San Leandro provides retrofitting workshops for local homeowners
Homeowners in the East Bay are getting a chance to learn how they can do retrofitting work on their residence themselves while taking advantage of state grants available to help cover the cost of retrofitting their home against earthquakes.
San Leandro resident Cody Drake is in the beginning stages of strengthening his home. The Hayward fault runs parallel to the city of San Leandro, where he and his wife feel the earth shift from time to time.
"I heard some stuff in the house creaking. I knew what it was," said Drake.
The threat of major wildfires and earthquakes has homeowners searching for ways to better protect themselves. He's been inspecting the foundation of his house, zeroing in on what needs to be addressed.
"They didn't attach any bolts here to keep it from moving around. So I'm going to put a bolt through here and a bolt through there," explained Drake.
Like many homeowners, Drake can't freely spend tens of thousands of dollars on seismically retrofitting his property.
"I found that there was this grant program available," said Drake.
He did not receive any funding when he initially applied a couple years ago, but his persistence paid off. Drake will receive a total of $16,000 for an Earthquake Bolt and Brace project and an Earthquake Soft Story project through the California Residential Mitigation Program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"It's gonna be a lot of work, especially for a big guy like me, getting in those small crawl spaces," said Drake.
A city-run workshop in the East Bay to strengthen and seismically retrofit their homes is a way for homeowners to do the work themselves, instead of hiring contractors.
To give homeowners the knowledge to do it themselves, Chief Building Official Michael Jeffery teaches "home strengthening" workshops.
Some homeowners will hire contractors, while others will be equipped to do it themselves after completing the course.
"The fact they'll be armed with knowledge will definitely make the contractor sharpen his pencil," said Jeffery.
"The class gives a lot of insight into the into how the process works," said Drake.
Jeffery and his staff continue to devote resources into the $30 dollar workshops because they believe it's good for the homeowner, and the larger community.
"The less people we displace the less burden on emergency services and Red Cross. Across the board, it's a win win," said Jeffery.
Drake is close to completing the course, and ready to put in the work.
"It's sweat equity to improve the property value, and make us safer," said Drake.
Coupled with classes and grants to help pay for costs, it's a no-brainer for Drake and other homeowners to make their homes safer ahead of the next big quake.
Even non-San Leandro residents can register and participate in the workshops. While the latest round of workshops was held earlier in March, another set of classes are scheduled to take place in July. More information will be made available on the San Leandro city government website.
Interested homeowners can also see if they qualify for grants. Homeowners can visit EarthquakeAuthority.com for more information before visiting CaliforniaResidentialMitigationProgram.com/ESS to see if they qualify. Homeowners can register at CRMP/ESS Registration before the opportunity runs out.
