Shearwalls

Welcome to Shearwalls.com, the online presence of Thor Matteson, SE, a seasoned structural engineer with a passion for designing and strengthening buildings against earthquakes. For over four decades, Thor has dedicated his career to developing innovative solutions for retrofitting and strengthening residential and commercial structures, especially those with vulnerable "soft-story" designs.

Our Services

As a leading expert in the field of earthquake retrofits, Thor Matteson offers a range of services designed to ensure the safety and resilience of buildings. Our services include:

• Residential Structural Evaluations: Thor performs thorough structural evaluations of foundations and ground-level areas to identify potential weaknesses and recommend necessary repairs and strengthening.
• Earthquake Soft Story Designs**: Thor is renowned for his expertise in designing and retrofitting "soft-story"houses and apartments, ensuring that these structures can withstand earthquakes and minimize damage.

Our Inventions

Thor has developed the SkinnyBrace system, a revolutionary bracing system that is designed to strengthen soft-story buildings while minimizing space and cost. The SkinnyBrace system is ideal for earthquake-prone areas, as it can help reduce the risk of damage and loss of life.

Project Limitations

Thor has years of experience crawling under hundreds of homes to inspect crawl spaces, which has given him deep knowledge of construction methods dating back 150 years. However, due to physical limitations, Thor will not explore crawl spaces that are less than three feet tall. Additionally, Thor's schedule is allocated to focus on manufacturing SkinnyBraces, limiting his availability for everyday structural engineering design work. Exceptions are made for designs that require SkinnyBraces or projects that involve extended onsite work at idyllic High Sierra lakefront locations.

Our Books and PDFs

Thor has authored two seminal books on earthquake retrofitting and strengthening, which are available for purchase on our website. The books provide comprehensive guidance on wood-framed shear walls, earthquake retrofitting, and soft-story strengthening. We also offer CAD drawing files and other resources to support the design and construction of earthquake-resistant buildings.

Contact Us

For more information on our services, products, and resources, please browse our website or contact us directly. We look forward to working with you to create safer, more resilient buildings.