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    • About Us
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  • Homeowners
    • Will Your House Survive the Next Big Earthquake?
    • What To Expect
    • Do I Need a Permit?
    • Do I Need a Engineer?
    • Bay Area Earthquake Risk
      • Bay Area Earthquakes Probabilities
      • Earthquake Damage from the Hayward Fault
    • FAQ
  • Technical
    • Cripple Wall Retrofits
      • Cripple Wall Retrofit
      • Cripple Wall Engineering
        • Engineering is Everything
        • Engineering
        • Retrofitting with Rotation
        • House Weights and Retrofit Designs
        • Seismic Retrofits Using Three Foundations
        • Retrofit a House with a Center Foundation
        • SDPWS
      • Shear Walls
        • Cripple Wall Retrofits: Converting Cripple Walls Into Shear Walls
        • Building Retrofit Shear Walls
        • The Most Critical Plywood Connection
        • Plywood
          • Earthquake Resistance of 3-Ply Plywood
          • You Need the Right Type of Plywood
          • Research Report 154
          • American Plywood Association Research Report 138-The Strongest Shear Walls
          • Moisture on Plywood: The Impact on Shear Walls
          • Shear Wall Blocking in Exterior Siding
          • Overdriven Nails
          • Importance of Nails and Staples
        • Foundation Bolts – What They Do and How They Do It
        • Shear Transfer Ties
          • Shear Transfer Ties in Cripple Wall Retrofits
          • Shear Transfer Ties using Lag Screws
        • Over-sized Bolt Holes In The Mudsill
        • No Top Plates In Cripple Walls
        • Balloon Framing and Split Level Homes
        • Edge Distances
        • Double Sided Shear Walls
        • Stapled Shear Walls
        • Repairing Shear Walls & Sheet Metal Blocking
        • Mudsill Embedded in Concrete
        • Joist Blocking In Seismic Retrofit Work
      • Overturning
        • Overturning and Hold Downs
      • Additions
        • Additions
        • Porches and Seismic Retrofitting
      • Existing Materials
        • Archaic Building Materals
        • Earthquake Resistance and Sheetrock
        • Diagonal Sheathing and Shear Wall Construction
      • Foundations
        • Foundation Bolts in Old Foundations
        • Foundation Plate Washers
        • Mudsill Plates
        • Brick Foundations and Earthquake Retrofitting
        • Existing Foundations, Cracks, and Performance in Earthquakes
        • Foundation Capping
        • Rotated Foundations
        • Efflorescensce
    • No Cripple Wall Retrofits
      • No Cripple Wall Retrofits
      • Additions
      • Seismic Retrofit Designs for Homes Without Cripple Wall Retrofits
      • Shear Transfer Ties In No Cripple Wall Retrofits
    • Soft Story Retrofit
      • Soft Story Retrofits
      • Soft Story Retrofit Strategies
      • Soft Story Retrofit Requirements in the Building Code
      • Retrofitting with Rotation
    • Hillside Home Retrofits
    • Building Codes
      • Standard Plan A
      • Appendix Chapter A3
      • FEMA P-1100 & Standard Plan A Cost Comparison
      • 8 Seismic Retrofit Guidelines
      • Soft Story Building Code Requirements
    • Library
      • Engineer & Contractor PDFs
    • Old Building Codes
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Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, East Bay, El Cerrito, Foster City, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, Vallejo, Walnut Creek and Surrounding Areas

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Disclaimer

We built this website to help clients of Bay Area Retrofit to understand their retrofit proposals.

IT IS NOT A GUIDE FOR DIY RETROFITS. Retrofit design is based on many factors. Each house is unique. Bay Area Retrofit does not recommend performing a retrofit without the guidance and supervision of experienced and knowledgeable retrofit professionals, and is not responsible for costly errors, injuries, or earthquake damage that result from such attempts.

Bay Area Retrofit assumes no responsibility or liability for use by homeowners, contractors, engineers, or anyone else of the information provided on this site.

License Info

Workers' Comp RWCC64393236
Contractors Lic #558462
Bond #SC6334450
Liability Ins PCA 1045011
Contractor's License Board

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