Seismic Remediation & Building Earthquake Strengthening

Clear Solutions for Complex Seismic Challenges

Building owners frequently express frustration with the overwhelming complexity of seismic remediation. What you need is straightforward guidance, strategic planning, project control, decisive action and cost-effective solutions.

If your seismic assessment (DSA or ISA) reveals that your building's New Building Standard (NBS) rating falls below your required levels, seismic repairs may be necessary. This is particularly common with older buildings, which were constructed under different standards and requirements

GridlineNZ guides you through every step of the seismic remediation process, ensuring you maintain control and transparency throughout. Our systematic approach involves key phases designed to align with your specific building objectives.

Understanding the NBS Rating Scale

The NBS rating system provides a framework for assessing seismic risk:

  • 67% and above: Considered acceptable seismic performance with no mandatory remediation required
  • 34-66%: Classified as an earthquake risk, requiring attention but not immediately critical
  • 21-33%: Designated as an Earthquake Prone Building (EPB) with mandatory remediation requirements
  • 20% and below: Also classified as EPB, but with minimal earthquake resistance—essentially only able to resist gravity loads with no lateral earthquake protection

Buildings classified as Earthquake Prone are publicly listed on the MBIE website, and owners receive mandatory timeframes for remediation based on their regional location and local council requirements.

Our Step Process

Step 1: Define Your Objectives

Before beginning any remediation work, we help you clarify your goals and priorities. Key considerations include:

  • Operational continuity: Do you need the building to remain operational during repairs? This approach preserves rental income, tenant relationships, and business goodwill, though it typically involves higher construction costs.
  • Full closure option: Alternatively, closing the building provides unrestricted construction access and lower repair costs, but requires securing new tenants and managing income loss during construction.
  • Existing commitments: We factor in current lease agreements and tenant obligations that may influence your approach.

Step 2: Assessment Evaluation

We thoroughly analyse your seismic assessment to understand the specific criteria and methodology used. This critical step involves:

  • Understanding the guidelines: Seismic assessment guides are recommendations, not rigid rules, so proper interpretation is essential.
  • Identifying specific issues: We isolate and catalogue each building component requiring remediation, recognizing that the NBS percentage is measured at the weakest point/element in the buildings structure , not an average across all components.
  • Maximizing existing information: Rather than commissioning additional reports prematurely, we extract maximum value from your current assessment, even when results appear unfavourable.

Step 3: Concept Design and Budgeting

We develop preliminary repair designs with indicative pricing to support your budgeting and decision-making process. For essential remediation projects, we can accelerate the timeline by moving directly to detailed design and contract pricing, reducing overall project duration and costs.

Step 4: Detailed Design and Procurement

Our detailed design phase builds upon earlier concept work while aligning with your Step 1 objectives. We implement a professional procurement process that includes:

  • Competitive bidding: Contract packages are competitively tendered in the marketplace to ensure optimal value for money.
  • Contract coordination: Our sophisticated contract alignment process protects clients from potential gaps between different contract packages.
  • Comprehensive planning: Detailed construction scheduling and impact assessments minimize disruption to existing tenants and facility operations.

Step 5: Construction Management

Our construction phase encompasses monitoring and contract administration focused on delivering projects that are:

  • On schedule: Through careful planning and resource allocation
  • Safe: With comprehensive safety protocols and oversight
  • On budget: With rigorous cost control and financial management

These commitments are backed by detailed planning and dedicated resources, not empty promises.

Seismic Clarity Solutions

GridlineNZ's Seismic Clarity service delivers the strategy, control, action, and value for money you need through a process specifically tailored to your building's requirements and your business objectives.

Ready to move forward? 

Contact GridlineNZ for professional guidance on optimizing your seismic assessment and remediation strategy.

Schedule a consultation with us today