Hillstone Geotechnical Engineering pairs field-tested drilling crews with a licensed engineering team to give architects, contractors and municipalities the subsurface intelligence their projects depend on.
Founded in 2011 by principal engineer Melissa Martinez, P.E., Hillstone was born from a simple frustration: too many projects were breaking ground on assumptions instead of data. From our lab and drill yard on Hill Street in Toledo, we serve a growing roster of general contractors, civil engineers, architects and property owners across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Our work is technical, but our promise is practical: accurate answers, delivered on the schedule your project actually needs.
Every project is scoped, sampled, tested and reported under the seal of a licensed engineer who knows your file by name — not passed between departments.
Shallow and deep foundation recommendations for commercial, industrial and multi-family structures, including bearing capacity, settlement and lateral earth pressures.
Subsurface exploration programs sized to the risk profile of your project — from single-boring residential lots to multi-acre logistics campuses.
Full CMEC-accredited testing suite: Atterberg limits, grain-size distribution, Proctor, CBR, unconfined compression, consolidation and shear.
Global stability analyses, MSE and cantilever retaining wall design, and mitigation for landslide-prone sites in the Maumee River corridor.
Cast-in-place concrete, structural steel, masonry and asphalt inspection performed by ACI- and NICET-certified field technicians.
Phase II environmental site assessments, monitoring well installation and closure sampling in coordination with your ESA consultant.
We review your plans, contact the local geology archive and issue a fixed-fee proposal — usually within two business days.
Our licensed drilling crews mobilize with utility clearance, SPT sampling and shelby tube collection where required.
Samples move directly to our on-site Toledo lab. Chain-of-custody documented; results traceable to NIST standards.
A stamped engineering report with clear recommendations, risk narratives and constructability notes for your design team.
Grocery, big-box, medical office and mixed-use developments across the I-75 corridor.
Distribution centers up to 1.2 M sqft on former agricultural and brownfield sites.
Roadway subgrade evaluation, culvert replacements and public utility trench design.
New academic wings, athletic facilities and dormitory expansions across Lucas and Wood counties.
Ambulatory surgery centers and hospital additions requiring vibration-sensitive foundation design.
Single-family subdivisions, townhome communities and custom lakefront estates.
"Hillstone caught a soft peat lens our previous consultant had missed. Their re-scoping saved us from a costly overexcavation mid-construction."
"Reports arrive when they say they will and the recommendations are written for the field, not the courtroom. That's rarer than it should be."
"Melissa and her team have been our geotechnical partner on eleven school district projects. Straightforward, communicative and technically excellent."
Most single-building commercial investigations in northwest Ohio fall between $4,800 and $12,500 depending on the number of borings, depth requirements and laboratory scope. We provide fixed-fee proposals — never billable-hours estimates.
Standard mobilization is 7–10 business days from signed proposal, contingent on utility clearance. Emergency turnaround is available for insurance and forensic work.
Yes. Hillstone maintains active professional engineering licensure in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.
We perform Phase II drilling, monitoring well installation and closure sampling. Phase I ESAs are subcontracted to environmental partners we've worked with for over a decade.
Yes. Peer reviews and forensic evaluations are a regular part of our practice, particularly on litigation and insurance claim work.
