Structural Repairs

Structural repairs to a building become necessary when walls and frames lack sufficient strength to reliably support the stories above them, especially in the event of another earthquake (a seismic event) in San Francisco. These are known as soft story buildings. A seismic retrofit is a common type of structural repair implemented by building owners throughout the Bay Area who wish to keep their families and tenants safe. The city of San Francisco has mandated that wood-frame soft story buildings with three-stories and five to 15 units must have a soft story retrofit.

ARC has performed full seismic retrofits on private residences and apartment and condo complexes mandated by San Francisco soft-story regulations. The photo above shows a key step in an ARC structural repair project calling for the installation of structural steel support above the garage where there were no structural supports holding up the ceiling. In order to create the necessary support, excavation and forms were implemented at the garage entrance for eventual seating of structural steel allowing the installation of the structural steel ceiling support beam shown in the photo above. The garage was closed in, its exterior prepped for brick façade and then the brick was installed leaving a completed “soft story” garage and a restored second story.

Architectural Restoration & Waterproofing is a Seismic Retrofit Contractor. Serving San Francisco, Marin, and the greater Bay Area.