Safeguarding your Home
Southern Utah Homeowners: Living in a Seismically Active Area and Safeguarding Your Investment
Your home is most likely your single highest-valued asset. With this in mind, living in the seismically active area of Southern Utah requires taking certain precautions to protect your investment and family’s safety. Over the past couple of months, we have been experiencing numerous smaller earthquakes ranging from 1.6 to 2.8 (earthquaketrack.com) While these tremors may not seem concerning to your day-to-day life, they could be critical to your home’s structural integrity.
If your home is less than fifteen years old and was designed and built by reputable and licensed professionals, you most likely have less reason for concern about structural issues than older homes. In large part, this is due to updated building codes and requirements accounting for earthquakes. The building codes and practices of older homes may not have included necessary earthquake precautions.
Conduct Regular Visual Inspections
Regardless of the age of your home, it is recommended to complete a regular visual inspection of its foundation, interior floors, walls, and ceilings. During these inspections, keep in mind that cracks in your brick or stucco are not necessarily reason for concern. Many times, these cracks are cosmetic and have no impact on your home’s structural integrity.
Exterior Inspections
When you embark upon these visual home inspections, you may want to begin at the exterior. This will include inspecting the foundation and exterior walls for large cracks (1/8” and over), chipping or flaking. While it is expected for structures to show small hairline cracks and stress fractures, larger cracks or upheavals in a building’s finishes may indicate more serious issues, and a need for an inspection by a qualified structural engineer.
Interior Inspections
When inspecting the interior of your home, look for uneven surfaces and/or upheavals in floors. Look for larger cracks around doors and windows as well as doors and windows that no longer properly operate due to shifting in structure. Minor cracks are expected around these openings, as buildings are living structures with some movement. However, if a door no longer fully opens due to uneven surfaces, this could require the assistance of an engineer.
Noticed Damage!
What Next?To appropriately safeguard your family and home in a seismically active area, you may consider the help of a professional. A licensed and experienced structural engineer can complete a professional inspection. This inspection may serve to give peace of mind that your home is structurally sound, or it may allow you to address issues in advance for potentially serious damage.
If you notice damage, reach out to Watson Engineering to visit your home and provide solutions to fit your budget. This same advice is also prudent for commercial property owners to safeguard lives and investments.
