WestCon Tribune

A large single family, stucco home in Marin County had incurred severe wood decay in the framing members of the front garage wall. There is a two car garage with patio and structure on top of it. The wall was framed with 2x8 studs and sheathed with plywood on both sides. A portion of the wall was used as a shear wall for resisting lateral forces. The amount of decay was so severe that the wall needed to be completely demolished and reconstructed. The owner did not want to lose the ivy growth on the front of the garage, so we devised an alternate repair method that entailed replacing all of the framing and sheathing from the back side, without removal of the exterior stucco finish. Except for the door frames, no organic materials remained in the wall at the end of the restoration. Fiberglass cloth was epoxied onto the back of the stucco and steel studs were installed to brace the wall. A two-bay steel moment frame was also installed to take the place of the shear wall. All of the work was performed without cracking the stucco wall or disturbing the ivy.

Ferrari Moe, LLP is a San Rafael based architecture/engineering firm specializing in building diagnostics, restoration and remedial rehabilitation. The members of the firm have over 75 years of collective experience in diagnosing and remediating a full range of technical building issues. They provide services for a wide range of structures including high-rise office towers, government and institutional facilities, large condominium complexes, small commercial buildings and private residences. While the practice is focused in the Bay Area, they have completed a number of projects throughout the Western United States including Hawaii, Arizona and Washington.

Mr. Ferrari is a founding partner ofFerrari Moe. He is experienced in providing complete evaluation, analysis and design of new and existing buildings and structures of reinforced masonry, timber, concrete and steel. In addition, Mr. Ferrari has extensive experience in investigating distressed structures and architectural systems to determine the cause and extent of problems and has provided practical remedial designs and solutions.

Mr. Ferrari obtained his Masters Degree in Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics from the University of California, Berkeley and his Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from Brown University.