Need to comply with San Francisco “Soft Story Retrofit” Ordinance?

San Francisco recently signed into law an ordinance making retrofitting of thousands of seismically unsafe buildings mandatory.  This ordinance applies to wood-frame buildings built before 1978, which are at least three stories tall and have at least five residential units. These apartments are unsafe because an earthquake shakes the bottom floor that supports the weight of the apartments above, causing buildings to collapse and pancake. The retrofitting involves adding new walls or steel braces to strengthen the ground story. The cost of this structural work is estimated at $60,000 to $130,000 per building.

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LASERTECH Floorplans is one of the largest providers of laser-accurate as-bult measuring services in not only California, but throughout the West Coast states and provinces, since 1998.   We have measured thousands of buildings of all types and sizes, and our clients include architects, engineers, and property owners that need to obtain As-Built documentation quickly, accurately and affordably.

We are familiar with the Soft Story Retrofit Mandate, and can help you get the compliance process started efficiently and cost-effectively by creating the necessary As-Built Floor Plans. Typically you will only need to document the dimensions and conditions of the two lowest floors (including subterranean, if applicable). You can then use your completed As-Built plans as a resource to help you obtain competitive bids from a Structural Engineer – who can guide you through the rest of the process. We work directly with several San Francisco engineers that do Soft-Story Retrofit work, as well as knowledgeable Seismic Retrofit Contractors. We are happy to refer you to some of the finest Soft-Story Retrofit engineers and contractors in the business.