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Posted on: 22 April 2020

Historic buildings have designs that unique and valuable. Saving these buildings helps to preserve history, but the problem in some areas can be the threat of earthquakes and seismic activity.  Therefore, you want to do upgrades when restoring these structures to help protect them from damage during future earthquakes. The following tips will help you choose the right solutions to retrofit historic buildings for earthquake protection:

Seismic Isolator Systems That Help Separate the Foundation of Building from Moving Earth During Earthquakes

One of the best ways to prevent damage to structures during earthquakes is to install seismic isolators. These are engineered support systems that are installed at load bearing points. The seismic isolators will separate the movement of the Earth and the structure above to prevent the damage that is caused by the movements. This prevents the seismic activity from shaking the structure violently, which is usually the cause of damage during an earthquake. 

Updating Exterior Finishes to Allow Them to Move Freely During an Earthquake to Reduce Damage to Structures

With historic buildings, there are a lot of exterior finishes that can be vulnerable to damage during an earthquake. You want to update the exterior finishes with improvements that will allow them to move during seismic activity, which will prevent damage to the building.

Soft Story Retrofitting for Historic Buildings to Make Them More Earthquake Safe During Seismic Activity

Soft story retrofitting is the process of preparing a structure for seismic activity. The historic structure will be evaluated for weak points that can fail during an earthquake. These areas of the structure will be upgraded with improvements that help to prevent failure of load-bearing points during an earthquake. This is an essential step in renovating historic buildings and making them more earthquake resistant.

Protecting Historic Interiors and Craftsmanship from Damage During Seismic Activity

There may also be a lot of historic interior craftsmanship that you want to preserve and protect from earthquake damage. To do this, you want to make sure materials are fastened with earthquake-safe fasteners that allow movement during seismic activity. In addition, repair loose or damaged materials to make them stronger and less likely to be damaged.

These are some of the things that you can do to protect your historic building from earthquake damage. If you need help with upgrades to prevent damage to historic structures, contact a soft story retrofit service for help with some of these improvements.