Blog

25 September

How to Protect Your Building with Earthquake Retrofitting in LA

2025-02-23T12:43:40-08:00

Living in Los Angeles means preparing for earthquakes. If you own a building—whether an apartment complex, office space, or resort—ensuring its structural safety isn’t just a smart decision; it’s the law. The city’s Ordinance 183893 requires the retrofitting of pre-1978 wood-frame buildings and non-ductile concrete structures to reduce earthquake risks. But what exactly does retrofitting entail? How do you choose the right contractor? Let’s dive [...]

How to Protect Your Building with Earthquake Retrofitting in LA2025-02-23T12:43:40-08:00
19 September

Wilshire Grand: 5 things to know about the tallest tower in LA

2025-02-23T14:00:45-08:00

Wilshire Grand: LA’s Tallest Skyscraper and the Future of Seismic Engineering The Wilshire Grand Center stands as a towering symbol of innovation, closely eclipsing the U.S. Bank Tower as the tallest skyscraper in Los Angeles. But beyond its impressive 1,100-foot height, this skyscraper represents a leap in engineering, seismic resilience, and construction design—concepts that don’t just apply to high-rises but to buildings across LA, including [...]

Wilshire Grand: 5 things to know about the tallest tower in LA2025-02-23T14:00:45-08:00
18 September

California Law Ab 968 – California Home Flipper Disclosure Law

2025-02-23T13:37:56-08:00

What is the flipper disclosure law in California? Over the past few months, we have heard from many of our clients who want to buy or sell single-family homes and condominiums, and they tell us that are interested in learning more about a new California law that may apply to their property. This new law, which is officially called AB-968, is known as the Home [...]

California Law Ab 968 – California Home Flipper Disclosure Law2025-02-23T13:37:56-08:00
8 September

Complying With California Balcony Inspection Laws Deadline Looming

2025-02-23T13:37:53-08:00

One of our clients, who is a member of the board of a condominium homeowners association, asked us recently if there were any updates on SB 326, the California law that requires condo buildings and housing controlled by condo associations, to undergo safety inspects of their balconies and other “Exterior Elevated Elements”.  We thought this was a great question, as the compliance deadline for such [...]

Complying With California Balcony Inspection Laws Deadline Looming2025-02-23T13:37:53-08:00
29 August

Los Angeles Earthquake Soft Story (ESS) Program

2025-02-23T13:37:52-08:00

What is the Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) Program? One of our clients, a Los Angeles homeowner who benefited from the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (“EBB”) program, recently called in to ask us, what is the California Residential Mitigation Program (“CRMP”) and its new Earthquake Soft Story (“ESS”) initiative?  We were only too happy to explain that the ESS is a joint initiative created by the California [...]

Los Angeles Earthquake Soft Story (ESS) Program2025-02-23T13:37:52-08:00
17 August

How to calculate the cost of retaining walls in Los Angeles

2025-02-23T13:37:50-08:00

How is the weather affecting the risk of soil erosion and mudslides? We recently had a good chat with one of our clients who asked us, how are changing weather patterns in Los Angeles affecting the risk of soil erosion and mudslides?  Sadly, we had to tell our client that as many homeowners in Los Angeles experienced lately, our ever-increasing rainy weather is significantly increasing [...]

How to calculate the cost of retaining walls in Los Angeles2025-02-23T13:37:50-08:00
3 August

Retaining walls, caissons, retrofitting, and drainage control

2025-02-23T13:05:58-08:00

Do Los Angeles homes need retaining walls, caissons, earthquake retrofitting, and drainage control? For this week’s blog, we thought we’d tackle some important ways to protect Los Angeles homes and commercial properties, for example using retaining walls and caissons, earthquake retrofitting, and drainage control measures, which can all help protect Los Angeles homes and commercial properties, especially those that are built on a steep slope. [...]

Retaining walls, caissons, retrofitting, and drainage control2025-02-23T13:05:58-08:00
30 July

What is the Tenant Habitability Program in Los Angeles

2025-02-23T13:05:26-08:00

Have you read our recent blog on the requirements of the City of Los Angeles’ Soft Story Retrofit Program?  Our last blog discussed how the City has identified buildings vulnerable to structural failure both during and after an earthquake, and what the timelines and first steps are, when undertaking a Soft Story retrofit project.  In this blog, which is the second in the series on [...]

What is the Tenant Habitability Program in Los Angeles2025-02-23T13:05:26-08:00
21 July

Pre-1950s Built California Homes – What you Need To Know

2025-02-23T12:20:43-08:00

How do pre-1950 houses sit on their foundation Your home’s foundation is one of the most important aspects of its build, and the health of your foundation should be an integral part of how you ensure that your home remains safe from harm when a natural disaster hits, for example a flood, landslide, or earthquake. We recently had a conversation with one of our clients [...]

Pre-1950s Built California Homes – What you Need To Know2025-02-23T12:20:43-08:00
2 July

Is your home slowly sinking and tearing apart

2025-02-23T13:04:12-08:00

Why does a home foundation sink Your Los Angeles home is likely constructed on shifting soil that doesn’t fare well under our current climate conditions and our frequent earthquake activity.  Some of the most common causes that cause a foundation to settle and sink include poor drainage around the foundation, which saturates the concrete and makes it brittle, as well as the frequent seismic activity [...]

Is your home slowly sinking and tearing apart2025-02-23T13:04:12-08:00
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