When living in an earthquake prone area like Southern California, it’s important to keep the safety of your family and property in mind. One of the best ways to do this is by hiring a Los Angeles seismic retrofitting company to strengthen your foundation and make it more resilient to an earthquake.
Seismic retrofitting companies are specialized in making homes and commercial buildings more resistant to damaging earthquakes. Usually, they do this by adding hardware and bracing to the existing structure.
The most common type of retrofitting is called foundation house bolting, which involves securing the building’s foundation to the ground using anchor bolts. This ensures that your home won’t come loose during a quake.
Aside from providing peace of mind, a properly-retrofitted home will be less expensive to repair after an earthquake than an unreinforced structure. This is because it’s much more resistant to damage caused by shifting soil.
If you’re interested in getting your house retrofitted for earthquake protection, it’s best to contact a Los Angeles foundation expert first. They will be able to tell you what is needed and how much it would cost for the work.
Another way to protect your property from damage during an earthquake is by contacting a Los Angeles soft story retrofitting contractor. These contractors specialize in the strengthening of multi-story buildings that were built before 1978 and are especially vulnerable to structural failure during an earthquake.
These buildings include office, retail and residential buildings. Generally, they have 2 or more stories of wood frame construction.
When a multi-story structure is damaged due to an earthquake, it can cause loss of life. This is why many cities in the Los Angeles area have enacted laws requiring these structures to be retrofitted for additional strength.
This is a great option for any owner who wants to save money on their insurance rates, as well as to improve the building’s value. In addition, a strong, reinforced building may be more appealing to potential buyers, so it could be easier to sell.
If you own an apartment building or other multi-story commercial structure that has been damaged by an earthquake, it’s a good idea to contact a Los Angeles retrofitting company for advice on how to recover the costs of the work. This is especially true if you are a landlord and your tenants have been affected by the damage.
For example, the City of Santa Monica has a grant program that will reimburse owners of qualifying soft-story residential buildings. This program will allow for up to 50% of the cost of the retrofit work to be recovered from tenant’s rent payments.
There are other reasons to have your building reinforced, but the most important is to protect your family and property from damage during a major earthquake. It’s also a smart investment in the long run because it can help your building “bounce back” more quickly after an earthquake, reducing repair costs in the future.