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City of Berkeley offers retrofit grants for soft story buildings

City of Berkeley have obtained FEMA funding that can be applied towards the engineering fees of up to $5,000 and 30% of construction costs up to the total combined design and construction costs of $25,000.  The funds are available in the form of reimbursements. In order to be eligible for the engineering costs reimbursement, the […]

Additional steps you can take to secure you home

Additional steps you can take to secure you home.  Have you noticed a continuous stream of news about earthquakes from around the world lately?  I certainly have and it reminds me that we are overdue for one.  There are a number common sense things that don’t cost a lot of of money  that one can […]

Check out the recent earthquakes and faults near you and estimate the damage from the potential earthquake to your home

Earthquake damage probability as compared to other risks

Video of Simulated Soft-Story Building Collapse due to Earthquake

In the following video clip, engineers test a soft-story building with a 6.7 magnitude simulated earthquake to determine the effects of a large earthquake on buildings with a soft-story condition. The results are quite dramatic, as the bottom floor of the building collapses, and the building topples sideways. Click on the link below to watch […]

Common Misconception: My Building Survived 1989 Earthquake So I Don’t Need A Retrofit

Building owners commonly believe good performance of their building during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake validates a building as being safe to withstand a major earthquake. However, the Loma Prieta earthquake registered a magnitude 6.9 with an epicenter located approximately 60 miles from San Francisco. For comparison, the Great Earthquake of 1906 registered a magnitude of […]

New Method of evaluating and strengthening of Soft Story Buildings

A small investment in engineering will potentially save on overall project construction costs.

Come visit our table at the Earthquake Retrofit Fair!

SAVE THE DATE!! I will have a table set up at the Earthquake Retrofit Fair and can answer any questions or concerns you may have. In addition to the Enginious Structures booth you will find lender and contractor information. This fair will be a great source of information for your seismic retrofit needs.   January […]

LA To Inspect 29,000 buildings built before 1978.

The Los Angeles Times reported that city housing officials have provided addresses to 29,000 apartment buildings in Los Angeles built before 1978 to city inspectors. City inspectors will have to access which are soft-story and vulnerable to collapse in the event of a major earthquake. This will most likely require building officials to visit to […]

SF may have cast too wide a net for Wood Frame Seismic Retrofit Ordinance

It appears that the San Francisco DBI has spread their net so wide for the Wood Frame Seismic Retrofit Ordinance notification that most of the building owners that have gotten in touch me, so far, have buildings that shouldn’t have been on this list. Out of the first 10 screening reports we’ve done, only one […]

What did we learn from the SF voluntary soft story ordinance – Voluntary programs don’t work!

Voluntary programs don’t work!