Our Management Staff: Howard, Rachel and Jeff
Bay Area Retrofit is a full-time seismic retrofit contracting company with over 16 years experience and provides the following services:
- Seismic retrofit construction and design of residential and commercial properties
- Comprehensive proposals that include an itemized narrative report, design plan, and cost estimate. Download a Sample Proposal
- Foundation Reports
- Insurance Company Reports
- Real Estate Transaction Evaluations
- Engineering services
Free educational seminars for the public.
Thor Matteson, a Structural Engineer, works with us. He is perhaps the finest seismic retrofit structural engineer in the country. Even though we already have extensive training by some of the most prominent retrofit structural engineers nationwide, we consult with him on many of the retrofits we perform just to be sure we provide our clients with the most cost-effective retrofits possible.
His book, "Wood-Framed Shear Wall Construction, an Illustrated Guide", published by the International Code Council, has become a classic text used by engineers and contractors alike. Mr. Matteson's years of experience as a carpenter and tradesman give him unique insight into the cost/benefit ratio that is a part of every retrofit decision. Visit www.shearwalls.com.
Bay Area Retrofit and Mr. Matteson are currently collaborating on a book titled "The Principles and Practice of Seismic Retrofitting" (read the whole story).
Our Commitment to Quality
No company is more quality conscious than Bay Area Retrofit. We don't see ourselves as contractors, but as a company called upon to save the homes and lives of our neighbors. As our commitment to quality we use the following techniques to make sure our retrofits will be as effective as possible:
In high-moisture areas we use rust-resistant galvanized and stainless steel staples and nails to prevent deterioration from moisture. In the past 15 years we have seen moisture damage to normal nails and staples used in high moisture areas that are less than 3 years old.
All bolts are installed with special Mud Sill Plates and large square plate washers in lieu of round washers. Mud Sill Plates were developed after the Northridge earthquake to prevent splitting of the mudsill which was shown to be the most common bolt failure. Incidentally, Mud Sill Plates also increase bolt strength by 60%.
For attaching the plywood to the bolted mudsill we use the flush cut method 99% of the time. This is the method most recommended by the
and is the only method that has been fully tested.
Pneumatic nail guns over-penetrate the plywood unless great care is taken. The building code does not allow nails to over-penetrate and requires that nail heads be flush with the outside of the plywood. We finish hammering all nails by hand to insure the nail heads remain flush with the plywood surface as required by the building code.
The plywood used in our shear walls have ventilation holes drilled at bolt locations so that all bolts and hardware behind the plywood are visible for future inspections. This is especially important for resale.
We use Structural 1 plywood because tests done by American Plywood Association have shown this plywood makes the strongest shear walls.
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