Ever heard of “soft story” structures? A soft story refers to any building, residential or commercial, that has a garage, porch or carport area with living spaces above it. Buildings designed this way can pose a life-threatening hazard as it may not withstand shear or lateral force during earthquakes. The risk of the structural damage can be enormous when it fails or collapses to the extent of claiming properties and lives. Many counties in the California have proposed ordinances requiring all buildings with a soft story to do retrofitting to avoid such risks.
Los Angeles Inspection and Assessment For Earthquake Retrofitting
In January 2014, the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) and the city of Los Angeles came together to create a program focusing on improving the Los Angeles’ resiliency in the event of an earthquake. In December 8th of the same year, “Resilience by Design” was released; a report detailing the city’s resiliency program and recommendations on infrastructure evaluation. Buildings that are possibly vulnerable to structural damages with the existence of a soft story or the use of non-ductile concrete shall be strengthened. Using internal resources, the city of Los Angeles has created a shortlist of buildings that has soft story and shall be the priority of the program.
Sufficient time is given for property owners with existing properties in Los Angeles to fix and retrofit; seven (7) years for wood apartments and twenty-five (25) years for concrete buildings. An estimated 13,500 apartments were also identified by officials as requiring repairs. In a 2013 investigation by Times, approximately 1,000 concrete structure and significant landmark buildings in downtown Hollywood and Westwood also deemed to be required for retrofitting.
Expert committees including the SEAOSC Existing Buildings Committee (EBC) have reviewed the drafted ordinances for buildings with soft story and non-ductile concrete. Mayor Garcetti, in a meeting with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce on February 17, 2015, hoped that the review process for the proposed ordinances will be finished by June and implementation before the end of 2015. SEAOSC EBC will be actively involved not only in reviewing the ordinances but also in developing sample problems and earthquake preparedness solutions to speed up the retrofitting efforts of the affected buildings in the event following a seismic occurrence. Learn more about “Resiliency by Design” by reading the Mayor’s blog here: lamayor.org/earthquake. Further information about earthquake preparedness can also be read at readyla.org.
Commercial Retrofitting Laws In California
In California’s earthquake hazard disclosure law, property sellers are required to reveal to prospective buyers any hazardous conditions that may happen in the property in the event of a seismic activity. This should be readily divulged at the time of sale and shall include whether soft story structure, weak spots and cripple walls exists.
Soft story structure can be visualized by using dominoes; two dominoes positioned vertically on its small ends with horizontal dominoes stacked on top. The downward force exerted by the horizontal dominoes make the structure strong enough. However, once force is applied on one of the vertically standing dominoes, be it a shake or a strong breath, expect to see the structure to tumble down.
The entire Los Angeles neighborhood is encouraged to work and do retrofitting while it is still not mandatory. For your soft story retrofitting needs, call 323-931-2969, email us or we will call you right away after you fill out our brief contact form.
We, at Fidelity & Designs, pride ourselves on being professional, reliable, and affordable. We can help you retrofit your commercial property and home. We are fully licensed and fully insured. Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation on your renovating project at 1-877-405-0409.