The San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Westside areas will experience the greatest impact of the new law in Los Angeles requiring the refurbishment of wood-frame apartment buildings to better withstand major earthquakes, according to the Times data analysis. City inspectors spent about two years developing a list of 13,500 so-called Soft Story buildings that are likely to require seismic reinforcement. These apartments, which feature flimsy [...]

Buying a home is a major investment. If you've been looking at properties that were constructed before 1930, there's a possibility these buildings may have some kind of foundation issues. Here are four things to look for when searching for older real estate: 1.doors and windows that stick: while this may not sound like a huge issue–let alone a deal breaker–when the doors and windows [...]

The long-awaited ShakeAlertLA app has finally arrived! The app functions as an early earthquake warning system, notifying users up to one minute before a major earthquake occurs. Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles made an official statement on Thursday. "Angelenos should have every opportunity to protect themselves and their families when there is a major earthquake," Garcetti said in a statement. "We created the ShakeAlertLA [...]

Foundation underpinning is a process used to repair, strengthen, or increase the depth of an existing foundation by lowering the footing to take purchase on more supportive soil. Settlement is one of the biggest sources of home foundation issues. Base support is a method used to figure out sub-standard soil conditions, which cause settlement, to reinforce the current base. Foundation damage can range from minor [...]

The earlier you can recognize the damage to the foundation in your house, the easier the repairs will be. If left unchecked and unrepaired damage to the base will escalate overnight, which ensures that any damage-related repairs will be more costly and time consuming. As a homeowner, here are some of the warning signs that you should keep an eye out for: cracks in bricks: [...]