Geoforensics

Caveat: I am a resident in city of San Mateo, and I haven’t yet worked with GeoForensics on a project. This review is based on my interaction with the firm during the quote process.
I was very impressed with the firm’s principal, Dan Dyckman. He was very responsive and articulate. He took the time to explain the role of the geotechnical engineer and how he/​she works with structural engineers. He turned around a quote very quickly (less than 24 hours), and his office team was very helpful. I called around and everyone spoke very highly of Dan and the firm.

We recently had a terrific experience with Dan and his input has been key to our project.
We live on one of San Francisco’s interesting hillsides, and are considering putting a spiral staircase up a cliff in our back yard, to gain access to half of our back yard (the half with a great view, it turns out). The first thing we needed to know was about our land: Is our hillside rock? What kind? Is it stable and solid, or is it «chippy» and not something we should mess with? Could it/​should it support tie backs for a staircase, or would it be able to support a base post with anchors at the top?
We contacted numerous geologists and scientists, all of whom passed the buck by saying either «I’m a soils person and you have a rock problem» or the opposite. Dan took the project and completed it in a timely manner with a great, substantive but clear report that provides all the evidence we need to move forward with our project, and to support our structural engineer and contractor in their designs.
We highly recommend Dan.

I am a General Contractor. Frequently a project will need the services of a Soils Engineer. I have worked with GeoForensics and Dan for years. recommend him to Architects, when I get the opportunity.
Recently we completed a $ 3M project in Portola Valley. There was extensive drainage work that we performed under the supervision of GeoForensics. I was able to make some changes to the plan, working with Dan, which saved the Client considerable money. I suggested that we make some field observations on the interior of the existing foundation. I proposed that if we saw no evidence of water intrusion, on a 50 year old foundation, that drainage on that down hill side of the house might not be necessary. When the subfloor was removed, there was no evidence of water intrusion and Dan agreed to omit that part of the drainage system.
Working with Dan is a pleasure. He is reasonable, communicates well, returns calls promptly. His office staff and professional associate, Bernard, are cheerful, courteous and competent. I am always given the option to pick up documents, if I’m in a hurry, as opposed to a message that ‘they’re in the mail’.
I remember that I needed to get some clarification from Dan, but all I got was his cell’s voice mail. I called the office, thinking his phone was on the fritz. They told me he was flying to his Christmas destination. I thought that I would have to wait until the holidays were over. Dan called me from the airport, upon landing, and solved the issue. We were able to avoid costly delays because of his professional sense of responsibility toward on going jobs.
Clearly the 1 star reviewers have perceptions of this company that are inconsistent with mine. Each of them have a one time exposure, and possibly a hidden agenda. I’ve worked with GeoForensics repeatedly and look forward to doing so in the future. IF your Architect tells you that GeoForensics will be doing the soils work, rest assures, you’re in good hands. At least this part of the job will go smoothly.
Feel free to call GeoForensics to ask for my number. I’d be happy to talk with you,
Lee

Dan is helping us through the very laborius project of getting our building plans approved through the City of Belmont. Dan has been wonderful! Very repsonive to our requests and extremely timely. Through his expertise and guidance he has saved us many thousands of dollars not to mention the time we have saved! Thank you, Dan!

My experience with GeoForensics was not great. We were pouring concrete next to our house, and Dan Dykeman came out to to do an estimate. He quoted me over $ 5,000 to do the soil analysis; I said no-​thank-​you to that, and we both went our separate ways. Then several months later, I got a bill from him! I called GeoForensics immediately and told the receptionist that I never hired him: no written contract or verbal agreement. I politely left my number and asked Dan to call me back; he never did. Then A YEAR later, he sent me another (outstanding) bill! I called again and spoke with the receptionist. I again politely left my number and asked Dan to call me back; he never did. So I called a third time to follow up on this, and the receptionist finally said they will remove the charges. During this entire time, I never spoke with Dan the man himself, who initiated all those charges.
Then Dan sent a letter to the City’s Building department complaining that there was «theft of intellectual property.» I can understand how he is upset because he misunderstood, but I would have at least expected to have a mature conversation with him. This entire experience just made him look like a jerky little kid acting out because of something that was actually his fault. Based on this, I would not recommend him to anyone who needs soil engineering needs.
1 star off: poor communication
1 star off: poor customer service
1 star off: poor accounting
1 star off: not so poor engineer if he is charging $ 5,000 to analyze a soil sample…

Recently my client was told by an arborist they hired that their beautiful 80 year old oak had root fungus. My landscaping company had landscaped the home a few years ago and there were soil movement issues. My client contacted me to unearth the roots of the tree because this new work could destablilize the hill.
Now the issue was what steps to take to stablize the hill and keep the beauty of the landscape. The arborist proposed work to my clients that would detract from the original landscaping and cost the clients a substantial amount of money.
I called in Dan Dyckman because he had consulted on this property when we did the original landscaping. Dan determined steps we could take that would stabilize the hill and saved my client $ 3,000.
My experiences with Dan have all been similar to this one. He is thorough and provides quality recommendations that achieve the goal while giving the client the best value possible. Thanks again.

If you are doing a remodel that includes a basement or a 2^nd story addition you should get your soil tested (lets the architect know exactly what the specs needed to make your home safer from earthquakes and flooding).
Geo Foresenics came highly recommended by our Architect Noël Cross. The crew that came out got the job done quickly and did a decent job of cleaning up after themselves (lots of soil debris).
Only additional service I’d like to see them offer is a Radon test to their soil report.
Total costs are just under $ 5k.