Compare Soft-Story Retrofit Proposals

What decision does this guide help you make?

This guide is a due-diligence tool, not an endorsement list. Verify each legal entity and responsible professional directly with California’s public license systems.

Use the 2026 cost guide with the decisions described on this page.

What is the practical sequence?

Use CSLB to check the contractor name, number, status and classification. Use BPELSG to check the individual engineer and discipline. Match those results to the proposal and eventual permit. A brand name alone is not enough.

Which records should be in one review file?

• legal entity, address and signer;
• contractor license, classification and status checked date;
• engineer name, license type and status checked date;
• insurance and bond evidence requested for the project;
• plan revision and specifications priced;
• line-by-line scope, allowances and exclusions;
• schedule, payment, change and dispute terms;
• references or project evidence evaluated separately from licensing.

Where can a proposal become misleading?

Do not score experience claims before checking the actual entity. Do not compare a design-build package with a construction-only package in one total. Do not accept “per plans” if the proposal does not identify the plan version. Do not let an allowance hide a known design item.

What should the written proposal state?

• company and professional identities;
• site investigation and engineering scope;
• permit and plan-check work;
• structural construction and foundation quantities;
• utilities, access, tenant and parking measures;
• inspection, testing and observation;
• restoration and cleanup;
• allowances, exclusions and unit prices;
• schedule and payment gates;
• written remedy terms stated by the actual provider;
• final compliance record and owner file.

How do local rules change the answer?

Burbank’s roadmap says an A or B contractor may pull the described permit. Other cities may use different processes. The responsible jurisdiction and CSLB record control. This website does not claim that a future referral partner holds any credential until that exact entity is checked and activated.

What can you do before the first site meeting?

Put the proposals side by side. Create one row for every task. Mark included, excluded, allowance or unclear. Send each firm the same questions. Compare the revised written answers, not verbal assurances.

Compare the proposed project controls

Ask who maintains the drawing register, answers requests for information, coordinates engineering changes, schedules inspections and gives the owner a current cost and schedule update. These duties matter on an occupied, regulated project. A strong technical concept can still be difficult to manage when no person owns document control or tenant-facing coordination.

Test experience claims against the actual team

A company portfolio does not prove that the proposed engineer, superintendent or trade team performed the cited work. Ask which people are assigned, which entity contracted on the examples and whether the building type and jurisdiction are relevant. Treat references as a separate evidence lane from CSLB or professional-license status. Neither substitutes for a complete current proposal.

Record the final selection without losing open risks

Before signing, write down the selected plan version, included professional services, major exclusions, unresolved conditions, tenant assumptions, milestone dates and closeout deliverables. Attach every accepted clarification to the contract. If an important answer is still open, name who must resolve it and what work or payment waits for the answer. This keeps the decision from being reduced to the headline total.