Earthquake Retrofitting: How to Protect Your Home from Natural Disasters

6 min readApr 9, 2021

Most of the construction companies in Los Angeles are trying to overcome the hassles and losses that occurred due to untimely earthquakes taking place in the region. In the cities, multi-storeyed buildings, basement parking, and first-floor construction are some of the normal building designing techniques.

But, we should be aware that these are the critical areas of the building that need attention. They might create a risk on the existence of the building.

A soft-story retrofit is providing architectural solutions to repair the basement and solidify the structure so that it can withstand calamities like an earthquake.

Before we dig deeper into the retrofit process, it will be wise to get the answers to the following question:

How do I retrofit my house for an earthquake?
How do I know if my house is bolted to the foundation?
Does a retrofit solution guarantee damage control from the earthquake?
How much does it cost to retrofit?
How to find a construction company that does best retrofitting in Los Angeles?
The answers to these questions will provide a clear view and urgency of going for a soft story retrofit.

In this post, we have covered the topic providing all the details on it.

Why is retrofit important in Los Angeles?

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety developed the LA Seismic Retrofit Program and made it clear that all the building owners require to strengthen their properties to improve performance in case an earthquake happens.

The goal is to reduce the risk of injury or loss of life that may result from earthquakes on wood frame soft-story buildings.

From the basic information we know, a soft-story building has a weaker first floor and is unable to carry the weight of the stories above during an earthquake.

The first floor of these buildings generally has large openings in the perimeter walls. Garages, tuck-under parking, or even large windows are good examples of this.

Such a building immediately needs to go for retrofitting. Some of the causes include:

Two or more stories have a wooden construction and were built before 1978.
Contains ground floor parking or other similar open floor space that causes soft, weak, or open wall lines.
The building has a weak foundation.
The continuous leakage and sewage system are causing continuous damage to the building.
Basement parking is not built to take the load of the building
The side walls have gaps and absorb water and moisture from the outside.

How a Soft Story Retrofit Beneficial for my multi-storeyed House?

An earthquake is more dangerous for the old houses and the multi-storeyed buildings. Most of the builders think that their building is new then why to spend extra money on applying retrofit solutions. So, here we are sharing some of the benefits so that you stay in an earthquake-resilient home.

Safe and Secure Home is a Bliss

Staying in a safe environment is an individual responsibility. Even if your building is newly constructed, get it checked against its capacity during the shake and the possibility of damage due to an earthquake. In Los Angeles, many construction companies are providing a facility of free check-ups and consultations. Contact one in your area and ensure your safety.

Reduce repair costs

By undergoing a foundation repair and other small repairs will save your cost of the retrofit. Don’t get scared by the thousands-dollar expenditure rather break it into small repairs. However, construction companies are providing cheaper retrofit solutions to minimize the damage. And above all, the cost of repairing now will be much less than the repair cost after earthquake damage.

Modify your Old Construction

When you introspect the layout of a building by measuring its resistance power, you will see many flaws. Rather than thinking about why it happened and how to start repairing them, you can contact a company that is providing maximum discount and reasonable retrofit solutions

Financial Benefit

If you have purchased a property for the purpose of investment or if you are willing to sell your old house, after retrofitting, you can get a handsome price. This way build or repairing your house to make it earthquake-resilient will serve to be a good investment and worth spending.

How Much Does It Cost To Retrofit A House?

According to the Los Angeles construction companies association, the cost of single-story retrofitting is the cheapest. A foundation bolting process usually costs about $3,000 to $7,000.

Homes built on hillsides, larger homes, and those with a soft-story (rooms over garages) will typically cost more to retrofit. Many houses that require only bolting cost about $3,000. However, the cost depends on the individual project.

Paying For A Seismic Retrofit

Although a seismic retrofit is considered one of the least expensive home seismic improvements, many homeowners cannot pay thousands of dollars upfront. Keeping family safety a priority and increasing your home’s resiliency from the hazards of an earthquake shouldn’t be reserved for only those that can afford the upfront price tag.

For this reason, it is suggested that keeping the basement repair, leakage repair, and applying retrofit solutions separately is a wise step.

Best Earthquake Retrofitting Contractors in Los Angeles

How to hire the best earthquake retrofit company in Los Angeles?

When you are specifically contacting a construction company to apply retrofit solutions then call the experts to evaluate the strength of the building.

The team must have experienced engineers and architects so that you can take all safety measures too in a pocket-friendly way.

They must develop plans for the building’s seismic strengthening in compliance meeting the requirement.

Here is the checklist before you contact a contractor:

How Long Have They Been Doing Earthquake Retrofits?

Are They Listed and Licensed by Seismic Retrofit Authorities of Los Angeles?
What Do Testimonials from Clients Say?
How fast and accurately they respond to your questions?
How Detailed is the Quote?
Is it worth taking their service, do you have sufficient time to complete your project on time?

The Right Choice at The Right Cost

What seems like a small remodeling project may entail a broad variety of skills and expertise. The expertise in the retrofitting process needs to consider a variety of things.

In a nutshell, we can say that a retrofit engineer must have technical skills to deliver effective results. You can consider the following skills while hiring

Experience with your building type
Experience in seismic retrofits
Experience with structural repairs and reinforcements
Experience with installation tactics

In the end, it is a must that the company you hire must have dedicated resources and time to devote to your project. An earthquake’s powerful shaking can rupture the earth, trigger landslides, and cause severe damage to our buildings. Your home also may be vulnerable to serious structural damage if it is an old construction.

To summarize, we would suggest that you must contact Lux construction group is one of the leading earthquake retrofitting company in Los Angeles to evaluate geologic hazards and structural risks to protect your homes from earthquake damage.

Originally published at https://theomnibuzz.com on April 9, 2021.