Weak Soft-Story Building = Tenants and Property Owner’s Worst Nightmare

Whether you are renting in or own a soft-story building, if your building is not up-to-date with your city’s building ordinances, you are most likely to encounter a dangerous (and expensive ) situation.
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. 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 must be well aware of the seismic activity that can happen at any moment. After the 6.4 magnitude quake that hit near Ridgecrest in July 2019, Californian’s are left wondering, when will the next ‘big one’ hit? Though we can never avoid natural disasters, there are methods to prevent/minimize disastrous damage to our homes.
Soft-story buildings in SoCal 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.
The Soft-Story Retrofitting process can be summed up in FIVE steps:


STEP1: First, a contractor must visit the site to evaluate the building. With our network of structural engineers, we help property owners develop the blueprints, secure permits, and create a plan for reinforcing the building. The property owner must mitigate a plan to ensure tenants are well taken care of as we manage the project and communicate project updates with the owner and building management.


STEP2:Once the project details are finalized, our team can start working their magic. We begin with shoring to stabilize the building and prepare for steel framing. Steel frames are strategically placed to maximize their ability to absorb shock and minimize swaying that can lead to a dangerous collapse.


STEP3: Next, we trench the area where the steel frames must be secured by the foundation to ensure they are firmly connected and rooted into the ground beneath the building.


STEP4: We then proceed to brace the area with concrete and rebar by bonding the new material with rods that are inserted into a series of holes drilled into the existing foundation and secured with epoxy. The rebar is then placed inside the trench and firmly secured.


STEP5: Finally, new concrete is poured into the trench to hold it all together, followed by stucco, painting, and clean-up.