Dakini Engineering General Contracting

We met with Dana and I was immediately impressed with his promptness. His knowledge was even more impressive. He took the time to explain all of the issues that we were having due to the lack of adequate water proofing. He could have easily talked us into a very high priced solution to our water proof problem but instead, he gave us ideas to make our home «water resistant». Thank you Dana for all of your information!

Dakini Engineering did our backyard when we bought a new home in San Elijo. Dakini’s quality of work was impeccable and Dana was a joy to work with. My wife and I had a vision in our head and Dakini’s in house draftsmen did a perfect job of putting our vision down on paper. All of his subcontractors were top notch and Dana took the worry out of this big project. I highly recommend Dakini Engineering General Contracting.

Dana recently completed work on the exterior of my house. After getting Dana’s assessment of my drainage and moisture issues, I felt confident that his detailed approach to the solution made sense to me (after getting other recommendations that did not). I quickly added a second project, doing repair and reconstruction on my patio. Finally, after receiving other proposals for a third project, replacing fence area, Dana went out of his way to design a cost-​effective solution that met my criteria.
Throughout the project, I admired Dana’s ability to encounter obstacles with immediate alternatives and no drama or additional cost to me. His proposals are sufficiently detailed, but clear, and after seeing all the hours put in by his great crew, I had no doubt that I was fairly charged for the work. I felt that Dana offered me every opportunity to keep costs in check, and really appreciated the extra efforts he made to ensure that I got everything I needed or wanted done.
Dana is also a great referral source. With years of experience, he can recommend trustworthy individuals and companies to do other work. That is worth a lot to me!
A final comment on the review posted by the individual who sat next to Dana on a lunch break. While Dana always acts in a professional manner on the job, I learned that he has strong personal opinions which I know don’t play well for many people, including myself. He’s entitled to them, but as someone in business, especially in a front-​line role, he should more carefully consider his audience before he shares them.

I live in La Jolla where the soils are really bad and there is always concern about soil instability and house movement. When removing the carpeting to replace with hardwood floors, we noticed there was a half inch crack, known as cold joint separation. I called Dakini Engineering and left a message. Dana Ansell called me right back and was incredibly helpful with his advice. After describing the nature of the crack and geotechnical reports that I had received about this house, he put my mind at ease. He explained to me that this is not a structural problem, only a cosmetic. I asked him if his company can do the repair needed. He was very honest and stated that for the type of foundation issue I am having a general contractor or even a handyman can take care of it and that I would be financially better off utilizing their services. He was so helpful as to say that whoever I hire, he is happy to guide him over the phone as to how to do the repair.
Thank you Dana for all your explanations and the sound advice you gave me.

Professional, comprehensive, efficient and cost effective. Dana and his team performed flawlessly on a soil excavation, foundation waterproofing and drainage implementation program for our recently purchased and renovated home. I particularly appreciate his thoughtful no-​nonsense style and customer first mentality. With Dana I was confident from the get go that he had our long term interests in mind and was advocating an appropriate but not excessive solution to our waterproofing and foundation needs. His willingness to work collaboratively with ourselves and other sub contractors and ensure his work was being done in a timely and efficient manner distinguishes him in mind. Lastly, the level of professionalism and quality of his work speak for themselves and I have every confidence that the work performed on our home by Dakini will stand the test of time.

The world of building (engineering, new construction, remodeling, and repairs) is generally one where a bargain price means bargain quality. There’s a reason why Dakini Engineering General Contracting is THE company that’s brought in to repair construction defects and soils problems that were created by other contractors’ carelessness, limited competence, or integrity deficits. Dakini is the company that experts in the field go to when they encounter construction or soils challenges that no one else knows how to address. So, think about it: How valuable would it be for you to hire a company with this level of expertise not merely for repairs, but, for design, engineering, and construction that you know will be done right the FIRST time? How valuable would it be it for you to hire a company that is not merely technically superb, but also so aesthetically outstanding that they’ve won a whole house remodel award? How wonderful would it be to hire a company that is so good at what they do that they have the long-​term undying loyalty of real estate professionals? And how valuable would it be for you to work with an owner (Dana Ansell) whose integrity is so impeccable that you will trust his dedication to doing the right thing as much as you trust his top-​of-​field competence? Are you seeking a engineering report, a remodel, new construction, or a construction or soils defects repair? As someone who has been hailed by the media since 2008 as «America’s Integrity Expert,» I know of no company that I would recommend for these jobs as much as I would Dakini Engineering General Contracting. The least you owe to yourself is to seek Dana’s input and get his bid. Your experience of him will tell you what you need to know to decide whether it’s wise for you to engage Dakini for the work you need done.

Dakini did an award winning whole house remodel for us in 2009. 6 years later we had a small problem with the roof flashing. I sent them an email and they were on site the next day evaluating the issue and came up with a quick solution. Highly recommend these guys. No reservations.

Have known Dana Ansell for 20 years and know he has the highest ethic and greatest knowledge in his field. He works for a living, but mostly he works to help people recognize the truth about their stability or other structural problems, and NEVER tries to sell something you don’t need. He has been a pillar of my real estate business for all those years. If he is a 10, everyone else may aspire to be a 6!

Dana has been very helpful providing valuable information to my clients. He’s a great resource providing very detailed engineering reports including the scope of work and cost analysis. Dana always suggested the most cost effective way to do the job and not the most expensive. I was also impressed with the quick turn around getting the engineering report and estimate back. Dakini Engineering can do it all including foundation and drainage repairs. Dana is highly recommended.

I had an extremely difficult project (demolish a crumbling garage that was cut into the front slope of my home and rebuild the retaining walls/​foundation, and expand the garage somewhat, all while supporting the front) that needed to be done on my home. I looked high and low and just about everyone I talked to said that it either was impossible or going to cost way more than the home was worth. One guy estimated $ 275k for shoring only! As a college mechanical engineer that joined the navy (as in, schooling, but no practical experience) I was sure it could be done, but had no idea as to process.
The guy that did my soil analysis suggested I call Dana at Dakini Engineering. Probably the best phone call I’ve made in 20+ years. Dana comes out to take a look at my project and after about 5 minutes just calmly says «no problem». I thought I might be on candid camera. Then he told me how he would go about it, and this and that. His demeanor about my project floored me considering the other contractors I had talked with. What a competent individual!
I was still a small bit concerned when he came over and I signed a contract with him. But, after about 2 days on the job, I never gave it another thought. All I did from there on out is watch in total amazement as Dana and Bill with their crew do an amazing job! After the initial demolition and excavation Dana turned the project over to Bill. Bill is another gem in the construction industry. I always looked forward to seeing the daily progress and talking to Bill in the afternoon about the days work.
They’ve finished their work, and now I have to finish the rest of the garage. (about 20% of the project) If I can find other competent construction guys like Dakini Engineering to finish this up, I’ll consider myself the luckiest guy in town. (Well, if I ignore dealing with San Diego Development Services, but that’s another looooong story)
I can’t say enough good about these guys, and if you have any questions, ask Dana for my phone number, I’d be more than happy to talk to anyone that needs some great work on their home.
PS. Dana likes very strong cigars, be careful, they’re the ones that make you wobbly, and I like a relatively strong stogie myself!