Retrofit Workshop

This popular workshop series, provided to homeowners on a quarterly basis, reviews common residential construction weaknesses and introduces basic retrofit techniques that can significantly improve a home's performance in earthquakes. The workshop is offered through the City's Building and Safety Services Division and consists of four 2-hour classroom sessions. By the final work session, the homeowner will have completed a plan set to bolt and brace their home to its foundation.

Fee / Cost

  • Residents: $30/single, $35/couple
  • Non-Residents: $50/single, $60/couple

Schedule

Our next workshop is:

  • Dates: Thursday October 12, Tuesday October 17, Thursday October 19 and Tuesday October 24 . 
  • Workshop is a four-day course.
  • Time: 6 to 8 pm
  • Where: New Location
    Senior Community Center
    13909 E 14th Street
    Main Hall D

Register

Please mail in the completed registration form (DOCX) and appropriate fees to:
Division of Building and Safety
Seismic Retrofit Workshop
835 E 14th Street
San Leandro, CA 94577

Please note: To be placed on the wait-list for future classes, please email Kathy Switzer with the following information:

  • Name of all Attending
  • Address
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address

For more information, please call Kathy Switzer at 510-577-3405

Money Available to Seismically Retrofit Your House

City of San Leandro Announces Seismic Retrofit Incentive Program
Homeowners Eligible to Receive up to $3,000 Towards Seismic Retrofit Work

The San Leandro City Council announced that for the sixth year in a row, San Leandro homeowners are eligible to receive as much as $3,000 to help strengthen their homes in the event of a major earthquake. Qualified homeowners in the 94577, 94578 and 94579 zip codes can now apply for the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program. registration deadline via the Earthquake Brace + Bolt website. Participating homeowners will be selected by a random drawing. All qualifying homeowners who registered will either be selected to participate or put on a wait list. In 2019, 104 lucky San Leandro homeowners were awarded up to $3,000 to retrofit their homes.

The houses must meet certain criteria, including being built on a level or low-slope site and sit on a raised foundation with a four-foot (or less) cripple wall under the first floor. Qualifying dwellings are typically pre-1979 houses that aren't bolted to their foundations, are built atop a crawl space and have unbraced "cripple walls" surrounding that crawl space.

About the Program

The Brace + Bolt Program is funded through the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) and offers financial incentives to help California homeowners retrofit their houses to reduce potential damage from earthquakes. A residential seismic retrofit makes a house more resistant to earthquake activity such as ground shaking and soil failure by bolting the house to its foundation and adding bracing around the perimeter of the crawl space.