Brockman Engineering ContractorsCreative Solutions for the Bay AreaRobert Brockman and his staff at Brockman Engineering Contractors don't like to be thought of as a one-dimensional company that can merely repair your foundation or put an end to your nightmare drainage problems. Instead, Brockman makes a concerted effort to come up with creative solutions, doing whatever it takes to fix a problem, which are often complex and many in the hilly, clay-laden, earthquake-prone landscape of California's Bay Area. Brockman established the Brentwood-based Brockman Engineering Contractors in 1989. The bulk of its clientele has historically been in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. But that's about to change as the company eyes growth throughout an 11-county region. The business operates as a Class A General Engineering Contractor specializing in foundation repair, replacement and installation; raising and re-leveling of structures; drainage, retaining walls, landslide repair; concrete remediation; pool abandonment and engineering consultations and services. Brockman has nearly 25 years of educational and hands-on experience as a general engineering contractor. "We sort of have the foundation repair label, but we're able to do a variety of things — drainage work, retaining wall work, you name it," says Deborah Harris, the company's new director of business development. Harris says there are a handful of jobs that start out as one thing and evolve into a completely different project by the end of the job. "One involved some simple foundation replacement, retaining wall and drainage work which turned into the construction of a complete garage," says Harris. "Another job began as a fairly simple retaining wall installation and became a complete redesign of the front entrance and driveway, including the move of utilities."
The company also likes to help its customers achieve the most cost-effective solution possible, as in the case of a local church where officials there thought they needed a costly custom drainage installation. Once Brockman evaluated the situation, he proposed a fairly simple dewatering system installation, which involved digging a new dewatering well next to the existing one, a suction piping system, and a jet pump. "Very little intrusion and much more cost effective than originally anticipated," says Harris. Brockman, who oversees about 35 employees, became a licensed Ram Jack dealer in 2001 to enhance his services to his customers. He has secured dealership rights in 11 counties and is aiming to expand the business — he recently carved out Bay Area Ram Jack as a subdivision of BEC. Ram Jack is a family-owned business that began in 1968 in Ada, Oklahoma. Foundation repair back then typically involved concrete piering systems, which proved to be short-term. So the owners ultimately developed a repair system that involves a more reliable and longer lasting fix — a system involving hydraulically deep-driven steel piers. In 1985 the first patent of the Ram Jack system was issued. Using the steel piers is a cost-effective technology used to re-level structures and to alleviate the potential for future settlement of a structure's foundation. The push piers are installed utilizing the Ram Jack Hydraulic Piering System and then hydraulically driven to an adequate load-bearing depth to support the structure. Steel-leveling plates are attached to the existing foundation, and the structure is then raised and leveled off the new support piers. This technique is expected to bring floors to maximum practical recovery and as close as practical to the accepted industry standard for floor levelness, which is no more than one inch of vertical change over a span of 20 linear feet. Ram Jack hydraulic piers can also be utilized for bowed or leaning walls including retaining walls. "The Ram Jack is a pretty decent portion of the business — probably about one-third or so," says Harris, saying most of the company's work is residential. California's San Francisco Bay Area is home to a host of soil conditions conducive to foundation nightmares. "You name it, we have it," said Harris. The chief offenders are clay soils and homes and other buildings that are built on hillsides. And, of course, the potential for seismic activity — namely earthquakes. Expansive clays will swell and heave when wet and contract and consolidate when dry. If the foundation system is in the active zone (a shallow foundation), the foundation will move as moisture conditions change in that specific area. From the ground surface downward, there is a depth over which expansive soils experience a change in moisture conditions as the climate (or seasons) change. This results in the soils shrinking or heaving. Most of the homes that BEC encounters are older ones built on hillsides and ripe with drainage challenges. When it comes to foundation problems, generally the first signs of foundation distress noticed by homeowners are drywall cracks, crooked doorways and sloping floors. Further investigations can lead to findings of cracks in foundation members, concrete displacement, efflorescence build up on surface areas and surface spalling or deterioration. BEC provides thorough site visits, usually conducted by staff geologist John Shipstead. "John's understanding of geology in general and our surrounding area in particular (for example: adobe clay soil conditions, dry/wet-shrink/swell cycles, or probability of seismic activity), make him the person best able to understand the reasons a structure may be experiencing distress, how to provide remediation, and how to prevent potential future concerns," the company's web site says. "He is able to take all things into consideration, not just the specific issue that caused you to schedule a site visit." One of the company's major sources of referrals is through real estate professionals. In the course of any real estate transaction, when a professional inspection reveals foundation, drainage or other related problems, Brockman Engineering Contractors is called in to evaluate the site and recommend appropriate plans for remediation. "We're real focused on providing great customer service," says Harris. "We're really trying to get the word out that we provide more than your traditional foundation repair." Bay Area Ram Jack: Serving Northern and Central California
Michele Dawson writes each week on one of the contractor members of The Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com). She has written about the home building industry for several years and was on the public affairs staff of the California Building Industry Association. Find a Concrete Contractor 23 Services in 200 Metros -- U.S. and Canada © 2008 ConcreteNetwork.com None of this site may be reproduced without written permission |
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