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Engineer, Danville License 3268

Benjamin Lai & Associates

The city has issued 36 of the 36 San Francisco building permits that name Benjamin Lai & Associates since 2018. The work is mostly residential, led by home remodels. Their median plan-review permit for home remodels took 13.7 months from filing to issue, 54% slower than the citywide median. Their busiest neighborhoods are Pacific Heights, Mission and Marina.

Also filed as
architect
Issued by the city
36 of 36 filed since 2018
Median plan-review time, home remodels
13.7 mo city median 8.9 mo
Rank for home remodels
No. 100 of 491 by home remodels issued
Overall rank
No. 150 of 1,146 engineers

What they work on

Every San Francisco building permit with Benjamin Lai & Associates on the record since 2018, by project type. Most filed: 20 home remodels, 10 home additions, 3 apartments and multifamily.

Residential and commercial, by permits filed

94% residential
6% commercial
Permits by project type, filed and issued
  1. Home remodels Residential 20 of 20 issued 56% of filings.
  2. Home additions Residential 10 of 10 issued 28% of filings.
  3. Apartments and multifamily Residential 3 of 3 issued 8% of filings.
  4. Hotels, clinics, schools and other commercial Commercial 2 of 2 issued 6% of filings.
  5. New homes Residential 1 of 1 issued 3% of filings.

Permits over time

Permits filed each year, drawn as a street with one building per year, and how many of all their permits the city has issued.

Busiest year
2019
8 permits filed
Latest filing
Jul 2026
100% of 36 issued
Permits filed per year: 2018: 2, 2019: 8, 2020: 3, 2021: 8, 2022: 6, 2023: 4, 2024: 1, 2025: 2, 2026: 2. The 2026 figure runs through October 20, 2026.

One building per year, its height the permits filed. Each floor line marks 1 permit; the 2026 building is dashed because it counts permits filed through October 20, 2026.

Issued by the city: 36 of 36 permits filed

100%

All San Francisco project permits since 2018 in this data

93% issued

Source: SF Department of Building Inspection permits via DataSF.

How fast their permits come through

Filing to issue for permits that went through plan review. Benjamin Lai & Associates has 11 of those across all project types; the citywide comparison is for home remodels, their most filed type, where 3,361 of 93,498 permits went through plan review and the rest were approved over the counter.

Benjamin Lai & Associates, home remodels

13.7months

That is 54% slower than the citywide median for home remodels.

