LA Private Eyes Geotechnical Engineers

I had the good fortune of having Abe Simantob referred to me by my Home Inspector, during an inspection on a home that I’m in Escrow on. There were slope and drainage concerns, and we needed an expert opinion.
My inspector (whose opinion I trust implicitly), told me «If you want it done right, Abe’s the guy!»
He was absolutely correct.
Abe went out of his to squeeze me into his busy schedule. He was a pleasure to deal with, and my Realtor and I were totally impressed by how thorough and knowledgable he was. Abe’s ability to explain the situation (so that even I could understand it) was icing on the cake!
I will use Abe Simantob and his company L.A. Private Eyes Engineers, again in a heartbeat, on my next property! 5 STARS!!!

Abe is fantastic! We were on the brink of potentially losing a house we really wanted and he literally came to our rescue. We needed a same day engineering inspection and report and he delivered. He was also kind enough to ask me to follow-​up to tell him if I got the house, which we did. I still think he was our lucky charm as there were a ton of glitches that kept leading us to not being able to purchase our home. He was thorough. Professional, on-​time, and great at explaining engineer terms to a non-​engineer type like myself. I would recommend him to anyone.

Abe is the BEST… hands down. I will use him from not on for all structural and soil inspections! Was able to come out same day and did not take advantage of our situation. Abe is a true gentlemen. THANK YOU!

Abe is extremely smart and knows exactly what to look for. We were buying a home on stilts and were worried about the structure in the event of an earthquake. Abe was very thorough and did an excellent job sharing exactly why the property was structurally solid. He even went to the city and pulled a ton of stuff prior to our appointment so he was familiar and looking at it from all aspects. I was worried because it is expensive but if you are going to buy a house with any geotechnical and structural concerns then this is your guy! Thanks Abe!

Honesty is the key to satisfy customers, this man got it! Thank you，even we did not do business together, I appreciate your honesty! 谢谢！！

I hired Abe to inspect my parent’s home, which has developed many large cracks in the walls and ceiling over the past few years. Abe showed up right on time and quickly got to work inspecting the whole property; including crawling under the house, and photographing everything. Abe was very professional, and extremely thorough in his inspection and follow up report. He explained all of the issues, and recommended a few different solutions to fix the problems. I would highly recommend Abe, to anyone with geological /​structural issues that needs investigation. I would not hesitate to hire him again should the need arise. Nice job Abe!

My 14-​year old house developed a few creaks and cracks over the years. But when a good-​sized crack suddenly opened up in my bathroom and tore the wallpaper, I got really concerned. So I looked on Unilocal for the names of some local building inspectors. Along the way I found LA Private Eyes, but decided to call an inspector first – it seemed less extreme.
I spoke to a highly rated building inspector and he advised me to call a structural engineer. He just happened to know a really good one: LA Private Eyes.
I liked Abe Simantob from our first conversation. He seemed very pleasant and professional. And he was going to be out my way later that day. Although the cost was more than I expected (typical home inspections cost significantly less), I hired him.
Abe did a thorough inspection of the house and property. I watched him use a laser device to calculate the angles of the floors and walls. He pointed out his findings and reassured me that the foundation was in good shape. He believed most of the minor cracks were caused by the house settling and the soil shifting a little. Neither was cause for worry.
Some of the creaks and cracks, particularly the crack in the shower stall, were likely caused by moisture seepage. Abe demonstrated how he used a special instrument to locate areas of high moisture within the walls.
When he finished, Abe said he’d send me a written report the following Tuesday or Wednesday. I received it on Monday. It was very detailed and contained many of the photos he’d taken during the inspection. He included diagrams to illustrate some of his recommendations.
I feel that my money was well spent. I have peace of mind and a game plan for following up on Abe’s recommendations.
Although I rarely write reviews, I’m happy to do so for LA Private Eyes. And, no, Abe did not ask me to; this was entirely my idea.

