As Southern Californians, we are no strangers to earthquakes. Back over the summer, a swarm of 1,000 earthquakes shook California at different magnitudes. Two of them were large enough to shake up many homeowners, and Lucy Jones, a US Geological Survey Seismologist, was all over the TV talking about the Big One.
Did you know that each year, California sustains approximately two to three earthquakes that are large enough to cause moderate structural damage? These have a magnitude of 5.5 and higher and can give even the most seasoned Californian a scare!
Because of this, we have all heard of earthquake insurance. It’s the only way that your home and its contents will be covered in the event of an earthquake. But what if you could make your home safer and give it a better chance of survival when the Big One hits?
It’s called Bolting, a type of safety backup where the home is essentially bolted to the foundation with anchor bolts to prevent it from sliding off during an earthquake. Bolting has been required since 1936, but not all bolting jobs are created equal. Many homeowners in the Pasadena area became acutely interested in their own foundation security after the 1988 Pasadena earthquake that registered 5.0 on the Richter Scale.
While homes already have this feature in place, most homeowners have no idea how structurally sound the property is. Enter Seismic Safety (https://www.seismicsafety.com/), a local retrofitting company right here in Pasadena. They’ve been around since the 1950s and have been updating area homes with earthquake retrofits since the 1970s. You can call them out to your home and have them investigate just how safe and secure your property really is.
Seismic Safety will look at a variety of different things, including how large the bolts are, how far apart they are spaced and whether or not you have foundation plates in use. These function like metal claws that secure the wood into the concrete in places where anchor bolts cannot be used. They also inspect another issue: cripple walls.
Think of it this way: a cripple wall is like a picket fence under your house that, when stressed, could collapse and take your home with it. These are wooden studs in the crawl space of your home that frequently give-out, causing the home to come off of the foundation or fall the height of the crawl space. Newer technology includes strengthening cripple walls with sheets of plywood.
Homes that are bolted stand a much better chance of surviving a massive, catastrophic earthquake. While nothing is 100% guaranteed, many experts believe that bracing and bolting your home is better than earthquake insurance itself. Speaking of which, some insurance companies will give you a discount on earthquake insurance if you can provide proof that your home has been properly retrofitted.
Using a company like Seismic Safety is an excellent idea before you purchase a home as well. As a local real estate agent, I strongly encourage my clients to cover all of the bases when buying a Pasadena-area home, and this includes keeping earthquake safety top of mind during a home inspection.
While it isn’t cheap to have your home retrofitted with braces and bolts—it usually costs between $3,000 and $7,000—the long term investment is well worth your safety and peace of mind. The Earthquake Brace & Bolt grant program provides $3,000 grants to be used toward a code-compliant seismic retrofit for houses that qualify. Registration for 2020 applicants to receive this grant is open mid-January. Head to their website and hit the “sign up” button. This will get you on the list to receive notifications when the program opens. For more information, you can visit www.earthquakebracebolt.com. And don’t forget to ask your contractor for before and after photos so that you can verify that the work has been completed.
I am a CA licensed real estate broker serving the Pasadena community. If you have questions about bolting or would like a contractor referral, I would be delighted to speak with you!