Median months from filing to issue for plan-review permits. Benjamin Lai & Associates, home remodels: 13.7 months. San Francisco, home remodels: 8.9 months. Middle half of city permits: 5.0 to 15.6 months.
13.7 months for home remodels, faster than 15 of 93 other engineers ranked for home remodels that have a median for it Each circle is a firm's median for its plan-review permits for home remodels. Dashed line: the median of all San Francisco plan-review permits for home remodels, 8.9 months. Shaded: the middle half of those permits, 5.0 to 15.6 months.
0 3 6 9 12 15 18+ months Ecr Engineering: 13.8 months Double D Engineering: 9.8 months Hom & Pisano Engineering Inc.: 6.8 months Enertia Designs: 9.8 months Lawrence Liao Str. Eng: 6.5 months Atrium Structural Engineer: 5.8 months Ice Design Inc.: 11.0 months Kevin O'connor Inc.: 6.7 months Altos Engineering: 14.8 months Innovative Const: 15.5 months Rs Engineering: 14.1 months Design Everest Consulting: 8.1 months Semco Engineering Inc.: 6.8 months Base Design: 8.6 months Jingbo Yang: 7.8 months Design Consultants Group, Inc: 11.1 months Zfa Structural Engineers: 7.1 months Doug Lee: 9.0 months One Design: 12.6 months Yuflux Engineering Llc.: 8.3 months Horn Lee: 8.2 months Erwin O'toole: 5.3 months Ftf Engineering Inc.: 6.9 months Inncon Design: 18.0 months Mercury Engineering Group: 18.5 months Ashley & Vance Engineering: 6.7 months Dwong Engineering Inc.: 10.9 months Himmati Engineering Inc.: 6.0 months Strandberg Engineering: 9.0 months Holmes Culley: 5.8 months Sia Consulting Corp: 15.9 months Ny Engineering Consulting: 9.4 months William Liang: 3.7 months Gfds Engineers: 5.7 months Q Architecture: 14.7 months L Wong Engineering: 8.8 months Framework Engineering: 6.3 months A & J Design Associates Inc.: 6.9 months Gregory Paul Wallace Struct: 14.0 months Massoudi Consulting Engineer: 8.4 months Ca Voong: 6.4 months Hcg Associates, Inc.: 9.0 months Mosswood Engineering: 11.1 months Puns And Assoc: 10.3 months Jian Huang: 9.2 months Az Design & Engineering Inc: 16.0 months Wmstructural: 8.4 months Julia Y. Chen Design Inc.: 18.1 months Bkg Structural Engineers: 4.2 months Pat Buscovich: 7.4 months Michael Metiu Design Studio: 6.2 months Harrell Kane S.E. Inc.: 10.0 months David Yadegar, Pe: 5.0 months Thomas Podesta Engineer: 10.9 months Exforma Design: 11.4 months Lx Engineering: 8.8 months Jon Brody Structural Engineers: 6.8 months Dolmen Structural Engineer: 4.8 months Duane Tran: 8.6 months Ekw Engineering: 9.7 months Tsa Structural Engineers: 12.5 months Integrand Structural Engineer: 10.3 months Kris Johnson: 5.2 months Meece Engineering Inc.: 7.3 months Eas Designers: 4.4 months Halterman Engineering: 3.1 months Ma Engineering: 8.9 months Patrick Donato: 9.4 months Murphy Burr Curry Inc.: 6.2 months W.H. Consultant Inc.: 7.0 months Ladc Engineering Inc: 4.9 months Bahman Ghassenmzadeh: 11.9 months Duquette Engineering: 8.5 months Seri Ngerwattana, Pe: 7.4 months Smithworks Engineering: 7.6 months Holmes: 4.5 months Tangobuilder: 7.1 months Hahbach-Lewin Inc: 10.8 months Lea & Braze Engineering, Inc: 5.3 months Powell And Associates: 5.9 months Double D Enginneering, Inc: 13.6 months W.H.Yang Structural Engr: 9.2 months St Onge & Assoc.: 7.1 months Pivot: 15.6 months Townsend Brown: 15.6 months Monterey Energy Group: 5.4 months Emc2 Structural Design Inc.: 15.3 months Qi Structural Engineering: 10.6 months Spi Consulting Engineers, Inc.: 4.0 months Prostruct Engineering: 20.8 months Dago De La Rosa: 7.2 months Engineering 350: 6.2 months Romig Engineers: 1.9 months Benjamin Lai & Associates 0 3 6 9 12 15 18+ months Ecr Engineering: 13.8 months Double D Engineering: 9.8 months Hom & Pisano Engineering Inc.: 6.8 months Enertia Designs: 9.8 months Lawrence Liao Str. Eng: 6.5 months Atrium Structural Engineer: 5.8 months Ice Design Inc.: 11.0 months Kevin O'connor Inc.: 6.7 months Altos Engineering: 14.8 months Innovative Const: 15.5 months Rs Engineering: 14.1 months Design Everest Consulting: 8.1 months Semco Engineering Inc.: 6.8 months Base Design: 8.6 months Jingbo Yang: 7.8 months Design Consultants Group, Inc: 11.1 months Zfa Structural Engineers: 7.1 months Doug Lee: 9.0 months One Design: 12.6 months Yuflux Engineering Llc.: 8.3 months Horn Lee: 8.2 months Erwin O'toole: 5.3 months Ftf Engineering Inc.: 6.9 months Inncon Design: 18.0 months Mercury Engineering Group: 18.5 months Ashley & Vance Engineering: 6.7 months Dwong Engineering Inc.: 10.9 months Himmati Engineering Inc.: 6.0 months Strandberg Engineering: 9.0 months Holmes Culley: 5.8 months Sia Consulting Corp: 15.9 months Ny Engineering Consulting: 9.4 months William Liang: 3.7 months Gfds Engineers: 5.7 months Q Architecture: 14.7 months L Wong Engineering: 8.8 months Framework Engineering: 6.3 months A & J Design Associates Inc.: 6.9 months Gregory Paul Wallace Struct: 14.0 months Massoudi Consulting Engineer: 8.4 months Ca Voong: 6.4 months Hcg Associates, Inc.: 9.0 months Mosswood Engineering: 11.1 months Puns And Assoc: 10.3 months Jian Huang: 9.2 months Az Design & Engineering Inc: 16.0 months Wmstructural: 8.4 months Julia Y. Chen Design Inc.: 18.1 months Bkg Structural Engineers: 4.2 months Pat Buscovich: 7.4 months Michael Metiu Design Studio: 6.2 months Harrell Kane S.E. Inc.: 10.0 months David Yadegar, Pe: 5.0 months Thomas Podesta Engineer: 10.9 months Exforma Design: 11.4 months Lx Engineering: 8.8 months Jon Brody Structural Engineers: 6.8 months Dolmen Structural Engineer: 4.8 months Duane Tran: 8.6 months Ekw Engineering: 9.7 months Tsa Structural Engineers: 12.5 months Integrand Structural Engineer: 10.3 months Kris Johnson: 5.2 months Meece Engineering Inc.: 7.3 months Eas Designers: 4.4 months Halterman Engineering: 3.1 months Ma Engineering: 8.9 months Patrick Donato: 9.4 months Murphy Burr Curry Inc.: 6.2 months W.H. Consultant Inc.: 7.0 months Ladc Engineering Inc: 4.9 months Bahman Ghassenmzadeh: 11.9 months Duquette Engineering: 8.5 months Seri Ngerwattana, Pe: 7.4 months Smithworks Engineering: 7.6 months Holmes: 4.5 months Tangobuilder: 7.1 months Hahbach-Lewin Inc: 10.8 months Lea & Braze Engineering, Inc: 5.3 months Powell And Associates: 5.9 months Double D Enginneering, Inc: 13.6 months W.H.Yang Structural Engr: 9.2 months St Onge & Assoc.: 7.1 months Pivot: 15.6 months Townsend Brown: 15.6 months Monterey Energy Group: 5.4 months Emc2 Structural Design Inc.: 15.3 months Qi Structural Engineering: 10.6 months Spi Consulting Engineers, Inc.: 4.0 months Prostruct Engineering: 20.8 months Dago De La Rosa: 7.2 months Engineering 350: 6.2 months Romig Engineers: 1.9 months Benjamin Lai & Associates

