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Retrofit Improvements: Improve Exterior Siding Attachment

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Wood and fiber cement lap siding can be installed to withstand hurricane wind and rain. Siding’s hardiness is in the flashing, caulking, fastening, and painting details, so it is never too late to bring siding up to the specifications that will withstand adverse weather conditions without damage.

Retrofit Improvements: Improve Window & Door Flashing/Sealing

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Water intrusion around window and door openings can cause structural degradation and fastener corrosion that weakens the window or door frame or even the wall itself. Water intrusion can also lead to preventable building damage such as water damage to interior finished surfaces, furnishings, and mold growth.

Retrofit Improvements: Install Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters

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Arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are circuit breakers designed to detect unwanted arcing in the electrical wiring in a house. In many older homes, arcing faults are common culprits of house fires. Electrical arcing causes temperatures high enough to ignite nearby combustibles such as wood, paper, and carpets.

Retrofit Improvements: Install Protective Film on Windows

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A brittle material such as glass can fail suddenly during an earthquake or from windborne debris, throwing shards of glass throughout a room and injuring those nearby. Tempered glass, similar to the glass installed in automobiles, is designed so that the glass will break but the pieces are less likely to be sharp, jagged pieces that will seriously injure someone. Installation of a protective window film is a less expensive option than tempered glass to protect building occupants from glass fragments.

Retrofit Improvements: Install Sump Pump

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Gutters and downspouts are a foundation’s first line of defense against water pooling at the foundation. Properly cleaned and directed away from the building, the guttering moves storm water collected on the roof away from the house. Similarly, the finished grade sloping down and away from the foundation and plantings held at least 12”- 24” from it encourage rainwater to move out and away from the foundation.

Retrofit Improvements: Prevent Ice Dams

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Three things are required for an ice dam to form: snow, heat to melt the snow, and freezing temperatures to refreeze the ponding water behind and underneath the frozen mass. Ice dams can form when snow or ice accumulates on a roof at the eaves. Heat escaping from the house at the wall-roof interface and heat from warming daytime temperatures and sun melts some of the dammed frozen water which backs up under roof shingles. As a result, the backed up water finds a path through or around the underlayment and sheathing into attic size of ice dams.

Retrofit Improvements: Roof-to-Wall Attachment

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In many homes built before 1990, roof trusses or rafters were fastened to the wall with two framing nails angled into the rafter and wall plate in what is known as a toe-nailed connection. The connection is inadequate to resist the force of high wind pushing up on the overhang and soffit (which can act like a sail to catch wind). In hurricane and gale wind conditions, roof structural supports have been pried away from the wall by the force of wind. Installing a stronger mechanical connection between the roof framing members and the wall will increase the capability of the roof structure to withstand the uplift forces from hurricane winds and lateral forces from earthquakes.

Retrofit Improvements: Secure Deck Posts at Beams & Piers

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In many homes elevated decks are not properly secured to the ground to resist high wind or earthquake loads — or even the load of a large group of people moving or dancing. To improve a deck’s resistance to lateral loading, deck posts and beams should be secured with metal connectors. Posts should also be secured to foundation piers and the piers should be properly reinforced and ground coupled.

Retrofit Improvements: Self-Locking Cabinets, Drawers, & Doors

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In an earthquake, the actual movement of the ground is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most casualties result from objects sliding, breaking, falling, or tipping over. For example, during a seismic event, cabinet doors can open and spill their contents. Furthermore, the drawers, which sometimes have sharp edges, can slide out and cause harm to the home’s occupants. Therefore, securing the non-structural components (i.e., furnishings, equipment, cabinets, shelves, etc.) and building contents improves the safety and security of the home during an earthquake.

Retrofit Improvements: Wall-to-Floor

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The proper connection of exterior walls to a floor system is a key component of a continuous load-path from the roof to the foundation. It will also make the walls less likely to detach from the house during an earthquake.