In Palos Verdes, where ocean views and rolling hills define the landscape, the beauty comes with a catch: the ground is always on the move. For Damien Hammond, Vice President of Development at Alpha Structural, Inc., and a lifelong PV local, that movement isn’t a problem; it’s been a constant in his life for over four decades.
“I’ve been working under homes for more than 40 years,” Hammond says. “It started as a family thing. My grandfather was an engineer and one of the first to buy in SeaView back in 1957. It was my parents’ home in Portuguese Bend that we bought in ’75 and due to land movement we needed to lift the home, so we raised it in ’80, and I was under it all the time growing up, literally.”
Hammond’s connection to the Palos Verdes Peninsula runs deep, not just emotionally, but geologically. His hands-on experience began early, long before any formal job titles, helping with home-raising projects that taught him how to work with the land, not against it.
“The first house we ever raised wasn’t even in this neighborhood; it was over in Portuguese Bend,” he recalls. “That was my introduction to how unpredictable this ground really is.”
His understanding of the terrain, especially the notoriously unstable Portuguese Bend, isn’t just technical, it’s lived. “Land movement is just part of the landscape here,” he explains. “It’s not ‘Oh no, the land is moving.’ It’s, ‘What are you going to do to live with it?’”
That mindset is at the heart of Damien’s work at Alpha Structural, Inc., a leading Southern California structural engineering and construction firm specializing in foundation and hillside repairs. Alpha’s reputation is built on more than 30 years of tackling the toughest jobs, places where houses tilt, slopes fail, and the earth simply refuses to stay put.
“Steel. Concrete. Wood. Dirt,” Damien says, listing the materials like a mantra. “If it involves any of that, especially on a slope or an aging foundation, we handle it.”
Alpha Structural was founded by David Tourjé, whose roots in Southern California’s hillside construction scene date back to the 1980s. As the need for slope stabilization, retaining walls, and seismic retrofits grew, so did Alpha’s niche. Today, the company is known for solving problems most firms won’t even attempt, like rescuing homes sliding down cliffs or stabilizing land that seems to ripple like waves.
“We’ve seen beams give out and houses sink. We’ve seen landslides swallow backyards, and even drainpipes burst from underneath foundations,” Damien says, referencing a recent case in Klondike Canyon. “I can show you where a drain popped up right under someone’s living room.”
Of all the areas in PV, Portuguese Bend remains one of the most challenging. The land is constantly shifting, sometimes as much as 1/8 inch per month. And the movement isn’t just lateral. The earth slides, dips, and warps in unpredictable ways.
Still, Damien is optimistic. “In 20 years, I think this will all be a memory. We’ve got better dewatering wells now, better mitigation strategies. The neighborhood will survive. This is just part of life here.”
Damien first connected with Alpha Structural during the pandemic, a time when many industries, including construction, hit a standstill. “I had a newborn daughter and two other kids. Work just dried up,” he recalls. “I reached out to Alpha Structural looking for an opportunity. Once we talked and I explained my background, they brought me into the hiring process. Now I get to do what I’ve always done, but on a bigger scale, with a team that really understands this land.”
From his early days lifting houses with salvaged steel, to managing complex structural projects across the South Bay, Damien Hammond represents the grit and adaptability of Palos Verdes itself. Always evolving, always grounded, even when the ground refuses to stay still.
If your Palos Verdes home is showing signs of foundation movement, slope instability, or retaining wall failure, Alpha Structural offers free consultations and decades of proven solutions to keep your property safe, stable, and standing.
Contact Alpha Structural, Inc.
(323) 258-5482
www.alphastructural.com
