Mar Vista, Los Angeles County
Seismic retrofits and connector upgrades in Mar Vista
Aspenwell Construction checks anchor nuts, washers and framing clips under Mar Vista houses for rust and specifies coated steel for a damp crawlspace.
Steel is the part of a Westside house we watch hardest. Anchor nuts, plate washers and framing clips hand an earthquake's sideways push from the floor framing down into concrete, and damp air can eat at bare steel slowly and out of sight. Mar Vista sits on the Westside of Los Angeles County, so every connector under its floors gets read for rust before a retrofit is drawn.
Coatings, fasteners and treated lumber
Connector makers sell the same clip or hold-down in several finishes. A light zinc coat suits a dry interior. Where a crawlspace stays damp, we specify hot-dip galvanized or stainless parts, and the nails and screws are matched to them, since a heavy-coated bracket held by plain fasteners corrodes at the fasteners first. Pressure-treated sill lumber adds its own demand, because its preservatives attack thin coatings. Old hardware with pitted shanks or nuts rusted onto their threads is cut out and replaced, and the new bolts are set through sound wood into sound concrete.
Which office reviews the plans
LADBS handles plan check and inspections for a Mar Vista retrofit, because the neighborhood belongs to the City of Los Angeles. That department also covers Palms, Venice and Playa Vista. Marina del Rey is unincorporated, so a job there goes to Los Angeles County, while Culver City and Santa Monica each run their own building departments. We confirm the office from the address before drawings start. Once the base is bolted and braced, larger changes can be framed on it, such as a wider opening on an engineered beam or new rooms at the back, with each new load carried down to a footing sized for it.
What we build in Mar Vista
Structural work comes first on this list, and every service starts with a look at the framing and foundation.
Cities close by
Plan structural work in Mar Vista
Send the form and we will arrange a visit, then put the scope in writing.