A soft-story retrofit refers to a building that is a multi-story structure built with a first floor that is open in nature, much less rigid than the floors above. For example, multi-family apartment buildings with tuck-under parking or subterranean parking and retail centers with a large store front on the first floor are typical soft-story […]
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 type of building code in place which showed a 20-year period that WITH hazard-resistant building codes […]
PML or Probable Maximum Loss is a term the insurance industry created decades ago to reference the maximum loss an insurance company should expect to pay for a claim based on the seismic assessment of a property / building. PML, SEL and SUL are defined below. Due to advancements in technology and our ability to […]
Are seismic retrofits mandatory for commercial real estate assets? What if the properties are not located in a known earthquake region? Short answer is, no, seismic retrofits are not mandatory. However, the old saying pay now or pay later applies here! Many people have false assumption earthquakes only happen in California, although they are prevalent […]
Saunders Construction provides budgets for acquisitions! Budgets come with estimate ranges of low, median, and high with many factors that affect pricing. Information to submit for a budget may include, leasing plan/tenant leasing plan (this helps determine access to perform the work), existing structural plans (S-pages), property assessment or seismic report, interior building photos (roof), […]
When people think of earthquakes, probably the first thing that comes to mind is “California!” Therefore, the threats and risks associated with earthquakes have been a longtime hazard to Californian’s yet, the risk is growing to neighboring states, such as Washington and Oregon. In fact, California alone holds two-thirds of the Nation’s entire earthquake risk. […]
We specialize in seismic solutions and provide efficient services from start to finish on each and every project. Our estimating bids set the standard being precise, detailed and technical with our specialized processes down to the phase of the final daily routine clean-up and ending tasks. Planning is a fundamental part of every seismic retrofit […]
Below is a description of each type of building and which ones are the most vulnerable of concrete tilt-up, URM (unreinforced masonry), non-ductile, steel frame and soft-story. Concrete Tilt- up buildings have limited or weak connections from the roof to walls and weak connections connecting the walls together (continuity ties). Because of the heavy concrete […]
It is undeniable a big earthquake is forecasted to hit California and potentially in the next 30-years so what are other major benefits besides being prepared to performing seismic retrofits on your real estate assets? 6-Major Benefits of Seismic Retrofits Mitigate Risk & Liability Increase Property Value Avoid Construction Cost Inflation Insurance Reductions Increase Marketability […]