Saunders Seismic Insights
BLOG TECTONICS
Expert guidance to help commercial and industrial property owners, facility managers, and investors understand earthquake retrofitting, structural repairs, and building safety.
Earthquake Risks of 5 Commercial Building Types
Earthquakes don’t just shake the ground—they test the strength of every structure built upon it. For many types of commercial buildings, especially those constructed before modern safety codes, seismic events reveal dangerous vulnerabilities that could put lives and...
How Many Earthquakes Does California Have in a Day?
California is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, experiencing frequent tremors ranging from minor shakes to potentially catastrophic events. While most earthquakes in California go unnoticed, larger ones can cause widespread damage, endangering...
Is Commercial Earthquake Insurance Worth It?
Damage to a commercial building after the Northridge earthquake. Source: USGS Earthquakes are among the most common natural disasters, yet standard property insurance rarely covers them. Property owners in high-risk areas often need separate earthquake insurance,...
Soft-Story Collapse: Is Your Building at Risk?
Earthquakes strike without warning, and not all buildings are designed to withstand their force. If you own or manage a commercial or industrial property, it’s crucial to understand whether your building is at risk. Soft-story buildings—characterized by open ground...
Seismic Retrofitting: Why NOW Is the Best Time
Many property owners know seismic retrofitting offers essential benefits, but fewer understand why timing matters so much. Waiting to retrofit increases risks and can mean missed opportunities to improve property value and safety. While earthquakes aren’t common...
What Are the Most Common Structural Repairs?
Common structural repairs play a key role in maintaining the safety and stability of commercial and industrial buildings. These repairs focus on critical building elements like roofs, foundations, floors, exterior walls, and support columns. All types of...
Concrete Tilt-Up Buildings: Pros, Cons, and Seismic Concerns
Factors such as construction cost, experience, qualifications, and tenant operations are critical when selecting a contractor and engineer for your projects. Concrete tilt-up construction is one of the most popular methods in the commercial and industrial sectors due...
Earthquake Retrofits: 6 Benefits You Can’t Ignore
Earthquake retrofitting is a crucial step for property owners in earthquake-prone areas. Earthquakes pose significant risks to both buildings and their occupants, making it essential to ensure that your property can withstand seismic forces. While the initial...
The 1994 Northridge Earthquake: Pioneering Disaster Recovery
The 1994 Northridge Earthquake is remembered for the widespread destruction it caused across Southern California, but its long-term impact on disaster recovery planning is equally significant. It became a turning point for modern recovery methods, later applied to...
Who Do I Hire for Structural Repairs?
Structural repairs are critical for maintaining the safety and integrity of your commercial or industrial property. Structural problems like roof condensation don’t fix themselves; they only worsen over time, leading to more extensive and costly repairs. Whether...
The 1994 Northridge Earthquake: Shaping Modern Seismic Resilience
As part of the Earthquake Country Alliance’s Northridge Earthquake Anniversary Webinar Series, Episode 4, titled “The Northridge Earthquake – 30 Years Later – A Catalyst for Engineering Resilient Communities,” brought together experts to explore how the...
Discover the Saunders Retrofit Advantage
In business since 1979, Saunders Seismic is a commercial industrial contractor that has specialized in seismic solutions since 1984. We perform seismic retrofits and structural repairs to existing buildings, making them more earthquake-resistant. However, when it...
SEL vs. SUL: Mastering Seismic Risk Assessments
Seismic events pose real financial and structural risks for buildings, especially in earthquake-prone regions. To understand and manage that risk, lenders, insurers, and building owners often evaluate SEL vs. SUL—two seismic loss metrics used to estimate potential...
The Cold Storage Boom: 8 Trends Driving Demand
Cold storage is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors in commercial real estate. A recent Skyquest report shows demand is expected to grow from $43.2 billion in 2023 to $118.8 billion by 2031. This surge is fueled by changing consumer habits, new...
West Coast Seismic Risks: Protect Your Real Estate Assets
Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported multiple swarms of earthquakes along the California-Mexico border. Earthquake swarms are common in the Imperial Valley and can be a cause for concern, as major, damaging earthquakes have been known to follow. However, these...
