Livermore, CA
4771 Arroyo Vista Avenue
Scope/Solutions
The one-story commercial building at 4771 Arroyo Vista Avenue is a concrete tilt-up structure with a panelized wood-framed roof built in the late 1980s. Prior to purchasing the property, Black Mountain Properties commissioned another consultant to perform a due diligence survey that identified seismic vulnerabilities and recommended partially upgrading the roof-to-wall connections. Black Mountain Properties engaged SGH to design a voluntary retrofit.
SGH designed a retrofit to upgrade the roof-to-wall anchorage and improve the building’s seismic performance, allowing the new owner to avoid earthquake insurance. Highlights of our work include:
- Providing the owner with retrofit options for varying levels of seismic performance
- Recognizing that the concrete strength of the tilt-up walls, which was not available, could significantly influence the retrofit design
- Reducing the required scope of work by incorporating existing wall anchorage components into the anchorage design and executing a concrete testing program per ASCE 41 to determine the actual concrete strength
- Developing alternate strengthening for the roof-to-wall connections to avoid disrupting a tenant’s continuous food processing operations.
Designing a complete wall anchorage system to comply with ACSE 41 and costing less than the other consultant’s original estimate for a partial retrofit
Project Summary
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Structures | Applied Science & Research
Markets
Commercial
Client(s)
Black Mountain Properties
Specialized Capabilities
Seismic Engineering | Repair & Strengthening | Physical Testing
Key team members

Additional Projects
West
Salesforce Tower Excavation Support
Standing at 1070 ft, the Salesforce Tower is the centerpiece of San Francisco’s Transit Center District Plan project. At the time of construction, the excavation was one of the deepest in downtown San Francisco. SGH served as the engineer of record for the support of excavation.
West
225 Bush Street
The building at 225 Bush Street is the former home of Standard Oil Corporation and is listed as a local historic landmark. Jones Lang LaSalle retained SGH to develop a rehabilitation program for the exterior walls and tile roofs.