Our house didn’t need to be raised, we found the problems in time, but we had to have the entire foundation replaced. We hired a geotechnical engineer (more specific for foundations than a structural engineer) who crawled under our house to inspect our foundation and the soil. He wrote a five page report that described what he saw with respect to the site, foundation, soil/irrigation and drainage. He made very specific recommendations for repair including the dimensions of the concrete and how much rebar should be in the new footings and stemwalls. His report was stamped with two stamps, one as a civil engineer and one as a geotechnical engineer. Then when the foundation was replaced he inspected at several points during the process prior to the city inspections.

He is located in San Diego County, I don’t know how far he is willing to travel. But maybe if he doesn’t want to go that far he’ll know someone in LA.

http://www.martinowengeotechengineer.com

You need to contract with a house mover or a contractor familiar with this type of work. He'll have a connection for an engineer if he needs one. Engineers are subs on these jobs.

Both of you have good suggestion.

Thanks for the detailed scope of work you did, socalgal, I’ll give him a call tomorrow.

Joseph,
I’d prefer get an independent engineer to come up with plan rather getting through foundation company because that is what I did, and what i though that “plan” was even reflecting of what my specific post and beam location. Later as I’ve gone to more research, I realized that the plan the SE drew was what would be standard location and footing etc of new build. The GC left the site when I challenged him on some of his work. I contacted SE but he stopped reply my call and later found out they are golf buddies. I could have reported to board but that was my first project as a new home owner and didn’t know goo enough to have a detailed written estimate. Anyways I moved one and now after theee years later, I’m ready to remodel my bathroom and was thinking I should address this issue before reconnect all the plumbing lines and tiled up( the bathroom has been gutted)

Anyone else who had gone through similar jobs or know SE, please share, thanks again!

You have to ask yourself this question. Who is more qualified to hire a structural engineer to raise your house? A contractor licensed to raise houses, or a homeowner who's never hired one before?

If you have an independent engineer and an independent contractor, you will have two people pointing fingers at each other if the project goes wrong. This type of project has many possible approaches and hopefully some of them will even work. However, chances of both the engineer and the contractor each immediately seeing the same plan, using the same materials, in the same location, installed in the same order is practically zilch.

Contrary to some opinions, very few contractors are scam artists looming for a quick buck. That profession requires hard work and taking risks which tends to discourage scammers. Contractors and engineers enjoy a good challenge and a chance to solve a problem too difficult for others. A successful project like this requires people who can work together generating ideas, modifying them to work and choosing the best. Do your research to find the right contractor and then he will be your team leader and responsible for choosing the others who will work with him.

Its not clear what you are building so its difficult to give you specific advice. Are you raising the house in order to remove and replace the foundation or are you just trying to level the top of the existing foundation?

If the latter, there's probably no need for an engineer unless you are concerned about the existing structure in which case the engineer should inspect it and provide a report..

If the former, you will need an excavation contractor and a foundation contractor so it might be wise to hire a general contractor to be responsible to you for all of the work.

If structural drawings are required, they will need to be drawn and stamped by a licensed engineer so they can be included in the building permit application.

I strongly recommend that the engineer work directly for you and provide you with the services you need for your own reassurance and for the owner-builder contract in order to avoid the problems you had before. There is no reason to loose the engineer if the builder's work is not satisfactory. You also want the engineer to be available at completion of the work to review the work and verify that it complies with the contract documents and the building code.

Thanks you so much everyone who’s stopped by and share thoughtful insights. As I mentioned earlier, that was my first project as a first time homeowner, it derailed( licensed with states) then hired another licensed GC whom I needed to file a claim against his insurance company and won the case. So I’d say Just thought of hiring GC exhausted me. But Lyndee has some good point and will do more due diligence on choosing contractor in the future. Hence here I am seeking advice what to ask, what needed to included in written contract, what to expect etc with SE.

The scope of work is adding a beam on the load bearing wall( central) the house is divided by hallway in the middle, living/dining/kitchen in on one side and the bathroom and bedrooms on the other side of hallway. Think it’s pretty typical craftsmams house in 1910’s. The beam is located in the other side of hallway on the living room side and I think the beam should have been below the bedrooms side because that side has continua wall from back to the front and between those narrow 40” hallway, bedroom side wall is settled about 1” heavy weight without any support. For 1” dip in 100 some plus years house, I would have been okay with it but only the hallway is so narrow, 1” dip in 40” wide is very noticeable. And to make the matter worse, from that point to bedroom edge, it’s dipping another 1”, would have been relatively simpler if the hallway was shallow V meaning the the perimeter walls didn’t settle then I could raise the hallway.

I’ve met few SE in the past and they look at the house( not go down to crawl space) told me to better leave the house as is since the settlement had happened very slowly over the years, that I might do more harm than good by disturbing it. Told me structurally okay( but again, only quick glance on the floor level and attic standing at the attic ladder spot) so I moved on. Some were free estimate but some I paid fee.

Alas, now that I’m doing a bathroom remodeling wonder if I’ll have better luck this time.

Although our house was not raised, just the process of getting a new foundation did cause some cosmetic harm (cracked plaster) in most of the rooms in the house.

Our process of hiring people for this project started by asking my general contractor, who I have used for years, about some reoccurring cracks in the exterior stucco. He didn’t think it was anything serious but recommended the foundation repair company if I wanted to pursue it. After the owner of that company crawled under our house she recommended the engineer. They knew each other but both were very professional and I don’t feel there were any shortcuts due to the established relationship. In fact the foundation workers kept complaining about the amount of rebar the engineer specified and how it had to be assembled. The engineer was not a subcontractor, I paid him separately from the foundation company.

When I had a racing heartbeat, I didn't go to a cardiologist; my GP made me quit drinking caffeine which did the trick. If she wanted me to see a cardiologist, she would have made the referral. Same exact thing here.

My customers get what, where, when, and why, I always keep who and how. Nonnegotiable.

Thanks socalgal to share your experience, I know everyone’s situation is unique its own but it helps to hear about the process. Spoke to Mr. Owen, unfortunately he doesn’t serve Los Angeles and whom he referred still far.

I’ll get some numbers from California license board and make few calls, last time I did was two years ago and Everyone was busy with all these ADU boom. I’ll contact few more reputable GC who has been around long time as well. Thanks all! I hope I’ve gotten wiser :)