4 firms with medians over 18 months are drawn at the right edge.

Where they rank

Ranked by permits the city has issued since 2018, first across every project type, then for home remodels alone.

  1. 148 Interface Engineering 36
  2. 149 Imeg 36
  3. 150 Benjamin Lai & Associates 36
  4. 151 Structural Designs 35
  5. 152 Tsa Structural Engineers 35

All permits issued, 1,146 engineers Full ranking

  1. 98 Morris Shaffer Engineering 21
  2. 99 Anthony Chau & Partners 21
  3. 100 Benjamin Lai & Associates 20
  4. 101 Halterman Engineering 20
  5. 102 Ma Engineering 20

Home remodels issued, 491 engineers

Where they work

The neighborhoods where Benjamin Lai & Associates files the most permits, and how many engineers count each one among their top 4 neighborhoods.

  1. 01 Pacific Heights 123 engineers count Pacific Heights among their busiest neighborhoods
  2. 02 Mission 298 engineers count Mission among their busiest neighborhoods
  3. 03 Marina 102 engineers count Marina among their busiest neighborhoods
  4. 04 Inner Richmond 68 engineers count Inner Richmond among their busiest neighborhoods

Questions for the first call

  1. Which of your recent San Francisco permits are closest to my project in type, size and neighborhood, and can I see the permit numbers?
  2. How long did those permits take from filing to issue, and what did plan check send back?
  3. Who on your team draws the set, who stamps it, and who answers the city's comments?

Other engineers for home remodels

Firms ranked near Benjamin Lai & Associates by permits issued for home remodels.

  1. 95 J. Li & Associates 21 home remodels issued
  2. 96 Sung Engineering Inc. 21 home remodels issued
  3. 97 Jc Engineering 21 home remodels issued
  4. 101 Halterman Engineering 20 home remodels issued · 3.1 mo median for home remodels
  5. 103 Bkf Engineers 19 home remodels issued
  6. 104 Cecilia Home 19 home remodels issued
Sheet
S-150 No. 150 of 1,146
Drawing
Permit record, Benjamin Lai & Associates
Engineer, Danville
License
3268 check with BPELSG
Data as of
Oct 2026
Scale
Not to scale

Built only from public San Francisco Department of Building Inspection records (permits, permit contacts), updated 2026-10-20. It is not a review or an endorsement, and Benjamin Lai & Associates has not paid to be listed. Project addresses are never shown.

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