Thor Matteson

Thor Matteson practices structural engineering in Berkeley, Calif., between various other projects. The author of Wood-Framed Shear Wall Construction: An Illustrated Guide (ICC, 2004), Thor is working on a new book about earthquake retrofits. When he is not studying the bygone ways of carpentry from underneath a house, Thor enjoys remodeling, gardening, and backpacking.

Protect Your Home With a Basic Seismic Retrofit
Strengthening a home in earthquake country means anchoring it to its foundation and adding site-built shear walls.
Correcting a bouncy I-joist floor
Q: The first story of my house has a bouncy floor. It’s framed with 12-in. I-joists spaced 16 in. o.c., spanning 20 ft. The subfloor is glued and nailed to…
Why No Basements in California?
Q: I’m moving from Colorado to California soon. While living in Colorado, I’ve really enjoyed having a basement with lots of extra space for storage. However, I’ve never seen a California…
Avoiding Common Mistakes in Concrete and Masonry
An engineer offers a few simple changes to make walls and foundations much sturdier.
Shear walls in old construction
Q: I am re-siding our house, first removing layers of old siding to expose 1x10 Douglas-fir sheathing. I’d like to shear over the old 1x10 sheathing with plywood. Is this structurally…
Building a Winding Outdoor Stair
Fitting stairs to a complicated site called for an accurate sketch and some job-site improvising.

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