The risks of earthquake damage can be a major concern for many areas of the country. Not surprisingly, tremendous efforts have been focused on improving the resilience of buildings during seismic events. In particular, soft-story retrofitting projects can be essential for reducing the threat of a building collapsing during an earthquake.
Soft Story Retrofits Can Significantly Improve the Resiliency of Your Building
Soft stories are areas of a building that will be far more vulnerable to damage during an earthquake due to them being somewhat weaker than the rest of the structure. This is a common design feature for buildings that have parking at the ground level, large rooms and they are likely to use wood or other weaker materials. If these weaker areas of the building are not reinforced, the risk of a failure occurring can be substantially higher even during fairly minor seismic events.
The Work a Soft Story Retrofit Will Involve Can Vary Depending on the Needs and Design of the Building
Prior to a retrofitting project being started, a thorough assessment of the soft story will be needed to determine the severity of the issue and the necessary steps for reinforcing it to better withstand an earthquake. Often, this work will involve installing a series of reinforced supports that can be used to harden this structure so the strain it experiences during an earthquake will be less likely to cause failures. In most cases, it will be possible to complete the soft story retrofit without causing dramatic aesthetic changes to the building, but there may be visible supports in some areas of this floor. An experienced contractor can help you to minimize the visual impacts of this work while still effectively reducing the chances of the building experiencing a failure.
Residential Buildings Can Benefit From a Soft Story Retrofit
Commercial buildings are often the structures that people will associate the most with soft story retrofitting projects. However, residential buildings will also benefit from being reinforced against seismic damage. Many older homes were made using somewhat weaker materials on the ground floor. Also, many homes may be on elevated platforms to rescue the risk of flooding, and while this can be effective at keeping the water out, these platforms will be particularly vulnerable to earthquake damage if they are not reinforced. Fortunately, completing this type of retrofit may only take a week or two, and this will be able to offer you important safety benefits without having to experience unnecessary disruptions to life in your home.
If you have questions about a soft story retrofit, be sure to speak with a local contractor.
