Skinny Braces
Sometimes on a soft story retrofit you only have 8 to 10 inches of wall width on either side of the garage. This is not enough width to to put in a StrongWall or a HardiFrame. We have found cantilevered columns make by Skinny Brace to be a good option. They are delivered to the website and the manufacturer is very helpful when installing them. I suggest you have the manufacturer do the engineering
Thanks for the support, Howard!
"Skinny" did not convey the strength and durability of our products, and we changed the name to Magnitude10 braces in 2024. For the size, nothing else comes close to having the strength.
By the way, "cantilevered column" has a very specific (and generally BAD) meaning for engineers. The engineering properties of Magnitude10 braces are very different from cantilevered columns. They behave more like plywood shear walls. The patented "structural fuses" are intended to be easily replaceable after an earthquake, which is unique in seismic bracing solutions.
We have a code evaluation report that has so far been accepted in over a dozen Bay Area jurisdictions, and we are expanding that all the time.
The Magnitude10 brace shown below has enough strength to brace two floors of apartments over 4 parking spaces. One brace, on one side of the building. The existing framing was tied together to create a 'collector' the full width of the building. People are so accustomed to seeing steel frames, they are often shocked that only one Magnitude10 brace is needed. We are glad to sell you two of them, but one is usually enough!
Founding Engineer
Quake Brace Mfg. Co.
quakebracing.com