Does my house need a seismic retrofit?

If it sits on a raised wood floor with cripple walls and was built before the late 1970s, it is worth checking. We look at the bolts, the bracing and the sill during the walk-through and tell you what we see.

Do structural repairs need an engineer?

Most beam work and any change to a bearing wall does. Standard foundation bolting can often follow a prescriptive plan set. We tell you which applies to your house before the scope is written.

Will structural work damage my finishes?

We plan around them. Retrofit work happens in the crawl space. For beam work, trim and fixtures near the opening are removed by hand, stored and reinstalled.

Structural Work for Older Homes

Bolting, bracing, new beams and framing repairs that make an older house sound again, designed with an engineer and inspected before walls close.

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Where older framing is weak

Houses built before modern seismic rules often sit on short wood cripple walls with few or no anchor bolts. Over decades, earlier remodels may have notched joists for pipes or removed a post. We crawl under the house and into the attic to find these points before we price anything.

Bolting and bracing the foundation

A seismic retrofit ties the wood frame to the concrete with anchor bolts and stiffens the cripple walls with plywood. It is a proven way to make an older raised house safer in an earthquake, and it is done from the crawl space with the rooms above left in place.

Opening walls and adding beams

Removing or moving a bearing wall means carrying its load another way. An engineer sizes the beam and posts, we file the permit, and the new framing is inspected before drywall. Original ceilings and trim nearby are protected or removed by hand and put back.

Structural Work: questions

If it sits on a raised wood floor with cripple walls and was built before the late 1970s, it is worth checking. We look at the bolts, the bracing and the sill during the walk-through and tell you what we see.
Most beam work and any change to a bearing wall does. Standard foundation bolting can often follow a prescriptive plan set. We tell you which applies to your house before the scope is written.
We plan around them. Retrofit work happens in the crawl space. For beam work, trim and fixtures near the opening are removed by hand, stored and reinstalled.

Where we offer Structural Work

Have the framing checked

Book a walk-through. We will look under the house and in the attic and tell you what the structure needs.

Ask for a callback Start with a walk-through