Orohaus Design

OroHaus Design was excellent to work with throughout the planning and construction of our ADU. Martin listened to our ideas and turned them into great plans that were quickly approved by the City of Long Beach. This was an easy process because Martin is an architect and structural engineer. When we looked for a contractor Martin educated us on what to ask and expect on our bids. Even after Martin’s job was done, he was still quick to respond when questions came up during construction. He really helped us out throughout the entire project. We love our new ADU and highly recommend Martin and OroHaus Design.

Highly recommend Orohaus Design! My experience with Orohaus Design has been great! I showed Martin a picture of what we wanted to do to our house and he designed it just the way we wanted it. Martin was very professional and detailed, he not only listened to what we wanted but also gave us his opinion, which made me feel as if he shared my vision of our house. The approval process with the city of Bellflower went very smoothly. The plans are so detailed that I felt comfortable enough to do some of the work myself, which has saved us a lot of money! We are still in the construction process and Martin has been very helpful with answering all my questions. I am so glad we went with Orohaus Design, I highly recommend them! Thank you Martin!

I initially contacted Orohaus about two years ago (Sept 2017) regarding removing two load bearing walls to open up living room/kitchen area. In February of this year I resumed my project but decided to add a "bump out" to relocate my laundry closet. While Martin was here, he recommended that I consider moving my AC equipment to the attic and place my washer/dryer in that location. He explained the costs associated with the bump out vs moving my AC equipment (Martin informed me that the AC quotes I had received were about double what he normally sees for AC relocation). I was not aware of the amount of work ($$$) involved with building the bump out. Martin asked what other work I was looking at getting done to my house (since it would be cheaper to get everything done now vs hiring them or someone else later). We plan on remodeling our kitchen by moving it from one side of the kitchen to the other. Martin recommended a layout for the kitchen, and we made some minor changes to better suit our vision. Our finished plans included the load bearing walls, future kitchen layout, laundry closet. It was great to see what I had envisioned on paper. When it was time to submit the plans, Orohaus handled everything and got the plans approved in two working days (with both the city and the county). No revisions or corrections, just done on the first shot. I have heard horror stories associated with plans being kicked back because of corrections that are required by the city/county. We are very happy with the work completed by Orohaus, as well as the guidance with the building process.

Orohaus Design did not disappoint. The company exceeded expectations on multiple fronts. It was efficient for us that Martin was able to do both the design and engineering. Martin maintained constant communication for the duration of my project and any of my concerns were addressed in a timely matter. Additionally, Martin was flexible and made every effort to work within my schedule and deadlines. I would definitely work with Orohaus Design again in the future.

I found Martin through yelp because of his stellar yelp reviews. My husband and I had been spinning our wheels not understanding where to start in removing what we thought was maybe a load bearing wall. Martin was able to figure out within minutes of his on-site visit that we were dealing with a shear wall, which was much more complicated to remove especially since we have a large two-story home. Our goal was to open the space for a family room and immediately became concerned over costs. Martin was able to analyze the space and come up with alternatives. He presented everything, from the costliest to what was most economical for us and explaining what we would have to give up along the way should we choose different options. What I also found helpful was that Martin has a network of construction professionals he was able to reach out to. He gave us an idea of construction costs as well, which to me is an extremely important variable when deciding which path to choose. I was also worried about changing the structural integrity of the home, but Martin worked up a plan that would make the house just as strong if not a little bit stronger. During the process, Martin asked us if we'd be okay removing all the drywall in the areas we planned on removing. He also had us open small areas of drywall in other spaces so he could get a better idea of the construction since we didn't have blue prints. He felt this would avoid surprises during actual construction and he was completely right. We even found the bidding process to be easy because the contractors could see exactly what they were working with. Once the plans were approved, which he handled everything with the city, we asked for some referrals and he was able to give us several contractors he has worked with in the past who handled similar structural projects. That was a huge plus. I also thought Martin did an excellent job communicating via email. It's not often you meet professionals who can write well and with proper grammar. I think that just added to my trust in Martin. He was also friendly and easy to talk to. It was all the little things and the big things that came together that ultimately led us to feeling comfortable with Martin and having total faith that he would get this project done perfectly. The only thing I'd do differently next time is ask more questions about the cost with Martin ahead of time. Initially we signed a flat fee contract when we thought the wall was load bearing, but the estimate and scope of the job definitely changed once Martin did his on-site visit. The final cost did exceed his estimate and there wasn't communication along the way about where the final costs were heading until we got our first invoice. The job changed from a flat fee to a per hour and I didn't realize that. I'm not saying the costs weren't fair, and there was even some discounting he did, but I'm a big planner and try to avoid surprises. When I asked Martin to clarify he explained everything in detail including what final costs to expect. We don't plan on knocking anymore walls down, but you never know what might come up. My husband and I agree that we have found our go to engineer/architect for any future project needs and would highly recommend him to any family or friends.

My wife and I decided that we would do a complete renovation of our home in late 2017. We were fortunate to have found Martin and Orohaus. From our first meeting and walk through of our existing home, we knew that Martin would be the one that we would most likely work with. He was on time and courteous (including removing shoes upon entering.) He answered our questions, not just about the design of our home but requirements of the city. He also asked us questions about the things we wanted as well. My wife and I had numerous changes and Martin was very easy to work with and was more than happy to make those changes for us and answer our questions. There were things that we weren’t sure of and Martin was able to give us some helpful suggestions. Martin was patient and worked with us on getting our ideas down onto paper. We had many changes in our renovation. We were really impressed with his dedication. Martin came out to meet us for our city’s planning commission meeting for approval. He also made numerous trips to the clerk’s office to submit our updated plans. Martin was dedicated to make sure that the plans were approved by the city engineers and proceeded through all the steps for approval. We finally began construction in January 2019 and the city inspector required our structural engineer to “observe” our contractor with some of the construction. Martin made everything simple as he is both our architect and structural engineer. We highly recommend Martin and Orohaus.

Some key, great experiences with Martin: He wore shoe covers when he entered my house for his site analysis. I contacted him during 2018 Christmas and New Years, yet he was still responsive. His plans were approved by the city in one try. He understood what we wanted, was very flexible, and was easy to work with. Martin is just a great structural engineer and even a better business owner.