Testimonials

“I engaged East Bay Retrofit Construction to take on the replacement of a pier, post, and beam supporting an overhang connected to our home and the concrete walkway that along with the post was tilting and slipping down the hill. The team was undaunted by the heavy-duty design requirements (16-foot-plus hole for the pier) specified by the structural engineer who did the drawings for our permit submission. Owner Martin Alvarez is a pro-active communicator who vigilantly monitored his crew’s progress on the project and stepped in to lend a hand and his considerable expertise as needed. The crew was diligent and friendly and despite the challenging weather conditions (pelting rains early on) managed to get the job done right in a timely manner at a competitive price.”

I found Martin and his crew honest, professional, prompt, and competent throughout. I am a registered structural engineer and did a building specific design for my home. This is typically more challenging for contractors as it steps away from the more familiar generic seismic design. However, Martin was great in discussing the details with me, understanding the retrofit concept, and at several points suggesting good solutions that I found both effective and practical. I would highly recommend them.

“I chose to work with Martin Alvarez/East Bay Retrofit Construction because his willingness to tackle my engineered retrofit from within my shallow crawl space saved me thousands of dollars.Martin was easy to communicate with and he seemed to have good rapport with the engineer and special inspector my project required.My retrofit was completed well within the 9 months of the California Earthquake Authority’s Brace and Bolt grant program even though we needed several extensions while waiting for the Oakland permit.Thank you Martin and crew!”

I highly recommend Martin for any retrofit or foundation work. I contacted Martin to do a retrofit project for my house – and he was very transparent, responsive, flexible and answered all my questions. He provided a competitive quote and amended it when I got engineering plans that asked for additional work to be done. He helped me navigate the EBB FEMA process from start to finish and secured all the necessary permits. Martin and his crew were on time and worked diligently to get the job done.

We used East bay retrofit construction for re-framing my house structure in Montclair, Oakland, because the house got unfortunate building structural damages by termite and Dry rot. The Construction work includes replacing wood beams & joists, concrete work with new French drain, stucco, exterior painting, and many others. Martin and his team did outstanding professional work with honest fair price. Their fee was best among 5 other contractors. Multiple professional staffs had worked over 3 weeks on a great amount of work. I surprised they work extremely efficient and beautifully. Even they were willing to take care of fixing unforeseen undesired condition. Their hard work and knowledge of what they are doing is outstanding. Martin is a great communicator and extremely reliable. I can not be happier the result what Martin and his team brought to us.I’ve recommended the Martin and his team to all my friends. You will be pleased if you get to work with them. Wishing all the best to Martin and his team.

I highly recommend Martin for any retrofit or foundation work. I contacted Martin to do a retrofit project for my house – and he was very transparent, responsive, flexible and answered all my questions. He provided a competitive quote and amended it when I got engineering plans that asked for additional work to be done. He helped me navigate the EBB FEMA process from start to finish and secured all the necessary permits. Martin and his crew were on time and worked diligently to get the job done.

I hired Martin for a seismic retrofit and mudsill replacement project and I couldn’t be happier with the results. As a first time homeowner my wife and I had to learn a lot pretty quickly about foundations and seismic retrofits, we interviewed 3-4 contractors to inspect our foundations and provide a quote for seismic retrofit. Martin came to our house with a full jumpsuit and inspected the entire crawl space for about 15-20 minutes, after his inspection he took the time to explain all his observations, answered all our questions and provided a recommendation. A few other contractors came to see the foundation and barely spent anytime in the crawl space before throwing out very large estimates without providing much evidence for their reasoning. As first time homeowners we didn’t really know a lot but had to rely more on our intuition and gut on who would be the best contractor for the job. Not only was Martin diligent in providing his recommendation but we had the feeling that he really cared about doing a quality job and ensuring that our house is safe. Martin’s pricing is fair and you get a lot more than what you pay for in terms of quality of work and customer service. He completed the job on time as promised and passed all the permit and inspection process. I would recommend Martin any day of the week and plan to use East Bay Construction for our future projects.

Martin and his crew were AMAZING, and a pleasure to work with. I had been looking at quotes that were well out of my budget and considering financing. Martin came in with an estimate that was almost 30% lower than the next lowest bid and 60% less than what most other contractors were offering, and this included an expanded scope that covered other problems in the house. His crew arrived on time every day, maintained an incredibly clean work environment, and I saw them treat each other with respect and a concern for safety. The project (a French drain) was excavated and installed with textbook precision, and has made a noticeable difference in my home’s drainage since the day of installation. Martin collaborated with me whenever I asked for detailed explanation, and made himself available by phone and e-mail throughout the process. I will absolutely hire EB Retrofit Construction for other home projects, and I encourage other property owners to consider hiring him as well. I believe this company must be one of the best values in the Bay Area.

Martin and his team just finished my earthquake retrofit job for my house. He came to my house himself and did a thorough inspection with photos. Then he provided an engineering plan with a specific proposal even stating all branded equipment. He took care of all permitting and all the details for the EBB program so I could get the grant from FEMA to pay for part. His crew had an earlier slot so the work was done before expected in one day. Everyone was so professional and respectful. The work passed inspection right away. It is a relief to have my seismic retrofitting complete. Martin exceeds all expectations. He is professional and knowledgeable and has tons of great reviews in the FEMA program too. No other contractor was willing to go to these lengths. I feel very safe in my house and am glad I made this investment in a seismic area. Thank you!!!