A soft-story is a typical multi-story building with weak/open front wall lines, such as apartment buildings with parking space directly underneath. Most rental properties in the Los Angeles area are likely a soft-story building. It’s our job to keep such rental properties up-to-date with the latest retrofit ordinances. These photos capture our team using proper rebar to reinforce the steal frames. Without proper strengthening, these vulnerable buildings may be subject to structural failure during and/or after an earthquake.
If you live in Southern California, you are well aware of the seismic one-two combos that can happen at any moment. After the 6.4 magnitude quake that hit near Ridgecrest in July 2019, Californian’s were left wondering, was that the big one?
More importantly, if you live in or own a soft-story building in Southern California, earthquakes can bring hazardous damage to your home and building. Soft-story buildings in Southern California such as the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Pasadena are legally required to be seismic retrofitted. Even though not all cities have mandated retrofit ordinances, California’s earthquake notoriety is enough to consider keeping your property up-to-date with the latest building safety practices.
Learn more about the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Santa Monica’s mandated soft-story retrofit ordinances below:
