Norwalk is one of the most populated suburbs surrounding the city of Los Angeles. The land that makes up the city of Norwalk originally belonged to the Shoshonean Native American tribe. Due to its advantageous location on the El Camino Real Trail it was called “North Walk”. Norwalk is mainly comprised of residential neighborhoods mixed in with community parks. While the area is considered by many to be a great place to live, it is known to experience the typical California earthquake. After the devastating earthquake of 1994, Los Angeles city officials updated their building policies. They decided to implement a mandatory soft-story retrofit program for LA County. If you own a building that was constructed before 1994, you have probably received a notice to retrofit your structure to meet the current code. But don’t worry, there are a number of retrofitting contractors in Norwalk, like RetroFitting 360, which will make the process easy to understand. Is your building a soft-story? A soft-story building is any building that is three, or more, stories high, and is built above ground. On the ground floor of these buildings there are usually doors and windows and some type of commercial, or open space. When they were built they included a sheer wall to stabilize the structure. But, apartment and office buildings built before 1994, may not have a sheer wall that reaches high enough. Any large open spaces, like parking garages, also need to be retrofitted. During a major quake, if these are not renovated according to the current policies, they will not be safe during the next huge earthquake. The floors can easily collapse on themselves, trapping people inside. A soft-story retrofit contractor in Norwalk will be needed to make sure your building can withstand the ground rolling and shaking if a quake should occur. The steps involved in a retrofitting First, get your building inspected by a professional Norwalk soft-story retrofit contractor. They will send a specialist out to complete a thorough investigation and create a detailed plan for the repairs your building needs. When this is done, the next step is to acquire the building permits needed before any work can begin. Once the permits are issued, the contractor will oversee the project and work to make sure that it is completed in a timely manner. The repairs may include adding more steel beams to any open spaces, or adding or extending sheer walls where needed. After the work is finished you will need to have your building inspected by someone from the city. After the building passes the city’s inspection you will receive a full report of the completed project. As you can see, there are quite a few steps involved. The deadline to have the work completed and the inspection done is 2022, so it is important that you choose a Norwalk soft-story retrofit contractor today.