Retrofitting Earthquake Proofing
Earthquake Retrofitting in Walnut Creek & The San Francisco Bay Area
~ Licensed ~ Bonded ~ Insured Contractor ~
A Concrete Contractor That Values Quality And Protection
Spaulding Concrete is made up of a team of specialist for structural renovation, seismic retrofitting, soft-story retrofitting, residential earthquake proofing and tenant building development.
The members of our team are your partners in safety and earthquake protection who listen to and recognize the needs of the building owner and offer their earthquake retrofitting solutions from beginning to end.
We enjoy delivering excellent service here at Spaulding Concrete and we live up to our values with every client.
FEMA Certified Contractor
This training has been developed from FEMA P-593 and modified for use in California. Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The goal of the program is to develop Seismic Rehabilitation for One and Two-Family Wood-Frame Dwellings is to promote seismic rehabilitation of structures, common seismic vulnerabilities, and identifying rehabilitation approaches and available guidelines. For use with the International California Existing Building Code (CEBC) Chapter A4
What We Do
Spaulding Concrete specializes in Residential Upgrading, Seismic Retrofit and Soft-Story Retrofit for the communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Brentwood, Concord, Clayton and more.
Our Earthquake Retrofitting Services include:
- Seismic Retrofit
- Soft-Story Retrofit
- Commercial Structure Retrofit
- Residential Retrofit
- Tenant Improvements
- New Construction
- ADA Upgrade
Keeping Your Home Structurally Sound With Earthquake Retrofitting
What is Earthquake Retrofitting and Why is it So Important?
Also known as House Bolting, Earthquake Retrofitting is the process of attaching a house to its concrete foundation using foundation plates and anchor bolts.
Earthquake retrofitting is a very important service in Northern California, especially in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Indeed, the San Francisco East Bay Area is among the most seismically active regions in the world, which is why investing in earthquake retrofitting is so critical in the event of a major earthquake to protect your loved ones and your home. Retrofitting your property allows you the peace of mind that your property is securely protected for the next one.
Most older homes lack the necessary safeguards to protect their property against seismic damage. Simply put, earthquake retrofitting means reducing the risk of catastrophe caused by earthquakes.
A wood frame construction earthquake retrofit fixes what is known as “Earthquake Weakness,” which involves your home’s ties to its base. In the event of seismic activity, Earthquake retrofitting uses a number of connections including anchor bolts, shear paneling and framing anchors to help secure your home to its foundation.
Hundreds Of Unbolted Homes Were Damaged or Destroyed During The 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Foundation bolting is a simple, quick and inexpensive method for providing greater protection from an earthquake’s intense side-to-side and back-and-forth powers.
Even if your house has these features, they can wear out over time, leaving your foundation vulnerable to damage from the earthquake. The deterioration of the base may also cause a prior retrofit to cease to be successful.
Recent earthquakes have shown that even in moderate earthquakes, if a building has weak cripple wall bracing or is unbolted, it can slide off its foundation. That’s because an earthquake’s powerful motions will shake off its foundation an unbolted home or building.
Our specialists in seismic retrofitting have seen the cripple stud walls of buildings forcing structures to collapse and slip. And if a building collapses or falls, they can catch fire or need extensive repairs to restore the conditions for occupancy.
Reach Out to Spaulding Concrete Now for Help
When you reach out by phone or email we will have one of our earthquake retrofitting experts answer any questions you have and explain how we can restore integrity and structural stability to your home permanently.
To schedule your free quote, call or email us today! We are proud to serve Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Livermore and the surrounding areas.
About Our Process
Our process is simple. We treat every new client as if they were our first and proceed by finalizing their priority list and making the most accountable decisions to complete their dream project in a timely, on budget and efficient manner. We are a flexible company that can break down large jobs into phases that work best for our clients, if necessary.
Since we are a family owned company, we have a true passion for every job we touch. We offer superior service with fair prices along with thorough communication to our clients. We bring quality service to match quality results. Our clients’ satisfaction is our highest priority. We won’t leave a job until our customers are happy.
Contact Us Now For Your Free Consult
Call For a Quote: (925) 348-6125
Recent Projects
Within the gallery you’ll find a variation of colors and different styles that we are capable of producing for you. We communicate thoroughly with our clients to ensure that we provide them with the right results. Our team won’t leave the job until our customers are satisfied with the results.
Earthquake Retrofitting Project Coming Soon
F.A.Q.
We understand you may have questions regarding our process or inquires for your next project. Our team of qualified experts are here to advise and help design your vision. Don’t see your question answered here? Feel free to send us your question!
Are we a certified company?
We are a California FEMA certified Retrofitting Contractor. Developed from FEMA P-593 Seismic rehabilitation program and under current existing California building code Chapter A4.
What is a Soft Story building?
A building structure which has a weaker first floor and is unable to carry the weight of the stories above during an earthquake. The first floor would have large openings in the perimeter walls such as garages, under parking or large windows.
What is seismic retrofitting?
The seismic retrofitting process involves the installation of engineered metal connectors and other reinforcement materials at key stress points throughout your home’s structure. The specially designed hardware includes hold downs, anchors & anchor bolts etc and structural sheathing may also be incorporated into many retrofitting packages. The goal of the retrofitting process is to counteract three main earthquake-induced forces that can cause major damage to a building: racking, sliding and overturning. Transforming a building with loosely connected parts into a unified structure with a continuous load path that extends from the building foundation up through the walls and all the way to the roof framing. Our experienced crew will utilize an impressive arsenal of seismic connectors to keep your structure together.
What is the mandatory soft story retrofit program in the San Francisco Bay area?
The Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program was created in 2013 as a multi-year community-based effort led by the Earthquake Safety Implementation Program and enforced by the Department of Building Inspection to ensure the safety and resilience of San Francisco’s Bay’s housing stock through the retrofit of older, wood-framed, multi-family Residential and buildings with a soft-story condition. The purpose is to encourage property owners of soft story buildings to take the necessary steps to comply with program requirements by filing for a permit to ensure their properties are seismically safe in anticipation of the next big quake.
How much does it cost to seismic retrofitting a home or building?
The average cost of a soft story retrofit varies greatly depending on the scope of the project. The typical cost to earthquake retrofit a small size home with one floor level in good condition is about $4,000 to $6,000 and increases based on the amount of square footage and residential levels. A medium size building can cost anywhere between $60,000 to $80,000 while a large size building can range from $100,000 to $150,000 and even more.