Tag Archives: Remodeling

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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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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Accuracy of Web-Based Home-Value Estimates

You can just type the address of a house into  certain web sites and get market value estimates for it.  Before you rely on these estimates, you need to understand the method behind them and how accurate (or inaccurate) they can … Continue reading

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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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Value of Remodeling Projects

In earlier posts I talked about the values of energy efficiency and earthquake resistance of your home.  But, how about the values of remodeling projects that do not involve structural or energy-efficiency upgrades? Hanley Wood LLC has published national and … Continue reading

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