Thanks again so much, to all who helped make 2011 another banner year here at The Foundation Works!

Your confidence in us, all of your kind words, your recommendations to friends to reach out to us, these have culminated in a wonderful acknowledgement of our service (see below). This came to us from Angie’s List, an on-line contractor referral service we’ve been associated with for the last four years and it seemed right to share the good news!

All our thanks to you.  We are only as valuable as we can serve our clients,
so thanks again for the opportunity to have done so!

At your service,

Tom Pelletier, Owner
The Foundation Works

 THE FOUNDATION WORKS earns coveted
Angie’s List Super Service Award
for 4th consecutive year
Award reflects company’s consistently high level of customer service

THE FOUNDATION WORKS has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually only on approximately 5 percent of all the companies rated.

“Our Super Service Award winners are the cream of the crop when it comes to providing consistently high quality customer service, as judged by the customers who hired them,” said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List.

THE FOUNDATION WORKS, a southern California based firm specializing exclusively in the care of foundations, has been bestowed this award every year since it became a part of the Angie’s List service, a feat accomplished by very few companies in any trade.

The Foundation Works has again met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their customers and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.
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Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 1 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service.

Tags: Foundation Care Los Angeles, Los Angeles Foundation Repair
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The Foundation Works Earns Coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award

Award reflects company’s consistently high level of customer service

The Foundation Works has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the companies rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service companies.

“Our Super Service Award winners are the cream of the crop when it comes to providing consistently high quality customer service, as judged by the customers who hired them,” said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List.

The Foundation Works provides affordable foundation inspection, foundation repair, foundation upgrades, earthquake retrofitting and house bolting services for the whole Los Angeles area.

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their customers and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2010 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Tags: foundation repair, Los Angeles Foundation Repair
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Over the years, I’ve inspected countless thousands of foundations and one of the most frequently asked questions I’ve heard from homeowners’ is this: “Do you think I should bolt the house?”  Well now being a foundation contractor, any answer from me could certainly be viewed as being biased by virtue of what would seem to be a distinct “conflict of interest” on my part, as seismic retrofitting (house bolting) is a service we offer!  It can present itself as somewhat of a “Catch-22” in that if I answer that “Yes, it is a good idea”, I look biased. If I answer that “No, it is not needed”, I may be doing them a great disservice in that there may be things that the house needs to better prepare it seismically. With that dilemma in mind, I have evolved a simple analogy that educates them such that they can then participate in the decision process. Quite simply, the most logical analogy I’ve found and the one that resonates with the majority of homeowners is simply this: house bolting is similar to putting on a seatbelt when you’re in a car; in the event that the car is in an accident, the chances of injury are much less than if one were not wearing a seatbelt and yet even a seatbelt cannot ensure that one will walk away injury-free. Well house bolting is essentially the same thing; a house that has had proper seismic retrofitting done to it has a much better chance of performing well during an earthquake, but also does not fully eliminate the potential of damage to the home.

The other key factor to consider, holding to the analogy above, is that technology evolves. The safety features in say a 1960’s car versus the safety features in a new car have very little in common; the “lap belt” has been replaced with shoulder restraints, air-bags, side impact protection, anti-lock brakes, crumple zones, etc, etc, etc.  As that relates to house bolting, the same is true of how well an older structure is secured versus a newer one.  Cars from the teens, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s primarily had nearly nothing that we have today in terms of safety!  Seismic retrofitting has been on a similar evolutionary journey, with the latest technology offering the most benefit.

It is most often true that the older the home, the more it will benefit from seismic retrofitting.  The only real reason to have house bolting done to a house is to prepare it for an earthquake; no earthquake, no house bolting needed. No car wreck, no safety features needed…  Though it is a personal decision, most people realize that just as driving around without contemporary safety features is not ideal, neither is hoping that their house is able to withstand the forces of Mother Nature should the time ever come.

Tags: Earthquake Retrifitting, Foundation Upgrade, House Bolting, Seismic retrofitting
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As all of us and you roll right into a new year, resolutions should be plentiful. Traditionally, 1 January marks the ushering in of new resolve, the unearthing of past goals that have thus far eluded us, a chance to look forward, and overall it is a great time to decide the future rather than simply becoming a part of it.

Don’t forget to include your base of operation, your house, in this equation! That little opening in the side of your house leads to a whole other world and while it is right there underfoot every day, there may yet be things about it which you’d want to know. After crawling through 1000’s of these “underworlds”, we’re well honed in finding and eliminating the worst offenses in them, thereby extending the overall useful life of the foundation system as a whole. Your house will thank you!

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