Soft Story Retrofit in San Francisco - Structural Engineer

If you are renovating your building, you might be required by code to have a structural engineer verify that the building has enough shear walls or frames and that they are laid out to provide a basic level of performance in an earthquake.

Soft Story Retrofits: The City of San Francisco is requiring building owners with certain configurations of tuck-under parking (cars beneath rooms) to have a mandatory retrofit to prevent building collapse in an earthquake. Give us a call, and we will design a retrofit or determine if one is even required.

Seismic Retrofit: Structural Engineering Samples

University Faculty Club Retrofit

This 3-story wood building was built in 1966 and is triangular in plan and elevation. This exotic shape made the analysis challenging, but without a challenge, what is the reason for working? A seismic retrofit strengthened key aspects of the building's seismic performance and facilitated an appealing remodel.

Relates to: Soft Story Retrofit in San Francisco, Seismic Retrofit Engineer in San Francisco, Seismic Retrofit Engineer in Sacramento.

Music Conservatory

This 70-year-old two story building was well designed for its time. But engineers have learned a lot since then, and the seismic retrofit report written using ASCE 31 criteria informed the owners of their options for helping the building achieve modern performance objectives.

Museum Storage Facility

A second story was added to an existing one story building. To brace the newly raised roof, steel braced frames were installed on top of existing tilt up concrete panel walls, and an extensive foundation retrofit was accomplished.