LICENSED GENERAL ENGINEERING CONTRACTORS
CSLB A — GENERAL ENGINEERING · B — GENERAL BUILDING · LIC #1138550
We assess the structure. Then we repair it. One licensed team, start to finish.
Structural Inspections & Repairs in Southern California
Most inspection companies can tell you something looks wrong — and then hand you a report and wish you luck finding a contractor. Universal Inspect is different. We are the inspection arm of Mars Construction Industries Corp, a licensed General Engineering (Class A) and General Building (Class B) contractor. The same licensed team that evaluates your foundation, framing, hillside, or balcony can price the repair on the spot and perform the work with our own crews. One call, one accountable company, no handoffs.
Schedule a Structural Evaluation or call 310.880.9718
Structural Evaluations We Perform
Foundation Inspections
- Raised foundations: stem walls, footings, posts and piers, girders and sill plates
- Slab foundations: cracks, heaving, settlement, and loss of soil support
- Brick and older unreinforced masonry foundations
- Fire-damaged foundations
Floors, Framing & Settlement
- Sloping or uneven floors and what is causing them
- Structural framing: walls, ceilings, and roof framing
- Sticking doors and windows traced to movement below
- Wood rot and termite damage in structural members
Balconies, Decks & SB 721 / SB 326
- Balcony and deck structural evaluations
- SB 721 (apartment) and SB 326 (condo/HOA) exterior elevated element inspections
- We perform the inspection and price the repairs — many firms only do one or the other
Hillsides & Retaining Walls
- Leaning, cracked, or failing retaining walls
- Slope movement, erosion, and drainage failures
- Drainage as a root cause: ponding water, damp crawl spaces, downspouts dumping at the foundation
Seismic Vulnerability
- Raised-foundation homes that have never been bolted
- Cripple-wall bracing and shear transfer
- Soft-story apartment buildings under local retrofit ordinances
Real Estate & Escrow Assessments
- Transaction-grade structural assessments for buyers, sellers, and agents
- Written findings in plain language, with photos
- A priced repair estimate with the findings — so the deal can move on real numbers, not guesses
We also evaluate code-violation and enforcement cases (unpermitted retaining walls, unsafe structures, deferred structural maintenance) and provide the corrective scope to get the property back in compliance.
Warning Signs Worth a Closer Look
Structures usually talk before they fail. Call us when you see:
- Doors and windows that suddenly stick or will not latch
- Cracks wider than about 1/4 inch — and any horizontal crack in a foundation or retaining wall, which usually means lateral pressure, not normal settling
- Sloping, sagging, or bouncy floors
- Walls separating from ceilings, floors, or adjacent walls — including a balcony corner pulling away and opening a gap
- Soil pulling away from the footing, leaving parts of the foundation without support
- Retaining walls leaning, bowing, or cracking
- Water where it should not be: ponding against the house, white mineral staining (efflorescence), damp crawl spaces
Why drainage shows up on a structural page: most foundation movement we evaluate traces back to water — expansive soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, erosion under footings, and runoff aimed at the house. Fixing the structure without fixing the water is paying twice.
How Our Assessment Works
| 1. Schedule | Call 310.880.9718 or book online. We serve Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. |
| 2. On-site evaluation | We inspect the structure hands-on — including the crawl space and under-structure areas where accessible — plus the interior signs above it: floors, doors, walls, and ceilings. Structural problems are diagnosed from the pattern of evidence, and the pattern lives under the house as much as inside it. |
| 3. Written findings | You receive our findings in plain language, with photos: what we found, what it means, and what we recommend. Home inspection reports are delivered the same day; structural findings come with a priced repair estimate so you can decide with real numbers. |
| 4. Repair estimate | Because we are the contractor, the estimate is a real, buildable scope at a real price — not a referral to go find three bids. |
| 5. Repairs by our own crews | If you hire us, our licensed crews perform the work, permits handled, through final inspection and walkthrough. |
A note on phone quotes: nobody can honestly price a structural repair from a phone call or a photograph. We will always give you our inspection pricing up front — but repair pricing comes from seeing the structure. That is not a sales tactic; it is how you avoid change-order surprises later.