We recently hired Abe as our geotechnical engineer for a hillside property that we were considering buying. Our general inspector had recommended a full geotechnical evaluation and I honestly nearly fell out of chair when I heard it was going to cost $ 1200. But Abe was worth every penny. Even before showing up, he had thoroughly done his homework: inquired with the city about our property, brought maps to the evaluation. He then spent about 1.5 hours evaluating the house and another hour talking to us about his findings. Two days later, we got a 30 page report detailing his findings, recommendations for repair, and pictures of all his findings. That report must have taken all day to write! And best of all, he told us to call him after we got estimates on repairs and we did. He walked us their estimate, told us whether he thought it was reasonable and whether they covered everything that really needed to be fixed. We felt like we were able to make a very informed decision due to his work. His fee was high but so worth it! And it covered so much more than the 2 – 3 hours we saw him inspecting the house. We were very happy with his service and highly recommend him.

I hired LA Private Eyes to assess the drainage of a hillside property in Anaheim. Abe made a great effort to research the surrounding area, conducted a thorough review of the property’s characteristics relative to its position on the hillside, identified areas of concern for the property, and helped me to understand the necessary maintenance that will be required to minimize shifting/​settling of the home by way of improved drainage.
Abe was great — wish I could rate him higher than 5 stars.

Abe is an extremely knowledgable and experienced geological and civil engineer. His fee is worth every penny. He is thorough and detailed. He also has a wonderful ability to describe and explain the issues. We would highly recommend him, as his services are the BEST. He went above and beyond our expectations. Thanks Abe!

I’ve hired 2 environmental engineers in my life and the difference between the two is night and day. Yes, Abe costs more than the other guy that will give you a «verbal» report for $ 500. You will be tempted to go with the cheaper option. Don’t. This is the largest purchase that you will ever make. A few hundred or a thousand dollar difference is nothing if your cheap-​o engineer misses an important problem.
Abe showed up on time, was friendly, thorough, patient, and delivered an easy to understand report in record time. What more could you ask for? Perfect service.

Out of everyone we encountered in our overwhelming first home purchase, Abe was the most helpful, informative and good natured.
We were looking at a hillside property in Montecito Heights. He wrote a 30 page report detailing the sloping, foundation degradation and walked us through all of the issues. It was expensive yes but was well worth it. He was available to answer any questions and even walked us through the inspection, explaining everything in detail. Based on his information we were able to walk away from the home with a clear head.
We found another hillside property in Glendale and based on our education, knew what signs to look for. When we didnt see any we consulted Abe who instead of pushing his services discussed the property and gave us his blessing in moving forward.

We were considering buying a house and engaged Abe for a geotechnical inspection as we were worried about drainage and structural issues. Abe was extremely responsive to emails and was also prompt for the appointment which was important as we were trying to schedule all several specialized inspections at the same time.
Abe was able to turn complicated jargon into something was easy for us to understand. After Abe walked around the property, he patiently spent time to show us drawings he had made and his findings/​recommendations. He made sure to address all the issues we had previously discussed with him via email. In addition, he spent the time to read our general inspection (which we provided earlier) and highlight his thoughts on our areas of concern. The foundation company we had out there noted how impressed they were with Abe. Abe was able to turnaround a detailed report extremely quickly which was important since our contingency period was expiring — he actually provided us the report days earlier than contracted and at 2am (what other service is willing to work until 2 am!!). We are first time home buyers and so overly nervous about everything, we are thrilled that Abe was able to help us through our inspection. He provided us informative information without making it seem like it was «the end of the world.» We will definitely engage Abe again when we start to implement the drainage system he discussed as we value his guidance.

Abe is the man. I am a real estate attorney and real estate broker, and have used Abe for multiple deals. Today, I am writing this as a client. Not only is he personable and knowledgeable, but he relates technical information in a way that is very easy to understand. Top notch. Based on his recommendations I was able to save a lot of money in the escrow process. His rate is reasonable, but his expertise is premium. If you have a property that is on a hill or has a foundation (all properties) call Abe. You will be happy you did!

