Commercial Earthquake Retrofitting in Los Angeles, Oxnard, Long Beach, and The San Fernando Valley, CA
Seismic Retrofitting For Greater Los Angeles Commercial Buildings
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Stabilizing Commercial Building Structures
The importance of protecting buildings from earthquake damage through retrofitting has been amplified by recent seismic events in Haiti, Japan and New Zealand. Well-executed seismic retrofit work can save lives as well as buildings, so it should be a priority for all home and business owners.
Commercial construction makes buildings susceptible to seismic damage in California
Commercial buildings are especially prone to earthquake damage for numerous reasons. First of all, commercial buildings equipped with loading docks have walls full of large openings where oversized doors are installed. These openings dramatically diminish a wall’s shear strength, making it susceptible to collapse during a strong tremor.
Large buildings like those used by Home Depot and Lowes can also be considered in the high-risk category. We refer to these outlets as “big box” stores for good reason: The structure has few if any full-height interior walls to improve racking resistance. The exterior walls are tall, and often have minimal reinforcement, and wall-to-roof connections can be weak. Structurally, these buildings resemble a cardboard box that has been turned upside-down. The racking force exerted by an earthquake can cause significant damage to such a structure, or even complete collapse.
Seismic Retrofit In California Provides Affordable Earthquake Protection
Seismic retrofitting to strengthen a building is not required by state law in California. But it’s a very wise improvement to make for several reasons. First of all, having this reinforcement work completed by a licensed foundation repair contractor can lower a building’s insurance rates. A properly reinforced building will also be easier to sell, and more valuable than a comparable property that hasn’t had seismic retrofit work done. But the most important reason to complete seismic retrofit improvements on a building is to avoid loss of life during an earthquake. For many businesses, the repercussions of fatalities due to building failure are simply too great for the business to continue.
Just as in a residential retrofit, seismic retrofit work on a commercial building focuses on vulnerable connection points. Walls usually require stronger connection to floors, foundations and roof structural elements. Additional bracing is also usually required to improve a wall’s racking resistance, especially when large openings are present. Along with the installation of new anchors and braces, contractors will inspect existing connection points and hardware, looking for corrosion, weakened joints and missing fasteners that diminish structural value.
The cost to complete seismic retrofit work on a commercial building can vary greatly. Factors that determine the final cost include the accessibility of structural connection points, the condition of existing connections, braces and hardware, and the size of the building.
Weinstein Retrofitting Systems provides professional commercial earthquake retrofitting in Los Angeles, Oxnard, Long Beach, Glendale, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Lancaster, Inglewood, Torrance, Pomona, Palmdale, West Covina, La Puente, Burbank, Norwalk, Bell Gardens, and surrounding California areas.
