Clients sometime wonder why a seismic retrofits costs so much and why sometimes it seems like we finish them so quickly. Hopefully I can explain why this is.
We are very fast at our work. We have been doing nothing but this for 25 years and employ every imaginable tool and type of hardware available. One specialized drill can cost $2,000. This work is also very hard on even the best of tools and must be replaced often. Materials are also a considerable expense, and we need to pay our people very well. Skilled intelligent people who are willing to crawl under houses all day is a rare combination. They will go work somewhere else unless they are treated well. This is one reason why a seismic retrofit costs so much.
An effective retrofit is only as good as the training of the person doing the work. We have seen people spend $15,000 and get nothing because the people doing the work did not understand what they were doing. For example, after 25 years of doing this, I have yet to see one existing retrofit or recommendation by an engineer where balloon framing was properly addressed. There are companies that are cheaper than we are, sometimes much cheaper, but I don’t think you will find any that are better. Rarely do City building inspectors or contractors have a good understanding of the subject. This is another reason a seismic retrofit costs so much.
I train everyone personally. Thorough training along with a high degree of intelligence is critical because each house is unique. Unusual framing patterns, poor quality existing retrofits, and sloppy initial construction are things we face all the time and requires technicians who understand what they are doing if something unusual comes up. Most contractors simply don’t do anything at all if they find something out of the ordinary and they can’t figure out what to do. We always make it right, no matter how long it takes us and no matter what we find. Even if we lose money, such as when we notice a foundation needs to be replaced, we don’t care because people pay us to protect their homes and we will do that no matter what.
Sometimes things go well and better than predicted and sometimes we spend 3 times longer than we had hoped. For us it is a matter of doing it right, no matter what happens. Protecting people’s greatest investment, safety, and their lives deserve as much. We don’t even let someone work unsupervised unless they have been with us a year or so. There simply is too much to know.
And of course, there are all the other expenses associated with running a business, i.e., training for employees, worker’s comp insurance, liability insurance, depreciation of equipment and vehicles, rent, salaries for staff, accounting, gas and vehicle upkeep, medical insurance, year-end bonuses to keep skilled people working for us, advertising, hours and hours spent on writing proposals that don’t go anywhere, etc. Seems like the list never ends. It might seem like a lot but our profit margin on average is only 15%. I wish it were more. That is probably the main reason seismic retrofits cost so much.
