Location and Projects
Address
15643 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA, 91406
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American Retrofitters Photos
American Retrofitters Engineer
American Retrofitters is Southern California’s premiere solution for seismic retrofitting.
We are a full service structural engineering and construction firm located in Los Angeles, California specifically established for servicing mandatory soft‑story, non-ductile concrete (NDC), and unreineforced masonry (URM) seismic retrofit projects under the ordinances recently passed in and around the Greater Los Angeles area including, but not limited to, the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Pasadena.
We’re your best choice because we’re more qualified, more knowledgeable, and more competent than anyone else. We’re an integrity driven client-focus firm that puts your interest first.
From BuildZoom: American Retrofitters, 15643 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA (Employees: David E Jacobson and Hamid Esmaili) holds a General Engineering, General Building license according to the California license board.
Their BuildZoom score of 126 ranks in the top 1% of 336,931 California licensed contractors.
Their license was verified as active when we last checked. If you are thinking of hiring American Retrofitters, we recommend double-checking their license status with the license board and using our project planner to get competitive quotes.
American Retrofitters Contact Information
Phone Number: (844) 527-3876
Address: 15643 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91406
American Retrofitters Van Nuys
Quality
126
99th percentile
Pro tip:
We generally recommend hiring a contractor with a score higher than 95.
American Retrofitters has a BuildZoom score of 126, which places them above 99% of 336,931 contractors in California.
Activity
|
14 projects
|
2025 |
|
12 projects
|
2024 |
|
31 projects
|
2023 |
Our building permit records indicate that American Retrofitters has worked on at least
57.0 projects over the past 3 years.
This is an overview of this contractor's activity. Click here to access our complete licensing and building permit database.
This is an overview of this contractor's activity. Click here to access our complete licensing and building permit database.
Pricing
|
6 projects
|
< $5k |
|
9 projects
|
$5k-$20k |
|
15 projects
|
$20k-$50k |
|
10 projects
|
$50k-$100k |
|
1 project
|
$100k-$250k |
The typical size of their permits is approximately $25,000. This graph shows the distribution of these job values.
Pro tip:
For more details about their pricing, check out their recent activity to see how much they have charged for different types of work.
Building Permits by American Retrofitters
This is a sample of this contractor's permits. Click here to access their complete permit history.
Soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: verification if building is outsisde scope of the ordinance - no work proposed (bldg 2). (ss log id 39054)
Valuation:
$501
Permit #:
25016-10000-21342
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: install new ordinary moment frame (omf) in rear side of building and (2) special steel cantilever column system (one at rear side and one at front side of building) ***withdraw the permit application # 18016-10000-38871 prior to issue the rti***
Valuation:
$60,000
Permit #:
21016-10000-03305
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: intsall 2 steel special cantilever column. verify south elevation is not subject to the soft story ordinance as is. no work to south elevation
Valuation:
$30,000
Permit #:
20016-10000-05421
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
1 or 2 family dwe...
Building Type:
N/A
Soft story retrofit per labc chpater 93. suppmental to permit #19016-10000-23611. install (1) omf and (1) sccs. change foundation and framing details to match existing condition. no plot plan
Valuation:
$501
Permit #:
19016-10001-23611
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Supplemental to permit #19016-10000-38537 request to remove c36 contractor that was added in error. from: one stop retrofit & american retrofitters to: american retrofitters (lic.#1020382)
Valuation:
N/A
Permit #:
19016-10002-37813
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: install new special steel cantilever columns and ordinary steel moment frame (refer to permit 21016-10000-13867 for parking reduction permit)
Valuation:
$80,000
Permit #:
20016-10000-22935
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Voluntary seismic upgrades: seismic soft story ordinary moment frame retrofit of existing apartment building(s) (bldg - b) with tuck-under parking/garage(s) at first floor of the building in accordance with iebc chapter a4
Valuation:
$400,000
Permit #:
BLD2018-04693
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Seismic upgrade
Building Type:
N/A
Voluntary seismic upgrades: seismic soft story ordinary moment frame retrofit of existing apartment building(s) (bldg - a) with tuck-under parking/garage(s) at first floor of the building in accordance with iebc chapter a4
Valuation:
$400,000
Permit #:
BLD2018-04692
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Seismic upgrade
Building Type:
N/A
Soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: install steel cantilever column and verify east elevation is out of the scope of soft-story ordinance
Valuation:
$40,000
Permit #:
20016-10000-08184
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
1 or 2 family dwe...
