Patent ID: 7987638

Claim:
A retrofit assembly for reinforcing a rectangular structural member comprising: a plurality of retrofit segments including a first retrofit segment, a second retrofit segment, a third retrofit segment, and a last retrofit segment, wherein each of said retrofit segments comprises a connecting rod, a brace, and a threaded nut; wherein said connecting rods each include a first end and a second end, wherein said first ends are each fixedly secured to one of said braces, and said second ends are each operatively threaded to engage with one of said nuts; wherein each of said braces is arranged having a substantially T-shaped cross-section forming a substantially perpendicular corner for complementarily engaging with a corresponding corner of said structural member; wherein said braces each include a portion of said T-shaped cross-section which does not engage with said structural member, said portions each including a hole operatively sized to receive said second end of one of said connecting rods; wherein each retrofit segment connects to a subsequent retrofit segment in said plurality by inserting said second end of said connecting rod of each retrofit segment into said hole in said brace of said subsequent retrofit segment and tightening said threaded nut on said second end of said connecting rod of each retrofit segment, and in this way said first retrofit segment connects to said second retrofit segment, said second retrofit segment connects to said third retrofit segment, said third retrofit segment connects to said last retrofit segment, and said last retrofit segment connects to said first retrofit segment for forming a closed rectangular assembly about said structural member; and, wherein each retrofit segment in said plurality is individually tensionable by tightening or loosening said threaded nut corresponding to each retrofit segment.