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Seismic retrofit in San Bernardino County, CA

Bolt the house to the foundation it sits on

Foundation bolting and cripple wall bracing by a licensed Class B general contractor across the Inland Valley and the High Desert. Built to the state’s prescriptive standard, permitted and inspected, so the work is on record when your insurer asks for it.

Call 844-534-7336 Get a written estimate

Why homeowners let us under the house

Licensed and bonded

CSLB # 1105333, Class B General Building, plus a $25,000 contractor bond. Both are public record and both are linked further down this page.

We will tell you if your house does not need it

Slab houses mostly do not, and plenty of raised-floor houses turn out to be bolted already. If yours is one of them you will hear it and there will be no quote.

Built to the state standard, not to a sales pitch

Chapter A3 of the existing building code sets out exactly what a compliant retrofit is. Working to a published standard means you can have somebody else check it.

Permitted, so it counts with your insurer

An unpermitted retrofit is invisible. Pulling the permit and passing the inspection is what gives you documentation you can hand to an insurance company.

Who actually needs an earthquake retrofit

The San Andreas runs along the back of this county

It comes down through the Cajon Pass and along the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, and the San Jacinto fault runs underneath San Bernardino, Colton and Loma Linda and is one of the most active in the state. That is the setting. Here is the specific weakness. Houses built before about 1980 on a raised foundation were frequently never bolted down to the concrete they sit on, and the cripple wall, which is the short stud wall between the foundation and your floor, was framed without any bracing. In a strong shake the house slides off the foundation or that short wall folds over. Everything above it can be in perfect condition and the house is still a write-off.

Now the part that should come first. If your house is on a concrete slab, most of this does not apply to you, and we will tell you that on the first visit rather than find something to sell. Nobody is forcing you either. There is no ordinance out here requiring a single-family homeowner to do this. The reasons to do it are that the fix is small compared with what it prevents, that it is one of the few things you can do to a house that is genuinely finished when it is finished, and that a permitted retrofit can change what your earthquake coverage costs.
Steel base plate secured to concrete with heavy anchor bolts

What a seismic retrofit contractor actually does

What this retrofit includes

Get a written estimate

Every line below goes into your written scope before work starts, so there is nothing to argue about later regarding what was and was not included.

  • A crawlspace inspection, photographed, of the mudsill, the bolts and the cripple walls
  • A retrofit designed to Chapter A3, the state's prescriptive standard for this work
  • Anchor bolts or foundation plates fixing the mudsill to the concrete
  • Cripple walls sheathed with structural plywood, with the vents kept clear
  • Water heater strapped and the gas line checked while we are under there
  • Permit pulled in the licensed name and the inspection met, so the work is on record

Start with the written scope

The next step is your job on paper

You have just read how the work runs. The next move is a walkthrough of your house, a written scope of what the job covers, and a schedule carrying the same stages. Ask for all three before you commit to anything.

  • Home walkthrough
  • Written scope
  • Working schedule
Ready to put a plan together? Start with a walkthrough with Jerome.
Call 844-534-7336 Get a written estimate

Free estimate · No obligation

Seismic retrofit planning

Use the existing foundation and framing to define the work

A retrofit connects parts of the house so earthquake forces have a clearer path into the foundation. The useful details depend on access, foundation condition and how the floor framing meets it.

Document those conditions and follow the applicable engineered or standard plan. Hardware is only effective when it is installed into sound material at the locations and spacing the design expects.
Concrete and block foundation walls under construction for a house

Access for seismic work

Plan around utilities and restore the openings the retrofit requires

Crawlspaces, garages and finished lower walls can all be part of the access route. Plumbing, ducts and electrical runs may occupy the same bays where blocking, anchors or connections are needed.

Map those conflicts before work begins and include patching or finish restoration in the scope. The structural work should be inspectable before it is covered, then the surrounding area can be closed with a clear record of what was installed.
Interior of a home at the framing stage, stud walls and door openings before drywall

Reviews from San Bernardino County, CA homeowners

Every one of them is public, and every one is on Google

  • Steve Cowens

    2026-03-11

    My wife and I called Jerome directly at Socal Home Improvement. I heard him on KJLH Radio, Station advertising his business. When calling him, he set up an appointment to come out the same day, which was outstanding perfect. I must say on his arrival he was very professional and knew his job very well…

  • Rewa Cooper

    2026-05-15

    We recently completed a 6-week renovation with Jerome’s So Cal, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. As with any renovation, there were a few ups and downs along the way, but every concern we brought to their attention was addressed quickly and professionally…

