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This blog is about buying, selling, and building safe & sound homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please make comments, ask questions, and suggest topics for making it a valuable source for everyone.
Boomerese Realty
Tag Archives: Design
A Steel-Framed House
Most California houses are wood-framed. Typically, the walls are built with wood studs and covered with plywood and gypsum board; floors, ceilings, and roofs are built with wood joists, rafters, and trusses. We have designed many of these. The other … Continue reading
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Tagged architecture, Construction, Design, Green Homes, Housing, Real Estate, Remodeling, Steel house, Structural Engineering
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A Trend in Home Remodeling: Knocking Down the Walls!
“Knocking down the walls” was the general theme of several projects we did last year at OAK Structural. In most cases, the clients wanted to remove and/or rearrange interior walls of their homes as part of a kitchen remodeling project. … Continue reading
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Tagged architecture, Construction, Design, House-hunting, Housing, kitchen remodel, Real Estate, Remodeling, Structural Engineering
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The First Seismic Retrofitting Project in the World!
A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to visit the Hagia Sofia (Aya Sofya) in Istanbul, Turkey. Built originally as a church in the 4thCentury by a Roman Emperor, it was damaged by earthquakes and fires over the centuries, … Continue reading
Your Earthquake Risk Exposure Part II- Seismic Retrofitting
In the previous article, I talked about your earthquake risk that is related to indirect effects of earthquakes on your house, such as liquefaction, tsunamis, flooding caused by dam failures, landslides, firestorms triggered by the earthquake, etc. Your best option … Continue reading
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Tagged Bay Area, Construction, Design, Earthquakes, Real Estate, Remodeling, Seismic Retrofit, Structural Engineering
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Can We Design for Tsunamis?
After writing my last blog, I was expecting someone to ask, “How can you design for a tsunami?” In California we have been designing buildings to resist earthquakes since 1930’s. Over the years our building codes have evolved and improved, … Continue reading
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Tagged Design, Earthquakes, Real Estate, Structural Engineering, Tsunamis
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Value of Earthquake Resistance
Foundations, walls, columns, floor and roof joists, trusses, and beams are elements that form the structural system of a building. Structural systems carry the building’s weight, as well as the weight of its contents and occupants. They also enable the … Continue reading
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Tagged Bay Area, Design, Earthquakes, Real Estate, Structural Engineering
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Value of an Energy-Efficient House
It is obvious that an energy-efficient house is worth more than another one that is not energy-efficient. But, how much is the energy-efficiency worth? Let’s say we expect to pay $300 a month more on average to heat and/or cool … Continue reading
Myths of Loma Prieta Earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989. It measured Magnitude 6.9 on Richter scale, and its epicenter was located about 9 miles North-East of Santa Cruz. A section of the Bay Bridge, numerous buildings in San Francisco’s Marina … Continue reading
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Tagged Bay Area, Construction, Design, Earthquakes, Real Estate, Structural Engineering
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What Is Below the Lake?
The header on this page is a view of the Crystal Springs Reservoir, which extends along Highway 280, south of San Francisco. Beyond the lake, you see the fog draping over the Santa Cruz Mountains. I love this view, and … Continue reading
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Tagged Bay Area, Construction, Design, Earthquakes, Real Estate, Structural Engineering
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