Los Angeles Apartment buildings with a “soft story” in might need serious seismic retrofits. If you live in Los Angeles, you have to do everything that you can in order to prepare for the “Big One”. Since we cannot predict earthquakes, one thing you can do to prepare for a seismic shake is to get a Los Angeles soft story retrofit. You might be thinking: “Why do I have to shell out money and spend for a soft story retrofit?” Here are some of the reasons why you can save more by spending on a retrofit.

According to US Geological Survey, Southern California alone experiences about 1,000 earthquakes each year. Although most of them are so small you can barely feel them, we should still be looking out for large quakes.

A building is considered a soft story when there is an open ground floor with a wide space, usually a garage with one or more stories. These types of structures are very prone to collapsing when an earthquake happens and it could be dangerous for the people inhabiting the building. The good news is, there is a way you can prevent harming the safety of your tenants and your property and that is through a soft story retrofitting.

The Process of Soft Story Retrofitting your Apartment Building

Every soft story retrofit project is a unique one especially because each apartment building has its different qualities. It would depend on the materials that were used for your structure, when your apartment building was built, and other factors.

Step 1: Consult

The easiest way you can have your apartment building professionally retrofitted is to consult with a seismic retrofit service provider. Soft story retrofits should be done right and the only way you can truly measure if the work is done is when the next big earthquake hits. That is why you shouldn’t leave your apartment building to chance and make sure to get a professional to get an idea of how much the project will cost. Experts engineers can provide you a solid engineering plan to reduce cost and unnecessary elements.

Step 2: Surveying

Once a contract has been signed, the surveying and planning will commence. The retrofitting team will create an efficient design that will meet the retrofitting needs of your building.

Step 3: Approval

After the plans are approved and permits are given a go signal, the next thing a client has to go through is to prepare for construction basing on the approved plans for your apartment building.

Step 4: The Tenant Habitability Plan

The firm will continue to complete the process for the Tenant Habitability Plan, which is a document that contains the process of the soft story retrofitting construction that will take place and the degree of how the tenants’ day-to-day lives will be disrupted during the construction proper. Once the permit is obtained, notices will be given to tenants regarding the construction 21 days before it starts.

Step 5: Construction Proper

Providing all the necessary permits have been obtained and documents have been accomplished, the soft story retrofitting company can now proceed to the construction, strictly following the construction plans and tenant habitability plan.

Step 6: Cost Recovery Application

Since Los Angeles soft story retrofit can also cost you money, it is possible to get help from your tenants according to Los Angeles Municipal Code Rent Stabilization Ordinance, under the amendment of Article 1 of Chapter XV, half or fifty percent of the total costs spent on mandatory soft story retrofitting work can be passed on to tenants. This can be processed after the whole retrofitting has been finished since proof of all related costs needs to be provided.

Get a Soft Story Retrofitting in Los Angeles

Now that we have walked you through the basic steps in making sure your apartment building is earthquake-safe, you should now have an idea that although it can cost you money, it is worth spending if it will save the lives of your tenants and you could also protect your real estate investment, which is your apartment building. You can go to sleep at night knowing that your building is safe enough to withstand seismic shakes. Leave the entire retrofitting process in the capable hands of our project managers for your convenience. From start to finish, we can make sure that the whole project will get you ready for “the Big One.” Call us today for a consultation so we can start making your apartment building a safer place in Los Angeles, California to live in.