Structural Repairs We Perform
Foundation Repair & Replacement
- Sister foundations alongside failing originals
- Full foundation replacement
- Underpinning with drilled caissons / piles and reinforced grade beams
- Concrete slab replacement
- House leveling and settlement correction
- Fire-damaged foundation repair
Seismic Retrofitting
- Foundation bolting and Brace & Bolt — including guidance on the state Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant program
- Cripple-wall bracing and shear walls
- Soft-story retrofits: steel moment frames, plywood shear walls, and anchoring, from plan through final inspection
Hillside, Retaining & Drainage
- Retaining wall repair and replacement, including caisson-supported walls
- French drains, terrace drains, and surface drainage systems
- Concrete swales and re-grading to move water away from the structure
- Basement and subterranean waterproofing
Structural Repair & Specialty
- Balcony and deck structural repair, including SB 721 / SB 326 repair scopes
- Structural framing repair
- Concrete spalling repair
- Wood rot and termite-damage structural repair
- Emergency shoring and collapse prevention
- Code violation corrections
Who We Do This For
| Homeowners | Warning signs, pre-purchase questions, hillside and drainage problems, and retrofit work — evaluated by the contractor who can fix it. |
| Real estate agents, buyers & sellers | Escrow moves on deadlines. Our structural assessment gives the transaction written findings and a priced repair scope, so credits, repairs, and negotiations run on facts. |
| HOAs & apartment owners | SB 326 / SB 721 balcony inspections with repair pricing from the same team — plus soft-story retrofit evaluation and construction. |
| Commercial & multi-family | Structural evaluations, corrective work for code enforcement, and structural repair for tenant improvements. |
Why Universal Inspect
- Licensed to do both halves of the job. CSLB Class A (General Engineering) is the classification California issues for foundations, structural concrete, excavation, and grading — paired with Class B (General Building) under Lic #1138550. The company that assesses the structure is licensed to rebuild it.
- Published pricing. Our inspection prices are on this website, in the open — see our pricing page and instant calculator. No form to fill out just to learn what an inspection costs.
- Findings with a price attached. A report that says “consult a contractor” leaves you stuck. Ours comes with a buildable repair estimate.
- Repairs backed in writing. Our repair work carries a written warranty — ask us for the terms on your scope before you sign anything.
- Orange County based, Southern California coverage. Based in Orange / Chino Hills, serving LA, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.
Common Questions
What does a structural evaluation cost?
Our complete home inspections — which include a full structural and systems evaluation — are published on our pricing page and run by home size, with no hidden fees. For a structural-only evaluation, we quote one flat fee before we come out, based on the property and the concern. You will always know the total before we start.
Do you repair what you find?
Yes — that is the point of hiring a licensed General Engineering contractor to do the evaluation. One team assesses, prices, and performs the repair, so nothing gets lost between a report and a bid.
Are you structural engineers?
We are licensed General Engineering contractors (CSLB Class A + B, Lic #1138550) — the contractor classification for foundation and structural work in California — and we perform structural evaluations and repairs every week. When a specific project requires a licensed engineer’s stamped report or design, we coordinate that as part of the job. What we will never do is dress up a contractor’s opinion in engineer language.
Can you work from another inspector’s report?
We are glad to review one — but our repair estimate is based on our own evaluation of the structure. If we are putting our license and warranty behind the work, we need to see it ourselves.
How fast do we get the findings?
Home inspection reports are delivered the same day. Structural findings with photos — and the priced repair estimate — follow promptly after the visit, in plain language you can forward to an agent, a buyer, or an HOA board.
Do you handle permits?
Yes. Repair and retrofit work we perform includes permitting and inspections through final sign-off.
What areas do you serve?
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. See our areas served.
Seeing cracks, sloping floors, or a wall on the move?
Get a licensed structural evaluation — and a real repair number — from one team.
Schedule Your EvaluationUniversal Inspect · Mars Construction Industries Corp · CSLB A · B · Lic #1138550
