notes on what he said. He explained that a written report is only valid for 18-24 months, and so would be useless if we sold the home after that time period. That impressed me because he could have easily said nothing and made an additional $220 for the written report.

My husband and I found Jay easy to talk to and extremely knowledgeable. I would highly recommend him to any of my friends or family.

The work was done cleanly and to our satisfaction.  The crew was efficient, tidy and pleasant.

The work turned out great. he was very professional, reliable, and he does great work.

They were prompt, courteous, professional, and seemed to be very knowledgeable.

Jay is clearly an expert, perhaps even THE expert, on seismic issues in houses in Portland. He gave us a tremendous amount of clear information about what might happen to our house (and us) in different earthquake scenarios, and exactly how much could be done to make it safer. He offered us several options. We chose the maximum that could be done short of replacing the foundation. It seemed like a really large amount of money, but there is nobody to compare with--I don't think there is anyone remotely as expert as Jay in this particular field. His team, Ishmael and Freddy, showed up on time. They were polite, friendly, and respectful of the house and garden. They were professional and careful about protecting our floors, furniture, etc during the work. The work got done on time and we were given several opportunities to look inside and see what was being done. Ishmael and Freddy replaced the drywall, to the extent that was possible, when they were done. They did not leave a mess.

He also estimated a cost for doing the retrofit through his company.  The estimate seemed pretty high for the work so I probably won't use him for the actual retrofit.  I found his fee for the evaluation to be reasonable and I was happy to pay him for his time to get an idea of the work involved.