Laurel Avenue Renovation
A sample 1928 Craftsman renovation combining a seismic soft-story retrofit, rear addition, net-zero strategy, and original-floor preservation.
The Challenge
The bungalow's soft-story condition — a raised foundation with no cripple-wall bracing — required a full seismic upgrade before the addition could begin. The existing Douglas fir floors were irreplaceable; any remediation of hidden structural members had to occur from below, not above. The clients were expecting a child during construction and wanted to occupy the rear guest unit throughout.
Our Approach
We phased the soft-story retrofit to work entirely from the crawl space, installing steel moment frames between floor joists without disturbing a single board above. The rear addition was designed on a separate structural grid that bypasses the historic fabric of the bungalow at every connection point. We converted the detached garage into a temporary office and delivered all trades to the site on a written noise schedule around the owner's work-from-home hours.
The Outcome
This illustrative certification module shows where verified energy modelling, material-preservation documentation, and third-party recognition could appear without presenting fictional awards as fact.
- renovation
- craftsman
- net-zero
- seismic
- LEED
- addition