Earthquake retrofitting, or seismic retrofitting, is the process of making a structure stronger so that it suffers the least amount of damage during an earthquake. It makes the structure more resilient during shaking caused by earthquakes. The process of earthquake retrofitting involves identifying the weakest points in the structure and reinforcing them.

In the state of California, over a million homes are vulnerable to major earthquake damage due to their age and location. These homes were built before modern building codes were implemented to include earthquake protections. If your home may be vulnerable to earthquake damage, it’s worth working with a professional to determine whether an earthquake retrofit is a good option. While it may sound costly, this investment could save you a ton of money down the road by protecting your home during a major natural disaster.

The Benefits of Undergoing an Earthquake Retrofit

Protecting your home also means protecting your investment. More importantly, it can keep you and your family safe. Retrofitting your home offers the following benefits:

• Enhancing safety: Strengthening your home through earthquake retrofitting also lessens the risk of personal injury that may occur during an earthquake. It will cause less shaking in your home, which can also reduce the amount of furniture and personal items that can fall on family members or pin them against walls or other structures. In addition to an earthquake retrofit that will bolt your foundation, you may also want to secure appliances and heavy furniture to enhance the safety of your home during an earthquake.

• Stability: Many families that lose their homes after an earthquake experience housing instability. There are often not enough habitable spaces to ensure everyone who is dislocated has a place to stay. By keeping your home safe and stable throughout an earthquake, you are also ensuring that your family won’t become one of the thousands of families that are often displaced after an earthquake.

• Financial protection: A person’s home is often the biggest investment they make. Earthquake retrofits reduce the risk of damage during a major earthquake, which reduces the likelihood that you will need to rebuild or pay for costly repairs. It’s a great way to protect the investment you have already made and reduce the risk of having to sink more money into it.

The Logistics of Earthquake Retrofitting

Seismic retrofits often involve strengthening the home’s foundation to make it more able to withstand earthquake shaking. This type of shaking can be especially damaging to older homes built before 1980, when building codes were adopted to increase earthquake safety precautions. To mitigate this problem, retrofitting may include using bolts to secure the foundation, adding a foundation, and other strengthening elements.

The key objective of seismic retrofits is to keep the home from moving off of its foundation, which makes the building safer and less prone to damage from an earthquake. Depending upon the style of home you have, a brace and bolt retrofit usually ranges somewhere between $3,000 and $7,000. While this is a lot of money, it can save you far more in the cost of repairs after an earthquake.

Identifying Vulnerable Homes

In California, millions of wood-framed homes may need a brace and bolt retrofit to prevent them from sliding off of the foundation, but other types of homes are also vulnerable for other reasons. These include:

• Raised foundation homes: Homes on a raised foundation have a crawlspace, which makes them more susceptible to shifting off the foundation during an earthquake. These homes can be retrofitted by bolting the home to its foundation with anchor bolts or with bracing and bolting.

• Stem wall houses: Stem wall houses also have a raised foundation, which puts them at risk of greater damage during an earthquake. Stem wall houses have a wood-framed first floor, which sits directly on a raised concrete foundation. Retrofitting these homes includes bolting the home sill plate directly to the foundation using foundation plates.

• Post & pier homes: These homes also have a raised foundation with a wood frame floor supported by upright wood posts. The posts are set on concrete blocks or pier pads throughout the crawlspace, which makes them highly susceptible to shifting or collapsing during an earthquake. Adding a foundation that is braced and bolted will strengthen this type of home to help it withstand an earthquake.

• Cripple wall homes: These homes feature a crawl space with short wood-framed walls between the foundation and the wood-framed first floor. A brace and bolt retrofit, including bracing of the walls, will help strengthen this home.

• Hillside homes: Houses built on hillsides are often set on tall posts or columns, with the foundation expected to bear the weight of the entire house. While this works well in normal conditions, they are not well-suited to withstand an earthquake. Retrofitting these homes often includes strengthening the foundation and wall bracing and bolting.

• Over-garage homes: Homes that have living space over the garage are often also at higher risk because the walls and doors may not be reinforced. Retrofitting the garage space can make these homes more resistant to damage caused by an earthquake.

Retrofitting your home for earthquakes is one of the best ways to protect your investment and family during an earthquake. It ensures that you are safer and more prepared for an inevitable natural disaster. It is usually a straightforward process that can be completed within weeks and will result in greater peace of mind, knowing that your home and its occupants are safer. To learn more about how earthquake retrofitting works or to get a quote for retrofitting your home, contact Sure Safe today. Our experienced and knowledgeable team will identify all the steps you can take to prepare for the next big earthquake.