Earthquake
Retrofitting: Peace of Mind, Protect Your Family
and Your Investment from an Earthquake Disaster.
We service the entire State of
California.
Welcome to Cal-Quake Construction, the earthquake readiness
experts. Here you'll find useful information on earthquake
readiness and earthquake
retrofitting for your home. Also, hints on how to prevent
or limit damage to your home, and life saving tips to keep
you and your family safe.
The CAL-QUAKE team
has well over 150 years of combined experience preparing homes
for earthquakes, and repairing earthquake damage.
Foundation
Repair
When an earthquake happens, the foundation is often where much
of the damage begins. A basic residential seismic foundation
and crawl space inspection will provide a first visual indication
of your home's ability to withstand the stresses of an earthquake.
Home
Bolting - the solution for sliding failure.
Sliding failure occurs when a house is not securely bolted to
the foundation. The sideways movement of an earthquake can cause
the entire building to literally slide off its foundation (while
often remaining otherwise intact). Sliding failures are usually
prevented by ordinary foundation bolts and framing anchors that
tie the foundation to the building's base.
Cripple Wall Reinforcement
Cripple walls are short walls that connect your foundation to
your floor base. Unreinforced cripple walls can be destroyed
by the sideways movement created by an earthquake. The result
can knock your home off its base foundation and do tens of thousands
of dollars in damage. Plywood reinforcement on the inside face
of the cripple-wall studs provides increased strength and can
save a house from considerable damage during a quake. Securing
Girders
Homes are often supported by a post and pier foundation. Large
beams run under the home's floor joists and are held up by posts.
Each post rests on a concrete footing or pier. This type of
foundation is very susceptible to a complete collapse during
an earthquake. To better resist seismic forces, the solution
is to tie together all the foundation's components, including
the beams, posts and piers.
Soft
Story Repair
Many homes or commercial and apartment buildings have what is
called a "soft story" condition. This describes any
building that has a habitable room or rooms above a garage,
carport, or delivery bay area that was not designed to transmit
shear or lateral forces to the story above. If garage walls
are not designed to handle the tremendous forces of an earthquake,
the entire structure may collapse.
