Library

Fact sheet for natural gas customers describing city’s seismic gas shut-off valve requirements.

Reports describing a mathematical methodology for assessing the seismic performance of buildings.

Report promoting public safety and welfare by reducing the risk of earthquake-induced damage to existing homes.

Report promoting public safety and welfare by reducing the risk of earthquake-induced damage to existing homes.

Report providing retrofit measures intended to significantly reduce damage and increase occupant safety for existing buildings.

Report seeking to teach building contractors and building inspectors the correct methods for doing typical seismic retrofits that have been designed by an engineer or architect or described in a prescriptive standard.

Newsletter containing five articles focused on seismic retrofitting.

Article outlining the key issues related to the protection of the building envelope against seismic forces.

Description of California Senate Bill SB 1898, which requires the sale of new seismic gas shutoff devices sold in California to be certified by the State Architect.

Fact sheet describing guidance concerning lot selection and building siting considerations for coastal residential buildings, including factors that constrain siting decisions, coastal setback lines, common siting problems, and suggestions for builders, designers, and owners; also published in FEMA...

Report from FEMA describing techniques for floodproofing structures.

Description webpage providing information about home fire safety during sever weather for consumers.

Website providing the pros and cons of different siding materials for home building, including wood, vinyl, fiber cement, stucco, brick, metal, and stone.

Report informing building stakeholders about the risks a snow event poses to their buildings, preventative measures to take before the snow season, and actions that should be taken before, during, and after a snow event.

California Energy Commission report presenting the concept of cool walls and providing guidelines for their building- and climate-appropriate use to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

Guide providing guidance on conducting seismic risk assessments for buildings. The link goes to the current version of this standard, which was published in the year 2016 and is available for preview and purchase. Previous editions of this standard were published in the year 2016, 2007, and 1999...

Practice providing a guide or standard to undertake seismic risk assessment of properties. The current version of the standard was published in the year 2016 and is available for preview and purchase at the link. Previous versions of the standard were published in the years 2016 and 2007, and are...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2023, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

ASTM standard for wood-composite decking and guardrail materials under a variety of tests, including fire performance and UV resistance. Available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Specification describing criteria for manufactured polymeric materials used to provide a rainscreen function, a means for the drainage of liquid moisture and the ventilation of vapor moisture that enters an above-grade exterior wall assembly which was published in the year 2019, and is available for...

This standard specification covers the classification, composition, physical properties, and dimensions of mineral fiber (rock, slag, or glass) blanket intended for use as thermal insulation on surfaces at various temperature ranges. This version of the standard was published in the year 2019 and is...

Test method designed to calculate an assigned air permeance of flexible sheet or rigid panel-type materials at a reference air pressure differential of 75 Pa which was published in the year 2021 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

ASTM standard test method for surface burning response of different building materials which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

ASTM standard test method for testing the surface burning response of different building materials which was published in the year 2023 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Test method designed to obtain reliable values for the WVTR of plastic film and sheeting which was published in the year 2020 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Webpage for searching all of ASTM's standards, books, journals, and technical articles.

Bill requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the safety standards for freestanding clothing storage units such as a dressers, bureaus, or chests of drawers to include testing related to tip overs and new warning requirements for all such products entering the U.S. market; passed...

Document providing information on correct storage techniques for lumber to manage moisture.

Report recommending strategies and approaches that the Federal government and other stakeholders may take to encourage and aid States and local communities in the adoption of the most current building codes.

Article describing three ways to strengthen the roof-to-wall connections in an existing home.

Article defining structural design loads and ways to calculate them, including dead loads, live loads, soil lateral loads, wind loads, snow loads, earthquake loads, and other loads.

Report providing a selected compilation of seismic rehabilitation techniques and guidance on which techniques are commonly used to mitigate specific seismic deficiencies in various model building types.

Fact sheet describing the test procedure for wind and wind driven rain resistance of discontinuous roofing systems.

Projectile missile testing of various wall panel configuration to understand how the different wall constructions would perform when struck with wind driven debris from a hurricane.

Fact sheet describing building codes, seismic codes, and code enforcement.

Information sheet disucssing myths about insulated concrete forms.

Report describing seismic retrofit of historical buildings.

Webpage providing guidance on the use of thermal mass with passive heating and cooling strategies.

Technical research paper explaining how thermal mass influences heating and cooling energy needs.

Design guide providing technical information regarding building with thermal mass.

Article detailing a case study in which thermal mass was used as part of an overall Net Zero solution for a university building.

Article from Purdue University on the potential for white paint technology to lower air conditioning usage requirements.

Information sheet about types and installation of insulation.

Webpage for the United States Geological Survey for the Department of the Interior.

Guide providing information about controlling rainwater through use of drainage planes.

Webpage from Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) on identifying key problem spots on unreinforced masonry chimneys and how to retrofit them to withstand seismic forces.

Technical fact sheet highlighting important building connections and illustrating the proper use of various types of connection hardware; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Article describing how adhesives can be used to make homes in high-wind locations stronger and how adhesives could be too effective resulting in overloading foundation anchors under earthquake loads.

Products and specification for a State of California-compliant earthquake-actuated automatic gas shutoff valve.