Should You Retrofit Your Commercial Building ?

In the last five years, the residents of Los Angeles have become much more aware of the fact that a high magnitude earthquake will strike anytime soon, in fact in 2015 the NASA JPL scientists predicted that there is a 99.9% chance of having a 5.0 or greater magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles in the following two and a half years.soft story retrofitting in los angeles

Unlike homeowners, commercial building owners have a lot more at stake in the event of an earthquake hence the need to retrofit their properties.

Why retrofit a commercial building ?

Reduced Risk of Injury

Unreinforced Commercial buildings such as apartment buildings or offices tend to have a lot of injuries or deaths during an earthquake because of a large number of occupants. During the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a total of 11,846 people were hospitalized and a lot of them sustained injuries or died from structural failure of commercial buildings such as the Northridge Meadows Apartments where sixteen people died after the top two floors of the apartment building collapsed on top of the first floor. Having your commercial building earthquake retrofitted will greatly reduce the risk of injuries during or after an earthquake.

Related: 4 reasons why you should retrofit your soft story building now

Reduced Earthquake Insurance Premium

Most commercial building owners think that they have two options of either Purchasing earthquake insurance and not Investing in earthquake retrofit or investing in earthquake retrofit and not purchasing earthquake insurance but it shouldn’t be either of the two options. Commercial building owners can earthquake retrofit their buildings and also get earthquake insurance because earthquake insurance premiums are greatly reduced if a property is retrofitted therefore you can have your building retrofitted and also have it insured without spending a lot of money.

Related: Property Retrofitting

More Clients

It’s in the interest of the commercial building owners if tenants or future tenants know that the commercial building is earthquake retrofitted, because Los Angeles is so vulnerable to earthquakes hence the residents are continuously educated about earthquakes and also receive numerous earthquake warnings and advisories such as the most recent one in which a 7.0 or greater magnitude earthquake was expected. Have an earthquake retrofitted building in Los Angeles will greatly increase your number of clients.

Most vulnerable commercial buildings

  • Historical buildings
  • Unreinforced masonry  buildings
  • Tilt-Up concrete buildings
  • Soft Story buildings

Related: Commercial seismic retrofitting solutions

Hire a professional earthquake retrofit contractor

You need to hire a licensed earthquake retrofit contractor if you want to achieve excellent results. To receive a free* inspection and estimate, contact California Foundation Works on 323-418-2239.