Brace + Bolt
Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) was developed to help homeowners lessen the potential for damage to their houses during an earthquake. A residential seismic retrofit strengthens an existing older house, making it more resistant to earthquake activity such as ground shaking and soil failure. The seismic retrofitting involves bolting the house to its foundation and adding bracing around the perimeter of the crawl space.
Owners of houses in program ZIP Codes with house characteristics suitable for this type of retrofit in accordance with California Existing Building Code Appendix Chapter A3 (Chapter A3) are eligible for an incentive payment of up to $3,000 to help pay costs associated with the retrofit of their houses.
SEISMIC RETROFITTING
Surrounding the crawl space under the first floor, many houses have a short wood framed wall (“cripple wall”) that needs to be strengthened to help prevent the house from sliding or toppling off of its foundation during an earthquake. Seismic Retrofitting involves:
Bolting: Adding anchor bolts in the crawl space to improve the connection between the wood framing of a building and its concrete foundation. Bracing: Adding plywood to the cripple walls to help keep the house from toppling off of the foundation during an earthquake
For more information, give us a call today at (925) 378-2204