Mission and Training

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Our Contributions to The Field

Historic building preservation structural engineer and retrofit code developer Nels Roselund trained me without charge and asked me to pass his knowledge on to others. This is the main reason I created this website. Nels is a world-class structural engineer who retrofitted the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles as well as other priceless structures.

Professional Highlights

Vice Chair of a seismic retrofit building code committee.  Our primary contribution to this code effort is this summary report.  

Co-author of Standard Plan A used by the California Earthquake Authority as well as building departments all over the Bay Area.

Member Disaster-Commission and Consultant. 

Course Instructor: Principles and Practice of Earthquake Retrofitting 2014 presented by the Association of Bay Area Governments.

Author of article “Seismic Retrofit for Cripple Walls”, The Journal of Light Construction.  April 2006.

Featured expert “The Hayward Fault. Predictable Peril.” KQED, Channel 9.

Contributing Contractor “California Works to Prepare for the Big One”, PBS News Hour.  This is a compilation of both the “The Hayward Fault.  Predictable Peril” and the NewsHour documentarys.

Featured Expert in the “S.F. Homeowners Need To Be Ready” in the S.F. Chronicle

Source for this article in the New York Times

Guest Lecturer “Retrofit Principles and Practice for the Home Inspection Industry”  Sponsored by the Golden Gate Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors.

Keynote speaker “The Preservation of Historical Wood-Framed Buildings” Sponsored by The City of Victoria Heritage Foundation in British Columbia.

Mayoral Appointee to the Berkeley Disaster Commission as a seismic retrofit expert.

Guest Lecturer: “Retrofit Principles and Practice for the Canadian Home Inspection Industry,” sponsored by the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors.

Primary source for an article in the The Mercury News on Soft Story Retrofitting.

Featured contractor in “The Danger Beneath” in the East Bay Express

Residential Damage Inspector, FEMA.  1989-1994. 

Member Associations

• Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
• Structural Engineers Association of Northern California

 

Publications by Bay Area Retrofit

• Co-Author with Wendy Allen, Engineer for Simpson Strong Tie, “Mudsill Anchorage Systems in Cripple Wall Retrofits”, 2007.
• Co-Author and currently updating Bay Area’s Retrofit Guidelines: “Standard Plan A, Residential Seismic Strengthening Plan”, The International Code Council, 2005.
• “Homeowner’s Guide to Seismic Retrofitting.”
• Many other publications are available in the PDF Library at BayAreaRetrofit.com.

A Well-Trained Crew

This work requires unique individuals.  They must be intelligent enough to grasp the engineering principles and at the same be OK with crawling under houses all day.

The quality of the job is only as good as the people who do it.  I might know a lot, but if that knowledge does not show up under your house, it does not do much good.

Our Innovations

We developed the Flush Cut Method, and Bay Area Retrofit is the only company in the state who uses it.  We are also the only seismic retrofit contractor in the country that uses the Mudsill Plates.  Just ask one of our competitors if they use Mudsill Plates.

Cities and Counties We Serve in the San Francisco Bay Area

Bay Area Retrofit serves the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, including: