Anchor bolting
We add anchor bolts through the mudsill into the concrete foundation, strengthening the connection between your home's wood framing and the foundation itself.
Bay Area Brace & Bolt Retrofits · FEMA-Trained · 13+ Years
Brace & Bolt Earthquake Retrofits in the San Francisco Bay Area
In a major quake, an unbolted house can slide right off its foundation. A brace-and-bolt retrofit anchors your home down and braces its weak cripple walls — the single most cost-effective way to protect your biggest investment.
Free inspectionFEMA-trained (Brace + Bolt)Built to Code A313+ years experience
Free on-site estimate · No pressure · We come to you
What It Is
Anchor the House,
Brace the Weak Walls
A brace-and-bolt retrofit is a seismic upgrade that ties your house securely to its foundation. Many older Bay Area homes sit on a raised foundation with a crawl space, and were built before the connection was engineered for a serious earthquake. Two weak points do most of the damage: the mudsill (the wood sill that rests on the concrete foundation) often isn't bolted down, and the short cripple walls that hold the house up over the crawl space can buckle and let the home slide off.
The fix addresses both: we bolt the mudsill to the foundation with anchor bolts, and brace the cripple walls with plywood so they can't rack and collapse. Our team is FEMA-trained in Earthquake Brace + Bolt and works to California's Existing Building Code Chapter A3 — the standard for residential seismic retrofits. It's one of the most affordable improvements you can make relative to what it protects: your home, and everyone in it.
- Anchors your home to its foundation
- Braces cripple walls against collapse
- FEMA-trained in Earthquake Brace + Bolt
- Built to California Building Code Chapter A3
- Protects your home's structure and value
- Affordable relative to earthquake damage
What's Involved
What a Brace-and-Bolt
Retrofit Includes
A retrofit is a set of engineered connections that keep your house on its foundation. Here's what the work involves.
Cripple-wall bracing
We sheathe the short cripple walls in the crawl space with plywood, so they can't rack and let the house shake off its foundation.
Hold-downs & hardware
Where needed, we add hold-downs and structural screws for uplift resistance — engineered connections, not just extra nails.
Mudsill reinforcement
The mudsill is the most common failure point. We strengthen this critical link between the house and foundation using proven methods.
Built to Code A3
The work is done to California's Existing Building Code Chapter A3, the recognized standard for residential seismic retrofitting.
Permit & inspection
Retrofit work is permitted and inspected. We handle the paperwork and the inspection so the upgrade is documented and done right.
Do You Need One?
Homes That Need
a Retrofit
Some homes are far more vulnerable in an earthquake than others. If these describe your house, a retrofit is worth a serious look.
An older home
Houses built before modern seismic codes often weren't bolted or braced for a major quake — the most common reason a home needs a retrofit.
A raised foundation & crawl space
Homes on a raised perimeter foundation with a crawl space underneath are exactly the type brace-and-bolt is designed to protect.
Cripple walls
If short wood 'cripple' walls hold your house up over the crawl space, they're a weak point that bracing directly addresses.
No anchor bolts
If the mudsill isn't bolted to the foundation — or has only a few old bolts — the house isn't truly tied down, and bolting fixes that.
A hillside or soft-story home
Hillside houses, wood-framed structures, and homes with large open spaces at ground level are among the most vulnerable in a quake.
You're in earthquake country
The Bay Area faces a high likelihood of a damaging earthquake in the coming decades — reason enough for any vulnerable home to be assessed.
How We Work
Our Brace-and-Bolt Retrofit Process
A retrofit is engineered work, done to code and inspected. Here's how we handle it from inspection to sign-off.
Free inspection
We get into the crawl space, assess your foundation connection, mudsill, and cripple walls, and identify exactly where the home is vulnerable.
Plan to code
We design the retrofit to California's Existing Building Code Chapter A3 — the right bolts, bracing, and hardware for your home — and pull the permit.
Bolt to the foundation
We install anchor bolts through the mudsill into the concrete, tying the wood framing firmly to the foundation.
Brace the cripple walls
We sheathe the cripple walls with plywood and add hold-downs and structural hardware where needed for uplift resistance.
Inspection & sign-off
We confirm the work, have it inspected, and leave you with a home that's documented as retrofitted and ready — usually with minimal disruption above.
Free inspectionFEMA-trained (Brace + Bolt)Permitted & inspected
Why Attic Pros
The Bay Area's Trusted
Seismic Retrofit Team
For over 13 years, Bay Area homeowners have trusted us to keep their homes on their foundations — because our team is FEMA-trained in Earthquake Brace + Bolt, we build every retrofit to California's Building Code Chapter A3, and we stand behind the work. When it's your home and your family's safety, credentials matter.
- FEMA-trained in Earthquake Brace + Bolt
- Licensed contractor (CSLB Lic. #1022608)
- Built to California Building Code Chapter A3
- Diamond Certified & Angi Super Service Award winner
- Free, no-obligation crawl-space inspection
- Local team with 13+ years in Bay Area homes
Real Customers, Real Results
Trusted by Bay Area Homeowners
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 1,900+ verified Google reviews — trusted for seismic retrofits & home services across the Bay Area
Google Review
★★★★★
Our small cottage has a very narrow attic entrance. Denis from Attic Pros was willing to try and was able to enter to clean, vacuum, and replace the old insulation. Very professional, access areas were well shielded and protected. Powerful vacuum and clean up well after themselves.
Morgan Yang
Google Review
★★★★★
Tom Best came to our house to give us an estimate on new insulation. He was on time, very thorough and provided a detailed very reasonable estimate within an hour of his visit. What more could you want?
B Kellar
Google Review
★★★★★
Samim great service my attic was left very clean meticulous. I am so happy with the work that him and his team did great service. I recommend them highly. I would give them a 10 if I could.
Darlene Galindo
Google Review
★★★★★
David from Attic Pros was professional, knowledgeable, and thorough. He clearly explained the extent of our rodent problem in the attic and showed us detailed photos and videos so we could fully understand the damage. He took the time to explain exactly what the rodents had caused and walked us through how the repairs would be completed. David was friendly, patient, and easy to talk to, making the entire process much less stressful. We really appreciated his honesty and professionalism.
Carmen Plascencia
Google Review
★★★★★
We cannot say enough good things about Attic Pros! From start to finish, it was a great experience. We initially called for attic, crawl space and duct cleaning, as well as rodent proofing (sealing vents, etc). Samim came out and did a very thorough evaluation, showing us dozens of photos of areas that needed attention. He also recommended new insulation, which we hadn’t considered and told us our dryer vent needed repair. It took us a few weeks to schedule, during which time Samim followed up periodically, never pushy, always answering our questions and providing more info. His professionalism and knowledge was a huge reason why we chose to work with Attic Pros. On the day of the job, Osman and crew cleaned the attic and crawl space and installed new installation, while Douglas repaired the dryer vent and Kevin cleaned the ducts. They did an amazing job sealing off the work areas and keeping the house clean, despite it being very messy and grueling work! They spent about 3 hours vacuuming the attic and another half a day sweeping the crawl space by hand. Their attention to detail was above and beyond what we expected. We were sooo impressed! And Samim’s recommendations were spot on - our dryer is much more efficient now and we noticed the house was cooler within hours of the new insulation being installed (it was the height of summer). We’d use and recommend them again and again!
Courtney Jung
Google Review
★★★★★
We had a great experience with Attic Pros Oakland during our estimate. Tom was friendly, professional, and very accommodating with our questions and schedule. He took the time to inspect both attic areas thoroughly, explain what he found, and walk us through the recommended scope in a clear, no-pressure way. We appreciated how organized and respectful he was in our home, as well as the detailed estimate that helped us understand the work being proposed. Based on our experience so far, we would definitely recommend Attic Pros Oakland to anyone looking for attic cleaning, insulation, air sealing, or rodent-proofing services.
pooja paliwal
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to what people actually ask about brace-and-bolt seismic retrofitting — what it is, whether your home needs it, and how the work is done. Still unsure? Our team is happy to take a look.
Still have questions?
Talk to our team — we're here to help.
(800) 543-0382It's a structural upgrade that ties your house securely to its foundation so it's far less likely to be damaged in an earthquake. 'Bolting' means adding anchor bolts through the mudsill into the concrete foundation; 'bracing' means sheathing the short cripple walls in the crawl space with plywood so they can't collapse. Together they stop a house from sliding or shaking off its foundation.
Homes most likely to need one are older houses built before modern seismic codes, sitting on a raised perimeter foundation with a crawl space and cripple walls, where the mudsill isn't properly bolted down. Hillside homes and wood-framed houses with large ground-floor openings are especially vulnerable. The surest way to know is a free inspection — we check the actual connections under your home.
In a quake, the ground moves violently side to side. Without a solid connection, an unbolted house can slide off its foundation, and unbraced cripple walls can buckle and collapse — either of which causes catastrophic, expensive damage. Anchor bolts hold the framing to the foundation, and plywood bracing keeps the cripple walls rigid, so the house stays put and stays standing.
The mudsill is the wood sill plate that sits directly on top of the concrete foundation — the link between the house and the foundation. Cripple walls are the short wood walls that sit on the mudsill and hold the floor of the house up above the crawl space. Both are the most common failure points in an earthquake, which is exactly why a retrofit focuses on them.
Yes. Our team is FEMA-trained in Earthquake Brace + Bolt, we're a licensed contractor (CSLB Lic. #1022608), and we build every retrofit to California's Existing Building Code Chapter A3 — the recognized standard for residential seismic retrofitting. This is work we perform directly, not something we hand off.
Yes — seismic retrofit work is permitted and inspected, which is a good thing: it means the upgrade is documented and verified to code. We handle the permit and coordinate the inspection as part of the job, so you don't have to navigate that yourself.
It depends on the size of the home, the crawl-space access, and how much bolting and bracing is needed, but many residential retrofits are completed in a matter of days. We'll give you a clear timeline with your estimate after the inspection.
Much less than people expect. Nearly all the work happens down in the crawl space, not in your living space, so day-to-day life upstairs carries on largely as normal. We keep the site clean and stay out of your way while we strengthen the home beneath you.
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Serving the Greater Bay Area & Sacramento Area
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Book Your Free Retrofit Inspection
Find out whether your home is bolted and braced for a major quake. We'll inspect your foundation connection and cripple walls and give you an honest assessment with a clear, no-pressure estimate.