Homeowners will always prioritize the safety of their home for their loved ones. A house that is considered safe doesn’t only include a state of the art security system but also an upgrade to keep the house and its foundation intact from a destructive phenomenon such as an earthquake. If you’re living in Los Angeles where the seismic activity is regularly recorded, you have to find a way to keep your house in place. Foundation bolting or house bolting in Los Angeles is one way to minimize damage to keep your family out of harm’s way.
What is House Bolting?
House bolting or what is also known as foundation bolting is a quick and inexpensive way to keep your house intact from the up and down or side to side movements of an earthquake. You need the expertise of a contractor or a seismic retrofitter to bolt your house to its foundation. Many homeowners and prospective buyers look for a home that is bolted for this enhancement increase the value of a property. There will be minimal damage brought by an earthquake if your house has foundation bolting. If you want to know if the house has earthquake retrofitting enhancements, you need a lot of time and energy to look into the crawl spaces and cripple walls to inspect if they are also securely braced.
How Do You Determine if Your House has Foundation Bolting?
- If you have ample time to check the earthquake-proofing measures of your house, look into the foundation, and if you don’t see huge bolts with plate washers or mudsill plates installed, your home doesn’t have earthquake-proofing upgrades.
- Get in touch with a licensed contractor or an expert in seismic retrofitting to know more about the giant holes with a large screw thread running out of it. It is for the reason that your house may have bolts which are installed in oversize holes and such procedure doesn’t comply to the 2016 California Building code.
- House bolts installed on oversized holes do not work. Based on tests done by an independent laboratory after the Northridge quake in 1994, huge holes on the foundation make the house bolts 50% weaker hence, unable to keep the house from sliding off the foundation.
- If you are living in a much older house, your property is in need of earthquake-proofing measures. Check with your local building department to know more about house bolting in Los Angeles.
- Houses built before 1980 doesn’t comply to seismic regulations of today; therefore, if you are living in such a house, you have to contact a seismic retrofit expert to protect your home with braces and bolts.
Benefits of House Bolting in Los Angeles
As a homeowner and a property buyer, you want to know if your dream home can keep you safe from the nightmarish destruction of an earthquake. House bolting is a relatively simple way to prevent your home from sliding off of its foundation. Foundation bolting is already installed during the construction of houses nowadays. However, for old houses especially homes built decades ago., foundation bolting is necessary to provide shelter for families that will last a lifetime. If your house has foundation bolting, you can save a lot of money in repairing the damages and even rebuilding your home. Also, if you’re planning to sell your house, seismic retrofitting measures such as house bolting will increase your property value.
Any homeowner residing in Los Angeles will never worry about the thought that they are not safe from earthquakes if they have bolts to keep the house sturdy. House bolting in Los Angeles provides excellent protection, and it will prevent homes from collapsing. Earthquakes can aggravate problems in the house and a family’s financial situation. If the house has foundation bolting or house bolting, homeowners don’t have to worry about burning a hole in their pockets for major repairs or rehabilitation. Contact a trusted licensed contractor or a structural engineer to know more about house bolting and how you’ll keep your family safe from an earthquake.