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August 2023 by August M.
After being on the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program wait list for about a year, I received the good news that I was finally accepted in the program. Since it's a lengthy process with many steps involved, I chose Avant-Garde for the retrofit based on their many outstanding customer reviews.I sent an email inquiry to get a quote, and Matthew got back to me in a few hours to set up a day and time for someone to come out and quote the job. The guy came out right on time, taking photos of the house exterior, crawl space and water heater. Matthew shared the photos along with other relevant information with me in a Google drive folder, as well as uploading the photos to my EBB web based dashboard. I went with the standard Plan A retrofit. When the installation day came, the crew arrived on time and put down tarps to protect the flooring and walls from any dust. It took less than a day to complete, and post-retrofit pictures were taken and uploaded to the EBB dashboard. They also took care of getting the building permit, and scheduling the city inspection on the same day after the work was completed.Even though it's a quality job and I'm now prepared for an earthquake, I just hope the bracing never needs the opportunity to be tested.
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June 2023 by Angela Chen
Avant-Garde did the earthquake retrofit for our house. We are very happy and impressed with their work and highly recommend them to anyone. Matthew's email responses were phenomenal, almost 24x7, and he handheld us in the application process when we ran into issues. His crew was punctual, courteous, efficient, and professional. We are so happy that we pick Avant-Garde for our earthquake EBB project!
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June 2023 by Angela C.
Avant-Garde did the earthquake retrofit for our house. We are very happy and impressed with their work and highly recommend them to anyone. Matthew's email responses were phenomenal, almost 24x7, and he handheld us in the application process when we ran into issues. His crew was punctual, courteous, efficient, and professional. We are so happy that we pick Avant-Garde for our earthquake EBB project!
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June 2023 by David R.
We've been working with Matthew and his team on our Brace & Bolt retrofit project and I couldn't be more pleased.Matthew's communications have been such a pleasure - fast, thoughtful, and extremely accommodating.We're not exactly the easiest clients with our busy schedules so the fact that they tried working around them was greatly appreciated.Matthew also planned ahead on the project and scheduled things in way in advance so we weren't waiting long after getting FEMA approval. I'm hearing from others trying to get through the program that after they got approval everyone was super busy so they won't have their projects done for a few months.We have a few smaller projects that we're definitely going to work with them on going forward. Matthew's suggestions on how to complete them were top-notch and really appreciated.A special thank you to Jose, Dan, and Oliver who made the Brace & Bolt retrofits happen on our home!I'm beyond thrilled to have found Avant-Garde.
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May 2023 by Haryanto L.
Thank you Avant-Garde for helping us to work with the city to have our crawl space earthquake retrofit. The project went very smoothly. Matthew was very prompt and patient to answering all my concerns and questions. David, Oliver, Jose, and Eric were tidy and clean. They worked hard and got the job done in time. I would use them again for any of my future construction work.
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January 2023 by Diane M.
Just completed an earthquake retrofit with this company. Couldn't be more pleased. They are professional, responsive, punctual and efficient. All the 5 star reviews before mine are well deserved. In addition the crew doing the work were right on time and super nice.
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April 2022 by Joshua B.
We had a great experience working with Matthew and Josh on two small projects. Our structural engineer suggested that we get a joist sistered, and Matthew replied to my call immediately and had somebody on his team sent over within a few days. It was the best quote we got and they did a great job. We're hoping to use them for a larger remodel.
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February 2022 by Justin B.
I would highly recommend this company for work in the Berkeley area. They handled our job professionally and navigated all of the complicated Berkeley regulations without fail.
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January 2022 by Amy N.
I went through Avant Gard for the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. They were AWESOME!. They have done so many of these so they know exactly what the EBB program requires, handled all of their steps quickly and came out in 1 day, and secured my house to its perimeter foundation. I paid them and in 1 week I had my reimbursement check from EBB. I really enjoyed working with Avant-Garde - a fun, knowledgable, and respectful crew.
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August 2021 by Jason Debonis
We have had the pleasure of working alongside Avant-Garde for many years now.They are extremely competent in everything from retrofits to complete additions of homes.Matt is a 2nd generation, skilled contractor who can quickly understanding plans and is able to understand structural issues and the ways to repair or reinforce.Any question I have ever had regarding structural load to retrofitting, Matt has always had an answerer and been able to help guide me in the correct direction.Highly recommend Avant-Garde to anyone interested in retrofitting or general construction.Service: Remodelling
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August 2021 by Jason D.
We have had the pleasure of working alongside Avant-Garde for many years now. They are extremely competent in everything from retrofits to complete additions of homes. Matt is a 2nd generation skilled contractor who can quickly understanding plans and is able to understand structural issues and the ways to repair or reinforce. Any question I have ever had regarding structural load to retrofitting, Matt has always had an answerer and been able to help guide me in the correct direction. Highly recommend Avant-Garde to anyone interested in retrofitting or general construction.
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June 2021 by cynthia barnes
I was referred to Avant Garde as an excellent seismic retrofit contractor. (Brace and Bolt) they were that and more, The workers were there every day, (dust from the crawl space underneath the house) professional, pleasant, careful to clean after themselves at the end of their day, laying plastic coverings on all the furniture that would have been affected by dust, laying painter sheets on the floors, etc. The work turned out to be more extensive than estimated; however, the company management charged only the contracted price. As well, they handled all of the permitting and photos processes. Very ethical! I would highly recommend! Cynthia Castro ValleyService: TV mounting
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May 2021 by John P.
We had Avant Garde do our earthquake retrofit as part of the State Brace and Bolt program. They were as good as we could have hoped - - prompt, courteous, reasonable in price and very helpful with the process. It's not an easy job, getting under our house and working there for hours, but AG's employees did it all without any fuss. And this was in the midst of covid, so they had to mask up and be mindful of protections! They earned their stars with the job they did for us.
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February 2021 by Ron C.
Hired Avant-Garde to bolt and brace the house for EB&B (Earthquake Brace & Bolt) rebate. We ended up bring 100 year old house up to new building code. Wonderful contractor to work with. They took over all the uploading all the requirements of EB&B and the permits. Very accommodating and reliable. When inspection was made, the inspector said Avant-Garde did a beautiful job.
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January 2021 by Robert B.
We hired Avant-Garde again based on their California Earthquake Authority Brace & Bolt work in our crawl space in 2019 (see my other review here). They did such an excellent job on that that I did not hesitate to hire them for our soft story (bedrooms over garage) earthquake retrofit, a much bigger job. For the soft story, it required engineering plans that some of the other contractors who bid did not understand. No problem for Matthew and his crew. It was clear they had done this type of work before. They worked pretty much non-stop and always kept me apprised. A real plus for us was that they were able to take down a massive 15ft by 6ft open cupboard storage cabinet on our long wall and a work bench from our front wall without scrapping them. They put both back as good as new without charge! Thanks! They didn't take off without warning as some contractor crews do. I really believe I got a great deal on all the work they did. When the Big One comes, we are ready to rock & roll!
