Does Santa Monica's seismic retrofit program cover the inside of my apartment?

No. The program deals with the building's structure, and the owner handles that work. What happens inside your unit in an earthquake depends on how well your furniture is secured. Dressers, bookcases and TVs can tip, and cabinet doors can swing open and spill glass. Anchoring those pieces and latching the cabinets falls to you, and it is one of the first things we do in an apartment.

How do you childproof an older bungalow with a floor furnace or wall heater?

Floor furnace grates and wall heater faces get hot enough to burn a crawling baby. We fence the heater off with a freestanding gate set back from the heat, or close off the room while the heater runs, and we flag the unit in the plan so a heating contractor can look at it. Some families choose to replace an old heater, and the plan notes that option.

What childproofing does a unit in a small apartment building need?

Look past your own front door. Fourplexes and courtyard buildings often have exterior stairs, a gate to the street and a shared laundry room your child will pass through. Inside the unit we focus on the kitchen, the windows and furniture anchoring. Outside it, we point out risks on shared stairs and gates, since any change there needs your landlord or HOA.

What should I ask my landlord before childproofing?

Ask if you can drill small holes for a top-of-stair gate and furniture anchors, and if the landlord wants them patched at move-out. Ask too about adding a lock to a balcony slider and stops on the windows. Our plan lists every item that needs a hole and where it goes, so the landlord sees the full scope before saying yes.

Childproofing in Santa Monica, CA

Childproofing in Santa Monica covers two very different kinds of homes. North of Montana Avenue, families live in larger houses on larger lots, while much of the rest of the city is condos, apartments, duplexes and small bungalows within a few miles of the beach. Parents in upper-floor units usually ask about windows and balconies first, and renters want to know what can go in without drilling.

Homes in Santa Monica and what they need

North of Montana, in ZIP code 90402, the houses come in many styles and ages, and the streets north of San Vicente hold some of the city’s largest lots. These are often two-story family homes with a formal staircase, a family room that opens to the yard and sometimes a pool. Stair gates, railing shields and the doors to the yard lead the plan here.

Between Montana and Wilshire, mid-sized houses and Craftsman bungalows sit alongside condo buildings. Ocean Park mixes early 20th-century Craftsman and Victorian houses with mid-century apartments, and Sunset Park is mostly small one-story houses from the 1940s, some since remodeled or rebuilt. Midtown, which covers most of 90404, is full of four- and five-unit buildings from the 1960s.

In an apartment or condo, the risks sit close together. The kitchen is a few steps from the play area, the balcony opens off the main room, and a window may be one short climb from a bed or sofa. Older buildings tend to have plaster walls and original windows, while newer ones may have concrete or steel-stud walls, which changes the anchors we use.

Bungalows drop most of the stair work and shift the focus to the kitchen, the bathrooms and a front door that opens close to the street. Some older houses still have a floor furnace or wall heater, and we flag those in the plan. Renters and HOA members can find landlord and board questions answered on our condos and rentals page.

Common childproofing projects in Santa Monica

Window stops on upper floors. Stops on sliders, casements and double-hung windows limit the opening and release for an adult in an emergency. Read more about window safety.
Balcony railing shields. Clear panels cover wide baluster gaps or horizontal bars, and we suggest moving chairs and planters a toddler could use as a step.
Sliding door locks. A high-mounted lock on the balcony or patio slider keeps it shut even when the main latch is left open.
Cabinet and appliance locks for compact kitchens. Magnetic locks inside the doors, plus latches on the oven, dishwasher and fridge, since a small kitchen often sits right beside the play space.
Furniture and TV anchoring in plaster and concrete. We choose anchors for the wall type, so a dresser or TV stays put in an earthquake.
Stair gates for townhouses and two-story homes. Hardware-mounted at the top, with a pressure gate at the bottom where the walls allow.
Courtyard and street gates. For ground-floor units and bungalows, a latch mounted high on the gate to the street or alley.

Earthquake, outdoor and pool safety in Santa Monica

Santa Monica adopted a Seismic Retrofit Ordinance in March 2017. According to the City of Santa Monica, more than 2,000 commercial and multi-family buildings were identified as potentially vulnerable, and most of those cases are soft-story buildings. Retrofitting the structure is the building owner’s job, so inside your unit the work is keeping things from falling. We anchor dressers, bookcases and TVs and latch cabinets that hold glass or heavy dishes, and our guide to anchoring furniture and TVs explains the hardware.

Homes near the beach, from Ocean Park up to the bluffs by the Santa Monica Pier, see salt air that is hard on exposed metal. On balconies and patios we favor stainless or coated hardware that holds up outdoors.

Some houses north of Montana have backyard pools. During the assessment we flag hazards near the water, such as a slider that opens toward the pool, and a pool fencing contractor handles any barrier. In a condo with a shared pool, the HOA controls the pool gate, so our part is the doors and windows of your own unit.

What a visit looks like

Condo and apartment buildings often have rules on work hours, elevator reservations or parking, so mention them as you book and we plan the visit around them. The assessment covers every room, window and balcony, and the itemized plan marks which items need drilling, so you can check with a landlord or board before installation.

After you sign off, we set an installation date, and before we leave we show you and any caregiver how each release works. We serve Santa Monica’s 90401, 90402, 90403, 90404 and 90405 ZIP codes, from north of Montana down to Ocean Park and Sunset Park.

Nearby areas we serve

Northeast of the city, Brentwood has large family homes on the flats and up the canyons. Along the coast we also cover Venice and Mar Vista to the south and Pacific Palisades to the north.

Childproofing in Santa Monica