Our property was having some general repairs/remodeling up by another contractor, when that other contractor alerted us that the metal, load-bearing central post outside the property was showing rust deterioration. He recommended replacing the post for safety and structural integrity. The challenge was, the contractor said he needed us to find an engineer to draw up plans for replacing the post. This was a stressful and daunting project to embark on, as we weren’t sure of the scope, timeline, and cost. Enter Victor Construction & Engineering. A google search for engineers led to three local companies, all with good reviews. I reached out to all three, and only Mel Victor responded to my inquiry. Mel was able to come out the same day, give me a rundown on his recommendation and have his team come out within 24 hours to do emergency shoring to stabilize and support the weight of the building, which was beginning to sink downwards. I was impressed with Mel’s timeliness in addressing the situation, and his overall experience as he seemed quite knowledgeable on the situation and was confident on what needed to be done.
He was quickly able to have his architect and engineer draw up plans for replacing the post, and he also handled dealing with obtaining the necessary construction permits from the City. In short, the new plans called for installation of a new, thicker post with an even sturdier underlying foundation for the post (this is an oversimplification, but apparently the original foundation was built mainly on sand, so most of the sand was dug out and replaced with more concrete and rebar). Throughout the process, Mel was easily and readily contacted via his personal cellphone, and he would often come out on site to check on the progress himself. He also made sure to minimize inconvenience to us, so we actually were still able to use the car garage throughout the construction process (not an easy task as the load bearing post stands between two side by side garages).
In the end, the overall cost of the project evolved into what was larger than hoped/expected, but understandable given the urgent nature of the project, which improved the building’s overall structural integrity. (if further deterioration of the load-bearing post was left unchecked, the building was in danger of collapsing on itself). In retrospect, I wish the other two engineering companies I had contacted had gotten back to me, just so that I would have had more estimates to compare from. However, I’m still giving Victor Construction & Engineering 5 stars due to overall professionalism, experience and capability, efficiency, quality of work, and Mel’s commitment to customer service and satisfaction. What has been very helpful is Mel is very understanding of each person’s financial situation and he has been flexible in working out a payment plan with us. I highly recommend you reach out to Victor Construction & Engineering for whatever your next construction question/project may entail.
