Can I really make my house earthquake proof?

>>1138330
It seems like it withstood all the past events.... I would just sit down and read over my insurance policy and maybe add supplemental plans to fill any gaps in coverage.

>>1138330
Move. When the big one happens. You're utterly fucked. Roads so damaged they're closed naturally. Riots. Fires. No running water.

The idiots who live around that line are the same idiots who live in 100 year flood plains. "Hurdur could never happen to me, only if it does the streets will only get 1/2" of water..." 2 years later... Roof under water. "MUH WHY MY HOUSE I DIDN'T KNOW. GOVERNMENT THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT FIX IT! REEEEEEEEEE"

>>1138338

It has survived true, but it's pretty apparently looking at the bones / structural shit (after recent remodel) each past quake has affected it. Nothing is plumb or even close to level. Several walls bowing out, sill plate is loose and lifting in some areas. It's fine if the ground is still but I dunno

>>1138353

Pretty sure like 90% of CA is within 100 miles of a fault line, the whole state is fucked then

>>1138357
>the whole state is fucked then

Yeah, plus they have to worry about earthquakes.

>>1138369
I loled. My mom loled. My cat loled.

>>1138356
>It has survived true, but it's pretty apparently looking at the bones / structural shit (after recent remodel) each past quake has affected it. Nothing is plumb or even close to level. Several walls bowing out, sill plate is loose and lifting in some areas. It's fine if the ground is still but I dunno

That's like every other house ever built. The ground settles, the house settles and the guy who framed it couldn't use a square, etc.

Us CA peeps are fine. Whatever happens, happens. You could get in an accident tomorrow and die. In fact your chances are greater that you die in an accident that in an earthquake.

Just chill. The most earthquake proof houses are ones that will move and sway. Too rigid and they crack and crumble. I saw a documentary about a architect in the Oakland area who thought he'd outsmart an earthquake by building his house like a tank. His was the only one on his block to be demolished in the last quake.

>>1138377
Makes me wonder whether CA has any preppers.

>>1138379
I'm sure they do got peppers. Pretty good climate for them.

>>1138356
Yes and it's that flexing that allowed it to still be there today. You go in and tighten everything up and the next quake it will snap.

>>1138400

So are these foundation retrofitting guys trying to swindle me? I wanna know the exact science here.

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>>1138330
I fell for the earthquake proofing meme already think it was close to $4500 for the materials. I did the labor part myself difficulty rating of 4/10

>>1138379
Yeah, but they're involved in the porn industry.

As the Millennium Tower project is slowly learning, the best solution is to excavate all the way down to bedrock and then sink pilings. Better yet just excavate a new house out of bedrock, then you can ignore all that hooey about structures flexing and subsiding.

CA resident, and I'm a home inspector dealing with contractors daily for work. I'm also certified to adjust insurance claims for earthquakes under the CEA policy.

No, you cannot earthquake proof your house, no structure is invincible against quakes. You can easily spend tens or hundreds of thousands on simpson walls, shear walls, and other shit which will make it so the house doesn't fall down, but it'll still suffer considerable damage in a nearby 5.0 or greater. For everything under 5.0, some minor cracks will appear in the plaster/stucco, maybe a door jamb will be wonky. Anything under 5.0 is negligible.

For /diy/ stuff you can do in a weekend is secure furniture against a wall (dressers, armoires, TV cabinets), secure major appliances (brackets and straps are commercially available) and make it so your shit won't be falling on you. Have simple preps in your house like a few cases of water, some readily prepared food (canned, dried, boxed, etc), some flashlights and batteries, and an extra cylinder of propane for your grill. Its good for heat and cooking. A light first aid kit couldn't hurt either.

No homeowners policy covers earthquakes, so you'll have to purchase a CEA policy which usually come with a 5-20% deductible. $200k house? $20k+ deductible. Essentially your house has to fall down to make a claim worth it. Sometimes it'll cover code upgrades such as simpson walls, sheer, and fortification brackets. So you're not paying out of pocket for it.

Also, yes, there are a shitload of preppers in CA. However 90% of them are old boomers that paid off their house ($40k) in the 80s and have nothing else interesting to spend their money on. They're all out of shape, have never camped, and have never used their preps. On calguns (CA gun forum) people brag about opening 3 gallons of water from their 1000 gallon reserve and using a flashlight when the power goes out for half a day. Seriously.

>>1138330
If your house hasn't fallen down yet, it probably wont. The real danger is unreinforced masonry and soft story construction.

It would take a magnitude 10 to know down a typical single family home.

>>1138353
this idiot is clearly just trolling shit up, but he does make a point. Living in socal, the biggest issue is not your house collapsing, but the entire area shutting down for several weeks. if any of the big interchanges collapse and water mains break, expect to be on your own for a while.

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>>1138488
>>1138515
I considered this project a huge waist of money in its entirety. But had to do it because it was needed for financing reasons (owner contract).
If an earthquake shook down my house id light it on fire before reporting shit to my insurance company. I was quoted close to 25k.

>>1138330
Put posts extending above your house at the corners of your property and suspend the whole damn house on cables

>>1138551
Thats the smart thing to do; earth quake, settlement, falling down a hill, sinkhole, etc isn't covered by insurance. But if you light it on fire (and neglect to tell anyone) you can still get paid as fire is a covered loss unless its intentional. Fixing the dirt below it however is not.

>>1138330
Cheaper and easier to insure it.

100 year old shithole falls in.

Build new for free...

jack up the foundation and place it on ball bearings

>>1138330
Get a houseboat. 100% earthwuake proof.
Now you just need tsunami insurance.

>>1139054
Boats on the ocean are a massive money pit. A 2 bed sailboat with nothing fancy can easily be $50,000, then you've got dock fees of a couple hundred a month. Marinas fucking stink because of all the fish, algae, and bird shit. Even worse if seals regularly stop by. Then, because its in salt water, the ocean literally eats your boat. So you're constantly replacing, conditioning, and repairing stuff that you wouldn't on a normal house. Its still cheaper than living in a house near the ocean though.

>>1138515
Aren't building codes relating to earthquakes meant to reduce fatalities, instead of saving property? As in your house will be fucked, but any occupants inside during an earthquake is more likely to survive.

Think about it like car safety. If you get in a crash, the car is junk, but the occupants are more likely to survive.

>>1139318
Building codes are to ensure common safety so you don't have favela rigging and hazardous living conditions.

However buying and owning a house doesn't necessarily mean your house has to be 100% up to code, as they are always evolving and growing greater and greater in scope.

I agree with you that most building codes are there for personal safety, but that doesn't mean each homeowner really needs to or even should upgrade everything to code. Not to mention some building authorities are turbo-dicks and want things to be black and white by the book.

>>1138330
It's been scientifically proven that the wall will help hold the earth together by keeping us apart.

Why are you worried?