  • jacqueline wright

    2026-03-27

    My Jerome’s SoCal Home Improvement experience was great. He remodeled my two bathrooms and I was very pleased and impressed with the outcome. Jerome’s team was amazing. They were punctual, efficient, hard working, courteous, skilled fast and accommodating. They clean behind their work; leaving no mess. His worker came to me at each stage of the progress to ensure I approved the work…

  • Debra Tucker

    2026-03-10

    I've worked with Jerome and his staff on two separate occasions. They are very professional and very nice. I had my house painted, windows replaced and a roof. my home is beautiful…

  • Joseph Ford

    2026-03-31

    Very reliable and professional company. Communication was clear throughout the project, and the final result was perfect. I highly recommend Jerome's SoCal Home Improvement

  • Elijah Brooks

    2026-03-31

    Jerome's SoCal Home Improvement did an amazing job on my house renovation! The team was professional, punctual, and paid attention to every detail. Highly recommended for anyone looking for quality work

Questions about Seismic Retrofit

Straight answers before you commit

All questions
Does my house even need this?
Three questions get you most of the way. Is it on a raised foundation with a crawlspace rather than a concrete slab. Was it built before about 1980. Can you see anchor bolts through the wooden sill where it meets the concrete. If it is a slab house, or it is already bolted, you are largely done and we will tell you so at no charge. If it is a pre-1980 raised-floor house with no bolts and an unbraced cripple wall, that is the house this work exists for.
Is a seismic retrofit required, or is it my choice?
For a single-family house in this county it is your choice. California's mandatory soft-story retrofit ordinances are city by city and they target apartment buildings, not houses, and none of them apply here. Anybody telling you the state is about to make you do this is selling. The honest argument for doing it is the cost of the work against the cost of a house that has come off its foundation, plus what it does to your insurance.
Is there still money available to help pay for this?
There is a state program, Earthquake Brace and Bolt, that pays toward a code-compliant retrofit on qualifying houses. It works by registration windows rather than being open all year, and both the eligible zip codes and the amount change from one round to the next, so we will not quote you a figure here that might be wrong by the time you read it. Check the program's current terms before you count on it, and if you are eligible, the retrofit has to be built to the standard and permitted to qualify.
Will this lower my earthquake insurance?
It can. The California Earthquake Authority offers a hazard reduction discount for houses that have been retrofitted to the standard, and other carriers have their own versions. The condition on all of them is that the work has to be verifiable, which in practice means permitted, inspected and documented. That is the real reason we will not do this without a permit. Ask your carrier what they need before we start and we will make sure you finish with it.
Do you have to come inside the house?
Barely. Almost all of it happens in the crawlspace under your floor, so your kitchen, your walls and your finishes are untouched and you carry on living there normally. We need access to the crawlspace hatch and to power, and if the cripple walls are behind stored belongings in a garage or a basement area we will need those cleared. It is one of the few structural jobs that does not turn your house into a site.
What if my house is on a slab?
Then there is usually no cripple wall to brace and no mudsill sitting on a stem wall to bolt, so this particular retrofit is not your job and we will not invent one for you. There are still sensible things worth doing on a slab house, mostly strapping the water heater and dealing with a soft-story condition where a room sits over a wide garage opening. If that is your house, tell us and we will look at that instead.

How a retrofit runs

Under the house first, then a plan you can read

The full process

Schedule of work

Seismic Retrofit · CSLB # 1105333

  1. We go under the house

    Into the crawlspace to see whether the mudsill is bolted, how tall the cripple walls are and what condition the wood is in. You get the photos either way, and if the house is already bolted we say so.

  2. You get the plan and the number

    What gets bolted, what gets braced, the spacing, the hardware and the permit, in writing. If you want to check it against the state standard before you sign, take the time. Nothing is fixed until you do.

  3. We bolt it, brace it and get it inspected

    The work happens under the floor, so you keep your kitchen and your walls. At the end the inspector signs it off and you keep the permit and the paperwork, which is the part that matters to your insurer.

If we find something

Opening a wall sometimes turns up rot, old wiring, or a leak nobody knew about. When that happens the work stops and you get a written change order with the new scope and the new number. Nothing further is built until you sign it. You will never learn about an extra cost from the invoice.

Permits are pulled in the licensed name, CSLB # 1105333, and we meet the inspector. That is our job, not yours.

Call Jerome Written estimate

Check the record

Licensed and bonded, and you can verify both

  • Class B General Building ContractorActive
    Number
    1105333
    Issued by
    Contractors State License Board
    Expires
    Verify on Contractors State License Board
  • Contractor's bond
    Number
    $25,000
    Issued by
    Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America

Get a written estimate

Tell us what is going on with the house

Would rather talk? Call 844-534-7336, open 24 hours Monday to Saturday.

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