Project Impact Home Retrofit Program

Moderate earthquakes over the past 150 years have caused widespread damage throughout the Pacific Northwest, and experts warn such earthquakes are certain to occur again. Such a moderate quake occurred on February 28, 2001. In addition, recent scientific findings anticipate even larger earthquakes in the future. Earthquakes in California and elsewhere have graphically demonstrated the benefits of strengthening wood-frame houses to resist earthquake damage. This type of "mitigation" protects families, increases public safety, safeguards real estate investments, and fosters community recovery.

There are about 125,000 Seattle homes that may qualify for needing Home Retrofit, and upwards of 250,000 including King County. To find out if your home needs to be retrofitted against earthquakes, the best place to start is at the Home Retrofit Class for Homeowners. If you find out your home needs to be retrofitted, there are two ways to accomplish it: doing it yourself or hiring a contractor trained on the new standards. By taking the Home Retrofit Class for Homeowners, you will have a better understanding as to which is the best method for you. Even if you already know that your home needs to be retrofitted and you are going to hire one of the trained contractors, we still recommend that you attend a class to understand the process and to be a better informed consumer.

In this Home Retrofit section are pages covering information such as Home Assessments, Financing, the easy Standards/Permitting Process for an expedited permit, Classes for homeowners & contractors, etc.

For contact numbers in Seattle and for cities/counties participating outside of Seattle (Regional Home Retrofit), visit Resources Section on our How Do I Get My Home Retrofitted page for a list of contacts.

If you are absolutely certain your home does not need to be bolted to its foundation, or you live in an apartment or condo, you can non-structurally retrofit--which means to secure the contents of your home (PCs, TV, wall hangings, pictures, water heater, etc.)-- as those are the items which cause many injuries and property damage, including high replacement and repair costs). Check out the Homeowners Guide to Non-Structural Earthquake Retrofit. Use it even if you rent. It contains many things you can do to make your environment safer.

Home Retrofit Objectives

• Develop the on-going capability among local builders, contractors, and homeowners to seismically retrofit homes;
• Implement consistent, effective mitigation measures;
• Simplify and accelerate the permit process for Home Retrofit projects;
• Foster community support and involvement;
• Encourage other Washington communities to learn from Seattle's successes;
• Provide financial incentives and other resources to assist homeowners who retrofit; and
• Retrofit all vulnerable homes.

Home Retrofit Accomplishments

During the past five years, public and private sector partners designed and implemented the Home Retrofit program with the following results:

• Home Retrofit classes for homeowners provide training on assessment and the retrofit process. (See Classes.) Based on the information learned in the class, homeowners can either do the work themselves or hire a trained contractor. Those who perform the retrofit themselves can save additional money by using tools from a lending library.
  
  
• Over 3,200 have attended the Home Retrofit Class for Homeowners.
  
  
• The Department of Planning & Development (DPD) adopted updated standards for seismic retrofitting of homes and a streamlined process for getting building permits.
  
  
• Over 700 Home Retrofit permits have been approved.
  
  
• Home Retrofit professional training for builders and contractors is being taught at the University of Washington Extension. A list of trained contractors is provided to homeowners who would like assistance with completing their retrofit.
  
  
• 448 contractors and builders have completed the professional training.
  
  
• During the begin of this program's outreach campaign in the late '90s and early 2000s, various banks in the area provided special retrofit loan products. Specific partners at that time were Bank of America and Washington Mutual, and one credit union, the Boeing Employees' Credit Union. Also, in 1998 Seattle Project Impact received a one-year special federal grant that provided funds to the Office of Housing (OH) for a limited number of Home Retrofit grants for low-to-moderate income Seattle homeowners. OH, seeing the lower income need, continues to offer assist to cover retrofit. **If you plan to conduct a home retrofit, we suggest you talk with your own banking institution to inquiry about appropriate ways you can finance your home retrofit, and check with your own city government to see what special programs they may offer for low-to-moderate income homeowners.
  
  
• 25 houses were completed through the Office of Housing/Project Impact grants.
  
  
• 160 low-to-moderate Seattle homes will be retrofitted (2003-2005) through the new Home Retrofit Grant program launched between Seattle Project Impact and the Department of Human Services.
  
  
• To encourage other Washington communities to learn from Seattle's successes,
  
  
• 19 building departments, outside of Seattle, have joined discussions to expand the Regional Home Retrofit program into their jurisdictions. This expansion effort will continue the implementation of consistent, effective mitigation measures. 10 jurisdictions are already approving permits.
  
  
• To foster community support and involvement,
  
  

Questions? Call 1-877-2-BOLT-IT.