Building Type:
N/A
Eplan: supplemental to soft-story seismic retrofit permit 19016-10000-30491. change of design from omf to special steel cantilever column at west elevation and change location of cantilever column at north elevation
Valuation:
$501
Permit #:
19016-10001-30491
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Soft-story seismic retrofit per lamc 93 using (2) ordinary moment frames. no change in # of parking stalls. no change in dimensions of (e) parking stalls. no change to overall egress and parking clearances. ***see comments***
Valuation:
$60,000
Permit #:
18016-10000-22369
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Verify and complete work permitted and approved under permit #10016 10000 20737 meets the minimum requirements of soft story retrofit as per labc chapter 93
Valuation:
$10,000
Permit #:
18016-10000-25118
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Verify and complete work permitted and approved under permit #11016 10000 00243 meets the minimum requirements of soft story retrofit as per labc chapter 93
Valuation:
$10,000
Permit #:
18016-10000-25117
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Verify and complete work permitted and approved under permit #11016 10000 00238 meets the minimum requirements of soft story retrofit as per labc chapter 93
Valuation:
$10,000
Permit #:
18016-10000-25113
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Eplan: supplemental to soft-story seismic retrofit permit 19016-10000-39026: change in omf column and beam size due to unforeseen jobsite conditions
Valuation:
$1,000
Permit #:
19016-10001-39026
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
1 or 2 family dwe...
Building Type:
N/A
Install one cantilever column on a voluntary basis per soft story ordinance. ( duplex building #11). supplemental permit for change of contractor
Valuation:
N/A
Permit #:
19016-10001-38556
Status:
Issued
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
N/A
Building Type:
N/A
Eplan: supplemental to soft-story seismic retrofit permit 20016-10000-13020 : supplemental for steel cantilever column which was out of plumbing by ~ 1.5 inches on north elevation
Valuation:
$501
Permit #:
20016-10001-13020
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Eplan soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: install new special steel cantilever column at west elevation and exempt north & south elevation due to (e) cmu wall
Valuation:
$20,000
Permit #:
21016-10000-47377
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Supplemental permit for 19016-10000-35762. soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: update foundation plans and detials per existing conditions. no change to plot plan
Valuation:
$501
Permit #:
19016-10001-35762
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
Eplan 5459 - soft-story seismic retrofit per labc chapter 93: install steel moment frames
Valuation:
$90,000
Permit #:
20016-10000-12743
Status:
final
Fee:
N/A
Permit Type:
Apartment
Building Type:
N/A
American Retrofitters Reviews
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Verified License
BuildZoom confirmed this contractor's license
American Retrofitters License info
Verified License
| License # | 1020382 |
| Status | Active |
| State | California |
| Type | General Engineering, General Building |
| Business Type | Corporation |
- BuildZoom verified this license was active as of February 2026.
Verify this license's status for American Retrofitters at the California Contractors State License Board.
This is a sample of licensing data; click here to access a complete history.
126
BuildZoom Score
Bonded
| Bonded Agent | American Contractors Indemnity Company |
| Bond Value | $15,000 |
Insured
| Workers Comp Provider | State Compensation Insurance Fund |
533
Permits
- Building permit records show that American Retrofitters has worked on 533 permitted projects.
American Retrofitters Employees
DJ
David E Jacobson
Cfo/Coo
HE
Hamid Esmaili
Rmo/Ceo