A handyman’s work cleared the low bar for an earthquake insurance policy. See how we addressed the issues found here and how the homeowners can rely on tour retrofit to work, instead of relying only on earthquake insurance.
Michael covers incorrect hardware usage, improper installations of the correct hardware, and techniques to address special circumstances. This work was performed by another seismic specific retrofit contractor, not just a handyman.
While attempting to perform a seismic retrofit, this foundation repair contractor (not a seismic retrofit contractor) came across insulation that seemed to prevent a necessary connection from being made. Instead of maneuvering around this minor complication with simple engineering, the company left the project partially finished. This retrofit was ineffective without all connections made.
This retrofit was installed by a waterproofing company hired to waterproof a crawlspace. Michael discusses how these homeowners paid too much money for a retrofit which after an earthquake, may disqualify homeowners from compensation from their insurance company.
Another example of hardware installed by a general contractor that doesn’t quite qualify as an effective retrofit. Michael describes the math that goes into designing a retrofit and how NW Seismic will supplement the existing hardware.