This article is based from interviewing Michael Gentile, a California Pasadena REALTOR.
One tip is to buy earthquake insurance for your home. The insurance will give you peace of mind and allows you to sell your house easier. Consult with your local building department to check if your house needs strengthening. The department can also advice you to get a structural engineer for your strengthening needs.
Free plans will be provided by the department if you just need basic upgrades. Always secure a permit before you or your contractor does any work. Earthquake strengthening activity must precede any insulation or basement finishing project so as not to close access to walls.
Strengthening Poured Perimeter Foundation
Any expert Pasadena REALTOR will say that for a house with poured perimeter foundation, a little hammering here and there is all you need to secure your house foundation. You need to install thick bolts and steel anchor along the top of the sill plate in your basement for earthquake strengthening. You can use an electric hammer drill to bury the bolts through the sill plate and four inches into the concrete.
Size of anchor or bolt depends on your local building department’s instruction. Bearing plates and nuts should be added to the top of the sill plate. You can use ties that attach into the foundation from the side if you can’t drill down. Cripple walls on top of the sill plate may need strengthening if your perimeter foundation is many feet lower than the first floor. To do this, nail plywood to the interior side of every wall.
For Masonry Foundations
Retrofit a perimeter foundation built with concrete bar like it is filled with hard poured concrete. Consult a structural engineer if it is an unreinforced stone foundation or if the blocks are hollow. Having your house evaluated by a structural engineer costs around $500 to $700.
Image via WikipediaWhen the foundation is made of over three concrete block rows, you can secure the still plate to the foundation by drilling oversized holes into the empty parts of the blocks. Put epoxy, threaded bolts and sleeves after. This can cost just $5,000 for a house with one or two storeys.
A new foundation might be needed for foundations that are made of stone or brick, or only have a couple of courses of blocks.
Support posts can be destructed by an earthquake. You can either brace the post (S1, 000) or build an additional foundation ($25,000)
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