SEISMIC RETROFIT LOS ANGELES

With the possibility of occurrence of earthquakes in our everyday lives in Southern California, it is not a matter of if but rather when, a major seismic event may be experienced. Many cities in the region including City of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Burbank, Long Beach, and Beverly Hills have therefore enacted Seismic retrofit laws to protect public safety.
Affected buildings were mostly built prior to 1978 (UBC 1976) and cover the following building types.

• Soft Story Multifamily Dwelling Buildings
• Unreinforced Masonry Buildings
• Steel Moment Frame Buildings
• Non-ductile Concrete Buildings
• Concrete Tilt-up Buildings

Timelines to comply vary for one building type to another and are also dependent on the jurisdiction enforcing them.

Our in-depth knowledge & accurate interpretation of seismic retrofit codes & standards (ASCE 41, ASCE7, etc.) has benefited our clients with reduction in scope of work in many projects or granted exemptions for their buildings.

Compliance with ASCE 41-13 & ASCE 41-17 Standards

• City of Santa Monica: 5-story pre-Northridge steel moment frame building
• City of Los Angeles: 3-story wood framed apartment building

Compliance with IEBC 2016 and earlier codes

• City of Richmond: 3-story wood framed apartment building (soft story seismic retrofit)
• City of Los Angeles: Several 2-story and 3-story apartment buildings prior to Oct. 2015 mandate (soft story seismic retrofit)

Compliance with seismic ordinances of California (Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Burbank & Long Beach)

• Provided engineering plans for 60+ apartment building and condominiums to meet seismic retrofit mandatory ordinances.
• Provided investigations and evaluations for several apartment buildings and condominiums that were incorrectly identified as being seismically deficient by the local jurisdiction thus obtaining exemptions from the seismic retrofit mandates.

1. Overland Ave., L.A., The 3-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1951, was retrofitted in 2016 using tubular steel SCCS.
2. S. Wooster Ave., L.A., The 2-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1960, was retrofitted in 2017 using WF steel SCCS.
3. Rodney Dr., L.A., The 3-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1958, was retrofitted in 2018 using WF steel SCCS.
4. W. 12th St., San Pedro, The 3-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1967, was retrofitted in 2017 using WF moment frames and WF steel SCCS.
5. Huston St., L.A., The 2-story condominium building, originally constructed in 1972, was retrofitted in 2018 using WF SCCS.
6. Moorpark St., L.A., The 2-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1966, was retrofitted in 2018 using WF moment frames and plywood shear walls.
7. National Blvd., L.A., The 3-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1964, was voluntarily retrofitted in 2015 using WF moment frames.
8. N. Formosa Ave., L.A., The 3-story apartment building, originally constructed in 1957, was retrofitted in 2016 using WF steel SCCS.

From 2015-2018, RZ Engineering Corporation has screened and successfully obtained seismic retrofit exemptions for a number of buildings in the City of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, thus saving property owners the cost of an otherwise unnecessary and expensive seismic retrofit.