If a building has been affected by problems or damage from things like earthquakes, it needs retrofitting. Even your home can be retrofitted to make it stronger against earthquake activity.

Structure retrofitting is about changing an existing building to protect it from issues like flooding, strong winds, and earthquakes.

There are different problems that parts of a building might face, and all of them need attention. Some common problems include cracks in the structure, mistakes in the design or construction, and damage from earthquakes.

Typical methods of retrofitting a structure 

• A common method to make non-flexible concrete buildings stronger is by adding a new technique called “shear wall thickening” with steel bracing. This is often used when large openings are needed. In this approach, the existing walls of a building are made stronger by adding bricks, concrete, and steel at certain points.
• Base isolation is a method where the top part of a building is separated from its foundation. It’s a very effective way to control the shaking of a structure without actively doing anything.
• Removing weight from something makes it lighter, which means it needs less strength to support it.
• Jacketing is a very common way to make buildings stronger. It’s mostly used for reinforcing columns and beams in a building. In jacketing, concrete is added to existing columns, and additional support is given in both lengthwise and sideways directions. This makes the columns stronger, avoiding the need for a lot of changes to the foundation.
• Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is a strengthening system used to make reinforced concrete beams stronger. It works for both round and rectangular columns, but it’s more effective for the round ones.
• Using epoxy injection is a budget-friendly way to repair cracks in concrete walls, floors, columns, and supports that aren’t moving. This method is commonly used to fix structural issues during building renovations. Epoxy injection can bring back the original strength of the concrete before it cracked. The bond between epoxy and concrete is even stronger than the concrete itself.
• Using external plates or strips is a common way to make reinforced concrete beams stronger, and it’s been used for a long time. With this method, steel plates are wrapped around the connection of a column and beam, either fully or partly. This strengthens the beams by increasing their ability to handle shearing forces.