We are in the process of buying a house and it was recommended by our Realtor and inspector to hire a geologist. The reason is that the backyard had a hillside. Abe Simantob was recommended to us and we were quickly able to set up an appointment.
Abe came to the house and did a very thorough inspection. He inspected every room in the house, the hillside, and all exterior land. Afterwards he showed us maps of the area and a measurement of the rooms of the house. He thoroughly explained everything to us so that we understood it. The great news was that our hillside had little danger and he explained why based on the maps that he showed us.
We had a deadline to get everything completed and he gave an initial verbal report to us so that we were comfortable with everything and then sent the report before the deadline. He also recommended a drainage company to estimate and review the drainage and he spent time discussing with them his reasons for concern.
Abe was professional and extremely knowledgeable. I would quickly and highly recommend Abe to anyone who needs these services.

Abe Simantob is an excellent geotechnical engineer. His detailed study of the property we were in escrow on saved us many thousands of dollars and allowed us to make a graceful exit from the deal. He diagnosed problems with the hillside behind the home that would have cost us as much as $ 60,000 to repair. We highly recommend his service. His fee is worth it.

We had some cracking in the corner walls in certain areas of our house so we called Abe based upon a referral.
I have to say he was absolutely fantastic.
First of all he is extremely responsive, answering all our questions, getting back to us quickly when we call or email him and in general dedicated to helping us solve the problem.
Second, through several decades of experience he has a wealth of knowledge to draw from so he was able to diagnose in a fairly short amount of time what might be causing our issue.
I would not hesitate to recommend Abe to any of my family and friends. What I liked most about him is that he is really dedicated to helping those who hire them and he genuinely cares and wants to solve the problem.

I had occasion to listen to his presentation on drainage and the impact on structural stability of residential dwellings and found him to be a knowledgable and entertaining speaker. Three months after the presentation I contacted Abe and asked for help in finding the USGS website that maps liquefaction sites in California. Much to my suprise I heard from Abe the next day with the information I requested. I was impresssed by his knowledge about the subject and his willingness to help me without an expectation that I would be a customer. I recommend him and his company unconditionally.
John, Property Inspector

It’s not often that one finds herself in need of a geologist or any sort of geological inspection. Welcome to the long stroke of dumb luck I’ve encountered recently in my home!
Right as our wonderful wood floors were nearly finished (see review for Arco Floor), we noticed a crack in our pool. Again. This is the third crack in about 4 or so years! We call Jeff at Pool Port, as he’s been so helpful with our other pool cracks. This crack is huge! He suggests that before we do any type of repair, we get a geologist out to even see if it’s reasonable to keep fixing the pool, or is there a larger issue in the soil, etc. He says, «Even though I don’t want you guys to give up having a pool, as I won’t get any other work from you, it’s best for you to see if there are bigger issues here.» Honesty; it’s the best!
Finding a geologist isn’t necessarily the easiest thing, especially on a Saturday. After speaking to a few different ones (amazingly, everyone either answered the phone or returned my call), Abe was the one with whom I felt most comfortable. He explained his pricing – both the basic charge and what it entailed (as he called it, the «x-​ray»), as well as the more expensive, and he felt less necessary (the «MRI»), type of inspection – what he would do, how long it would take, etc. He also worked with e as best he could on the appointment time, as Jim G. had to go in late to work for the appointment.
Jim actually met with him, but his accounts are very positive! Abe was polite, explained everything as he was doing it, showed what he learned about our property from various files, and offered some initial recommendations. While he was looking, taking notes, and talking, he was recording everything so his written report would be thorough. He asked many questions and observed things that weren’t seemingly connected (directly) to our issue, just to see if there were some sort of chain reaction going on.
His verbal report was thorough, and the written one even more so. We learned a lot about our soil, our house, and we even have some ideas why other seemingly random things have happened in this house since we’ve lived here. Some people are wise enough to have a geologist out prior to buying a home; we were fairly young and dumb when we bought this house. We’ll know better next time! If you want to make a more educated decision about purchasing a house or you have hillside/​ground-​related issues in your home, call Abe.