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This article was originally featured at VoyageATL.
Meet Jay Eastland of Engineered Solutions of Georgia in Marietta
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Eastland.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My business partner, Luis Cuevas, and I have worked together in this industry for over 20 years. We worked at several different companies prior to starting Engineering Solutions of Georgia. We both grew up in this business and worked during school breaks as installers. My father bought a small waterproofing company after his retirement from the fluid power industry and Luis was the first employee he hired.
We often tell the story of how Luis was going through the phone book calling companies looking for a new company to work for, as his current company thought he was too young to be in charge of a crew. At the time, we were a very small company and typically did not have a person answering the phone. For some reason, my father happened to be in the office, answered his call and subsequently hired him. If that call had gone, unanswered mine and Luis’ lives might be very different than they are today.
My father sold his company to a local competitor and Luis and I went to work for that company. After several years, we realized that we wanted to do things differently. We wanted to be a true construction company that focused on solving complex problems rather than providing “cookie cutter repairs.” We felt like there was a void in the marketplace for a company that offered a solutions-oriented approach–one that customized the repairs to the specific needs of the project and the customer. We also felt it was important to provide custom engineering rather than operate solely on industry standards.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story: Has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We started our company in 2006 just before the crash. We were a small company scraping for every job when the crash happened, so we really did not notice it. When you start a business that is as capital intensive as the early years, you are in crisis mode regardless of the conditions of the economy. We quickly gained a reputation as a hungry company that did not have enough sense to walk away from really tough projects. We were and still are very committed to providing the best possible solution to a given problem. We are innovative in means and methods, and that has led to a lot of cross-purposed and custom-manufactured equipment. Research and development is a challenge in and of itself.
Please tell us about Engineered Solutions of Georgia.
We are a foundation restoration and below grades waterproofing contractor. We serve both the residential, commercial and industrial markets in metro Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. But when it comes down to it, we are really in the business of satisfying customers. We strive to not only provide customer service, but a customer experience as well. We want every customer to be an advocate for engineered solutions. We are the only true design build contractor in our market. What that means is we have an Engineering Department that allows us to provide specific designs for our customers. Our industry often operates on industry standards, but we go above and beyond by providing value through true in-house engineering. We never want to over or under prescribe a repair and our Engineering Department allows us to provide the correct repair for our customers. We have two professional engineers on staff, as well as auto cad specialists. This allows us to not only function in a design capacity, but also interact with other design professionals on projects to streamline the facilitation of cost-effective mathematically sound repairs.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
That is a difficult question! I have so many great memories. I am fortunate enough to still have a group of friends that I have known since a very young age, so when we get together I am reminded of lots of childhood memories. If I am pressed, I would have to say Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house in south Georgia are the fondest. My mother is the only girl of a family of seven and everyone would come back to my grandmother’s for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2260 Northwest Parkway
Suite H - Website: esogrepair.com
- Phone: 678-290-1325
- Email: jay.eastland@esogrepair.com
- Facebook: Engineered Solutions of Ga
- Twitter: @esogrepair
View this article as featured at VoyageATL.
Convert Your Ugly and Useless Crawlspace into a Spacious New Basement!
If you are currently stuck with a grimy, dirty crawlspace and a house with limited space, there is a perfect solution you may not have realized was available.
Often a home’s space is limited by zoning laws that prohibit room additions. Either there are height restrictions or historical preservation laws that inhibit the homeowner from expanding on their property. When you can’t build out or up, the only direction to go is down. So why not transform this wasted, nasty space into a roomy, comfortable area for your family to enjoy by turning your crawlspace into a basement?
This is a great option in home remodeling that you may have never had before. You can add hundreds of square feet to your home and put it to any use you would like. Extra bedrooms for your growing family or guests, a home theatre system, an exercise area, a home office, or anything else you can imagine. No matter what you add, the value of your home will certainly increase and you will have more house space to enjoy.
Crawlspaces, simply put, are a waste. First, when you purchase your home you pay for this space below your feet because the purchase price includes everything from the ground to the top of the house. However the crawlspace is never put to good use. Second, the crawlspace draws energy from the rest of your home allowing conditioned air to escape, which drives up your energy bill.
In addition to being wasteful, crawlspaces can also be a unhealthy because the humidity trapped inside them is a breeding ground for mold and mildew Because of the way the air circulates through the crawlspace, fungal growth can be carried up into your living room. High moisture in a crawlspace causes problems with hardwood floors and also accelerates the decay of any other wood in your home.
It is a delicate process, but put into the hands of an experienced company with the proper equipment, it can be done to perfection. Companies that specialize in foundation and structural repairs work with engineers and architects on a regular basis to solve unique structural problems for homeowners. Over time, the ability to excavate beneath a home and construct a basement, where there was once a crawlspace, came to light and has since been successfully applied in many homes.
First, the company will meet with you to determine how you want to use the new space and create a design for the new basement based on your budget and your particular needs. Planning ahead to determine where supports will be placed and how the support system will work best is crucial to your satisfaction. The planning phase is extensive and may include the assistance of an engineer and an architect to ensure all aspects of the project are well thought-out. For instance, if you’re going to use the space to add bedrooms they’ll make sure there is no support pole in the middle of a guest room. However you wish to use the space, there are creative ways to place the foundation supports to make sure they aren’t in your way.
Second, the company will determine the footprint of the home, which is determined by the foundation walls. Your new basement will be built two feet inside the footprint of the home, leaving support for the space above and protecting the original foundation.
Third, the hole will be dug a little at a time, adding temporary supports along the way. This process is similar to building a mineshaft. Once the excavation is complete, a retaining wall will be built to prevent the surrounding soil from shifting over time.
Part of the construction also includes creating a drainage system to keep the basement dry. Basements are like shallow water wells. When it rains and the ground water levels rise, the water flows from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas like water wells or basements. To keep this water from collecting below your home, a drainage system needs to be in place to route rainwater away from your basement. This drainage system will be discreetly placed outside the new basement wall, completely out of sight and will keep your basement dry for life.
Because these drainage systems are so reliable and the construction of these basements is done so meticulously, they generally come with a guarantee of 50 years or the useful life of the house. This far exceeds most new home warranties that are typically for five or ten years.
The best part about converting your crawlspace into a basement is that it doesn’t require you to be displaced from your home for any amount of time and the other disruptions in your life are minimal. A good company will have the respect toclean up when they leave to the point you may not even know they were there, other than the amazing fact that you now have a basement!
To contact a company that can increase your living space and the value of your home by removing an unwanted crawlspace, you can contact Engineered Solutions at (678) 290-1325. They offer 23 years of experience in foundation restoration and waterproofing, and they can also effectively provide solutions to many other types of structural repairs.
To view this article as printed in Metro Atlanta Living click on this image or link.
