Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles - Retrofit your Building today!
Time is running out to Seismic Retrofit your building. Get your FREE Quote on your Soft Story Retrofit!
retrofitting your building is not an option - it’s the law
Los Angeles Soft Story Retrofit - From past earthquakes, multi-story buildings in Los Angeles with weak &/or open front wall lines creating a “Soft-Story” (i.e. buildings with tuck-under-parking) performed poorly & collapsed. The goal of the mandatory retrofit program, under Ordinance 183893 & Ordinance 184081, is to reduce structural deficiencies by the most economical & feasible method. Without proper strengthening, these vulnerable buildings may be subjected to structural failure during &/or after an earthquake.
Los Angeles Soft Story Retrofit Buildings that are most vulnerable have been identified with the following criteria:
Consist of 2 or more stories wood frame construction
Built under building code standards enacted before Jan 1978
Contains ground floor parking or other similar open floor space
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What are Soft Story Buildings?
A Los Angeles Soft Story building is a multi-story structure built with a first floor that is much less rigid (soft) than the floors above, such as in an apartment with tuck under parking. They can & have failed in significant seismic activity due to unreinforced openings on the ground floor which caused far more movement than the Soft Story building could withstand, resulting in the upper floors COLLAPSING on top of it. The Los Angeles Soft Story Retrofit Program has begun to help prevent this from occurring in the future.
There are an estimated 13,500 Soft Story structures that need Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles. Most have been identified to be in need of a retrofit. Retrofitting Soft Story buildings in Los Angeles has now become mandatory by the City of Los Angeles.
How Does This Soft Story Retrofit Law Affect You?
It is no longer an argument as to whether or not an earthquake of significant magnitude is going to strike Southern California - it’s now just a wait to find out WHEN. The longer your building doesn’t get its Soft Story retrofit in Los Angeles, the more likely something disastrous could occur.
There is no doubt that an unreinforced building could collapse, causing irrevocable damage to the structure - & those who reside in it. But did you know that you could be held liable for these catastrophes? There are multiple instances of property & bodily damage stemming from an earthquake resulting in the property owner getting sued for seven-digit figures.
Getting your building the Soft Story retrofitting Los Angeles structures need is not only a great idea which could save lives, your building & a costly lawsuit, but did you know that it could also lower your insurance premium? Not only that, there are grants, tax breaks & financial aid that you can apply for to assist you to safeguard your building. Not to mention that you could have your tenants help you pay for these repairs - up to 50%!
Why do we have to retrofit our soft story building?
Soft Story buildings are vulnerable to collapse during prolonged shaking. Soft Story structures designed & approved prior to 1979 are considered weak by current engineering standards. A considerable amount of Soft Story buildings were constructed between 1960 – 1979. These structures have prone to experiencing catastrophically damage during a major earthquake. Soft Story structures have failed during significant seismic activity. They are weak because they have unreinforced openings on the ground floor which caused far more movement than the structure can withstand. When this happens, resulting in the upper floors COLLAPSING on top of the lower level.
What I the process of doing a Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles?
Create a site plan of buildings on the property
This type of plan is considered architectural plans to scale that meet Type V classification. This must include all the buildings on the property, property line boundaries.
Engineering: a licensed structural engineer will use the site plan to create a structural solution to the weaknesses of the building. The engineer will have detailed all to structural connections & supports that must be built to strengthen the building.
Bring the plans to the City Plan Checkers
It is important to touch base with the city planners & city engineering once your plans are ready for your Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles. You will get guidance about what notes & data have to be present in the plans in order to gain city approval.
Quote the cost of construction
You cannot get an accurate cost of construction until you have a full set of plans that detail the repair of your Soft Story in Los Angeles.
Construction Planning
You must give notice to tenants because they will be affected by the construction.
Many time plumbing & electrical infrastructure is affected by the retrofit work because these pipes & conduit run along the ceiling of the carport. Often items they need to be relocated or temporally disconnected.
Construction Work
This type of work is very disruptive to the tenants so the faster your contractor finishes the better. A clear construction schedule should be established prior to the commencement of any construction so that tenants can plan accordingly.
Samples of Soft Story Buildings that may need Retrofit in Los Angeles, CA
Building owners keep in mind - RETROFITTING YOUR BUILDING IS NOT AN OPTION - IT’S THE LAW
Why choose novel remodeling for your soft story retrofit needs in los angeles?
Novel Remodeling is the leader in the field of Soft Story retrofitting in Los Angeles. In fact, many consider us among the best companies that Soft Story retrofitting Los Angeles has to offer. Bringing your building up to par with today’s strict building codes is one of Novel Remodeling many specialties.
Novel Remodeling will carefully inspect your building to isolate the most practical & cost efficient solution. Utilizing our decades of foundation repair & seismic retrofitting experience, we are able to design & engineer in a way to save on construction costs. Each building must be evaluated individually.
Common solutions utilized are steel moment frames & plywood shear walls (strengthening existing walls). This adds the proper support the Soft Story structure will need against seismic activity. As each property is unique, all Soft Story retrofit in Los Angeles must be customized for each individual property. Novel Remodeling will design, engineer, acquire the permitting needed & retrofit the structure, all in-house.
Our Novel Remodeling team is highly-qualified & has extensive experience with complex Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles. Call us today at (855) 456-6835 to schedule your FREE inspection!
