Orange Engineering

3E Design helped us with our architectural drawings for our Fremont home expansion. We knew exactly what we wanted add 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, and make all rooms as big as possible while preserving as much backyard space as possible. But aside from knowing what we wanted, we had no clue how to proceed with this expansion project. We presented our ideas to the team at 3E Design and they presented us with a plan to best accomplish our goals through the city's planning department. The team explained the architectural process to us, what deliverables are expected, and the approximate timeline to getting plan approvals and permits. The team first came to the home and made all necessary measurements. Then they presented an initial floorplan draft. We had several meetings to work out the final floorplan and discussed all the details from window sizes to light switch controls to outlet locations. Once the floorplan was complete, the team worked on the roof design. This was a very important design aspect as we wanted the expansion to look as if it was part of the original home. With the floorplan and roof design, we moved on to the structural design which included the foundation plan, partial framing plan, and structural calculations. The next step was doing all the energy efficiency calculations to meet CA's title 24 requirements. Finally 3E Design's team put all of this together into a submittal package for Fremont's planning department. The team made an appointment with the planning department and was able to obtain plan approval and building permit issued on the spot! We had no clue the amount of details involved in the architectural process. I'm glad 3E Design was able to walked us through the process and deliver on-time as promised at the beginning of the project. We started the construction phase and our contractor was surprised at how fast we were able to get plan approvals and permits. Thanks 3E Design!

This is my first ADU project, worked with 3E Design and Eric on ADU design in San Leandro. The design process was smooth and Eric was very patient and gave honest opinions. He and his team were very responsive over email and phone and kept updating me on the status of approval from the city. He did a great job providing construction estimates and really appreciate the shopping list he provided with specs that fits my project so I can do shopping for the interior ahead of time. 3E Design also have preferred construction services and loan services but he never hard sell them at any point in the process, I'm confident that Eric and his team will not recommend something that is not in your best interest when you take on the design work with them. I have talked to a few construction companies on the job and one with 4.5 stars review on Yelp did try to sell me a construction loan with rate as high as credit card rate. I also reached out to my prior loan agent for recommendation and he tried to talk me into cash out refinance at a higher rate as my financing option (loan fee is $7-$10k fyi) for the project which is not the best option imo, So through out the process, I came across am many businesses that will try to max their gains from my project. Eric and his team had never recommended services or opinions that at any point during the months I was working with them on the ADU design that raised concerns. Tips for looking into funding for the projects on home, talk to local credit unions. Fair rates and low fees. Never fully trust your real estate or loan agent, always conflict of interest.

I had the pleasure to work with Eric, owner and principal architect of 3E Design. Eric is very thorough, diligent and professional. He knows his stuff and more importantly, he knows the city of San Leandro codes and regulations. Given that I live in San Leandro and new to home renovation, he walked me through the entire process and provided realistic timeline as well as prepared me for the unexpected. I appreciate that because I'd rather know in advance and be prepared than not. Eric had other architects worked on my floor plan. They were all good and offered different perspectives. The entire design process for a floorplan was not as easy, but Eric and his team never rushed me and patiently worked with me till I am completely happy with the outcome. The entire team was responsive to emails and provided me with that I need in a timely manner. Not only is Eric an architect, but he is also exhibited strong project manager skills. He communicates well, will work with your budget, tries his best to mitigate any potential issues/risks and set realistic timelines that are achievable. He has a construction company that can help you complete any home renovation projects from start to finish. Though, I didn't use his construction service, I have a friend who did. She spoke with highly of his construction team. I don't have any doubt that anyone who uses Eric's services will be pleased with the results.

I worked with Eric and Johnny for the design and permit for our home. They were very easy to work with and helped us get everything in order for our home. We had a second floor addition, 1.5 bathroom addition, and full kitchen remodel. Because Eric is a partner in the build company (Puzzle Construction), he was able to give us a pretty accurate estimate of what he thinks the construction costs would be. As a homeowner with no construction experience, we value having a timeline with how long each permitting step takes. They were able to give us an idea as to how long each step of the permitting would take. 3E took care of the permit expediting for us. The only hiccup, which may have been City issue, was the final step of the permitting took 6 months instead of the 2 months that they had said it should take. Our project definitely fell through the cracks at the city level since the city kept saying that they sent our plans to the city-contracted engineer for a couple of months while the city-contracted engineer said that they never received the plans. 3E was also very understanding that we've been waiting a long time for the permitting so during the last step of permitting, every document the city asked for they provided quickly (within 1-2 days). From the start to finish, Eric and Johnny were very professional, reliable, and honest.

I actually found 3E Design / Eric through Yelp and reached out because of the reviews. Seriously, he deserves every five-star review on here. Super helpful, great to work with, and will definitely work with him again on our next project! We wanted to put in another bathroom in our house (since we only have one), but didn't know where to start (especially since our house is on the smaller side.) Eric has really friendly and helpful - he looked at our plans, gave us multiple options to consider (listing our pros and cons), and then helped us design the bathroom that would make us the most happy. Couple things in particular that I appreciate about Eric: - He floats so many things you don't even think about (lots of things like: if you do xxx, then this means xxx) - He is a problem solver! For example, when we said the only thing that was sad about the bathroom was us losing our pantry space, he found a little nook to tuck a new pantry into. - The intangibles - he is really easy to work and a very nice/honest person. I have always felt like he had my best interest at heart the entire time working with him, and that's been my favorite part. TL/DR - our 100% recommend. As a bonus, he has construction contacts so he's perfect for a one-stop-shop (which I always love.)