Top Trends Shifting Retail in Commercial Real Estate
The forecast for retail in commercial real estate is undergoing significant shifts, influenced by various factors and trends. Retail Commercial Real Estate will surely be top of mind at the upcoming ICSC Las Vegas conference. ICSC Las Vegas is the largest commercial...
Top Takeaways from NAIOP’s I.CON West 2024
One of the best annual industrial events in commercial real estate is NAIOP’s I.CON West (& East). This year, in Long Beach, CA, a record-setting crowd of over 1,200 of the industry’s top industrial owners, developers, investors, and vendors attended for...
Reflecting on 30 Years Since the Northridge Earthquake
“What would have happened if the Earthquake struck during normal working hours?” Fortunately, it was a holiday in 1994, and the notorious Northridge quake struck at 4:31 AM PST. It was an earthquake magnitude of 6.7, and the shaking lasted 10–20 seconds. The quake’s...
2024 Top Predictions for Commercial Real Estate
Last year there was a lot of speculation regarding a recession on the horizon which could still holds true for 2024. The top factors in 2023 to influence commercial real estate are geopolitical issues, inflation and rising interest rates which would impact all asset...
California Balcony Inspections, What to Know!
In California, there is a mandatory safety inspection and must be performed before January 1, 2025. According to SB-721, this bill would require an inspection of exterior elevated elements and associated waterproofing elements, as defined, including decks and...
Why Pre-Construction Planning Matters for Seismic Retrofits
We specialize in seismic solutions and provide efficient services from start to finish on each project. Our estimating bids set the standard for being precise, detailed, and technical with our specialized processes down to the phase of the final daily routine,...
Safety Training with American Scissor Lift and Guardian Fall Protection
Another year, another safety training! Thank you to American Scissor Lift Inc. and Guardian Fall Protection for hosting and providing equipment training, harness safety training, and boom/scissor and forklift training with the safety orientation. Their expertise and...
Insights from NAIOP’s Alternative Development Program & CREW’s Industrial Summit
Saunders Seismic attended NAIOP’s Alternative Development—Uses/Considerations Program and CREW’s Industrial Real Estate Summit last month. Each event shared insightful and informative information. The Alternative Development program explored new or alternative...
Value Engineering and Budgeting for Seismic Retrofits
Saunders Seismic has over four decades of experience performing seismic retrofits. We have completed thousands of projects on every type of building, with our top management logging thousands of hours of field experience. As a result, we have encountered countless...
What’s the Buzz in Commercial Real Estate’s Industrial Sector?
Since the pandemic, the primary factor that brought about hybrid and work-from-home flexibility, companies have been relying on special resources and building amenities to lure employees back to the office. However, industrial and warehouse building employees were not...
Saunders Seismic Sponsors SEAOSC Technical Summit & Luncheon
The SEAOSC Technical Summit on June 22 brought together industry leaders to explore three critical topics shaping structural engineering and seismic safety. Each session offered valuable insights into the challenges and innovations in the field. Functional Recovery: A...
Seamless Seismic Retrofits for Occupied Buildings
Performing seismic retrofits on a building can be a daunting project for commercial building owners and real estate professionals. Then, add to the mix that the building is occupied by tenant(s) operating thriving businesses. It is important to perform annual building...
Will AI Impact the Construction Industry?
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is expected to play an increasingly significant role. So yes, AI is expected to have a major impact on every industry, including construction. One of the key areas where AI is being used in construction is in project management. AI-powered...
The Future of Office Real Estate: Challenges and Trends
Office assets have been a sure thing in commercial real estate for a long time and are considered a reliable source of revenue for owners and lenders. However, since the pandemic, the future of the office sector in commercial real estate is unclear. While industrial...
Does Your Area Have Hazard-Resistant Building Codes?
HAZARD-RESISTANT building codes are designed for buildings to be constructed to withstand earthquakes, flooding, and high winds. According to FEMA, they conducted an analysis based on 18 million actual buildings, the frequency of hazard events in each area and the...