Seismic retrofitting, house bolting and bracing can prevent major earthquake damage
So, don't just insure your home against earthquakes. Give some serious thought to Seismic Retrofitting / Earthquake Retrofitting. And at the very least, look into House Bolting and Cripple Wall Bracing your home for earthquake protection (a foundation expert will tell you if this is all you need). Because another earthquake is coming.
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Seismic retrofit braces and bolts your foundation so your home is better equipped to withstand the violent shaking of an earthquake. Your Seismic / Earthquake Retrofit can mean significant savings on earthquake damage repair costs. More importantly, a Los Angeles Seismic Retrofit or at least House Bolting your house will give you peace of mind. Because you'll know, your home has the best seismic retrofit protection and can now keep you and your family safe and secure against the next earthquake.
Why seismic retrofit Your home now
Sinai Construction begins another Seismic retrofit project in Los Angeles.
Nothing should be more important than the safety and well-being of your family — and seismic retrofitting can give you this assurance. This alone is sufficient reason for a seismic retrofit. But there are other equally compelling reasons to find a Seismic Retrofit Company and retrofit your home.
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First off, seismic retrofitting drastically improves your home's chances of surviving an earthquake.
Why risk major earthquake damage when you can avoid it? A study on earthquake retrofitting by the Association of Bay Area Governments shows that an optimally retrofitted home can be exponentially more resistant to earthquake damage than a house that has no house bolting modifications.
It is cheaper to have seismic retrofitting done than to have your home repaired after it has been ravaged by an earthquake. Seismic retrofitting can spell the difference between a $5,000 and a $260,000 post-earthquake repair bill. As you can see, a seismic retrofit in the long run can save you a bundle of money, not to mention all the headaches of rebuilding after sustaining some major earthquake damage.
Seismic retrofitting may actually lead to reduced insurance premiums.
Insurance underwriters assess various risk factors to calculate insurance premiums. Since the risk of earthquake damage is correlated to reduced earthquake damage risks, seismic retrofitting can actually result in reduced insurance premiums.
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You might want to talk to one of our Seismic Retrofit Contractors just to get an idea of what would be involved in your situation and get a seismic retrofit estimate. Can't hurt and could save you big time down the road.
If you don't think seismic retrofitting works
read this
When bolting can't be used in seismic retrofitting, steel plates secure the house to the foundation.
Architect Michael O'Hearn owned two houses on Elm Street, House #210 and House #214. The two houses were practically identical. They:
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were around 100 years old
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had the same design
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were made of the same materials, and
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were built using the same construction techniques by the same builder.
When the Loma Prieta Earthquake struck in 1989, however, House #214 came apart in 4 sections while House #210 suffered only minor damage. What made the difference?
Seismic retrofitting / house bolting made all the difference.
Prior to the earthquake, O'Hearn had had House #210's sill plate bolted to its foundation and its cripple wall framing braced with shear walls. Unfortunately, the earthquake struck before he could have the same improvements done on House #214.
The result? After the quake, the seismic retrofitted house, House #210, cost only about $5,000 to repair. On the other hand, the repair costs for the non-retrofitted house, House #214, came up to a whopping $260,000.
What is seismic retrofitting
A Seismic Retrofit in Los Angeles usually involves foundation house bolting, cripple wall bracing and attaching the floor framing to the cripple wall.
This is key to help avoid massive damage to your home from an earthquake. Because a cripple wall attaching the floor framing of your home, along with bolting your home to the foundation will help keep your home from shifting violently during an earthquake. And a house that stays together during an earthquake, makes it through the earthquake with the least amount of damage.
Foundation bolt drilled vertically for earthquake proofing
Universal plates are used in lieu of no room for vertical foundation bolts
Foundation house bolting
Foundation house bolting ties the wood framing members of a building to its concrete foundation. If the mudsill is not connected to the foundation, the entire house could slide off its foundation during an earthquake.
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This procedure usually involves bolting the mudsill to the stem wall, usually by using 5/8" diameter anchor bolts embedded at a minimum of 7". If there is no access to bolt the mudsill vertically, alternative methods can be used such as the placement of Universal Foundation Plates.
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Foundation house bolting also reinforces the strength of existing connections. From the countless foundation inspections we have conducted, we know that insufficient connections between the home's wood framing and its concrete foundation are a common problem. Sometimes, existing bolts are few and far between. Other times, the bolts are so severely rusted they are practically useless as connectors.
Seismic retrofit cripple wall bracing
A cripple wall handles the majority of the impact on your house from an earthquake. Most older houses have a short wood-framed wall in the crawl space. What you see below, is the cripple wall. It may be anywhere from a few inches to several feet in height, extending from the top of the concrete foundation stem wall to the bottom of the floor joists.
Structural-grade plywood for cripple wall bracing.
The cripple wall carries an enormous amount of load and, in an earthquake, it bears the brunt of the earth's tremors. If you live in an old house, neglecting to reinforce the cripple wall puts yourself and your family at risk. In older houses, the cripple wall is usually the weakest part of the structure, and cripple wall collapse was actually one of the main causes of building failure in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Ventilation hole covered with wire mesh screen
Cripple wall bracing is an critical part of any Seismic Retrofit project. It's the application of structural-grade plywood to the cripple wall. This strengthens and reinforces the cripple wall so that it will not collapse easily during an earthquake.
Installation of cripple wall reinforcement.
With a Seismic Retrofit project, cripple wall bracing, city-engineered 1/2" structural-grade 5-ply APA rated plywood sheathing is custom cut with ventilation holes, covered with galvanized wire mesh screens and securely nailed to the cripple wall framing according to structural nailing schedules. For the bracing of cripple walls which are greater than 4 feet in height, the services of a structural engineer are required by the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.
Securing the floor framing to the cripple wall
Properly connecting the floor framing to the cripple wall further strengthens the house's capacity to withstand quakes. The failure of the connection between the floor framing and the cripple wall is another usual cause of earthquake damage.
Floor attached to cripple wall through framing anchors
Earthquake retrofit finishes on time with no problems a clients seismic retrofit house review
Sinai recently performed major earthquake retrofit and foundation reconstruction on my older home. I choose Sinai because they impressed me as a well-staffed and professional seismic retrofit company and because of their technical expertise and explanation of their solution. They finished the job on time, with no problems. They were extremely responsive to my inquiries and met all of my expectations and requests. They even performed some tasks that were beyond the contract specs at no cost to me. I would use this foundation repair company again and recommend them to anyone. Their technical solution was far superior to two other companies that provided bids and I am confident I got the best job.
Bill Wong, Los Angeles