Earthquake retrofitting our house

Hi all,

We just found out that we are selected to receive money from the Brace and Bolt project, so are working on retrofitting our house.  Since we have a split level house and our bedrooms are over the garage, we been told we need to have a structural engineer draw up plans for that section.

I would like to hear from anyone who has had this type of work done and if you have an engineer who you would recommend.  

Also, if you had this work done, I am wondering if it would cost a similar amount and be as safe to have the space split in 2 and create an extra room.  That would add a lot to the house to additional living space.

Thanks for the help.