Protect Your Home at Earthquake-Prone Area

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month in California, it’s important to keep in mind the dangers that come with natural disasters. As a resident or homeowner in the Golden State, it’s crucial to always be prepared for the earthquake. This reminder serves as a necessary nudge to make sure you and your loved ones have a plan in place for a potential earthquake. Stay safe and prepared!

There are such home building contractors who have seen the devastating effects of earthquakes on Californian homes and businesses. With years of experience working closely with earthquake assessment and rebuilding efforts, these experts have witnessed firsthand the raw power and destruction of these natural disasters. Stay ahead of the curve and prepare your home or business with their invaluable expertise.

As cautious homeowners, we wanted to know how to brace our abode for an earthquake and avoid harm. We sought advice from a seasoned contractor with years of experience in the construction biz. What did we learn? Keep reading to find out! 

With these simple steps, you can minimize the risk of injuries and damages, and gain some much-needed peace of mind. If you are just building your house or make repairs, you should take into account some nuances:

1. If you are interested in finding a contractor, remember that not all contractors are trustworthy. Some contractors may try to make more profit by skimping on certain steps, which leads to problems. Fortunately, today it’s easy to find the right local contractor to work with thanks to online marketplaces like Home Contractor Experts.

2. Every home should have a case with a minimum number of hands tools to replace a part or make minor repairs. It can include: hammer, ax, screwdrivers, pliers, hacksaw, pocket tape measure.

There are situations when you need to do everything quickly, or you are hunting for repairs yourself, then you cannot do without a power tool.

The simplest, but most necessary of them are: a drill or a screwdriver and a grinder.

3. Pay close attention to room ventilation. It has been proven that the state of the internal environment of a room has a strong influence on a person. That is, the microclimate really has a direct effect on the body of a living being, especially after or during natural disasters.

4. The cheapest option for decorating a house is painting. This type of work allows you to give a good appearance of the building, but shows all the defects of the wall – cracks, unevenness of the walls, pits, etc. And it is almost impossible to repair a small part of such decoration, since it will be problematic to choose the same color, especially for facades. As a result, you will need to redo all the walls to get rid of a small stain or crack.

5. Arrangement of furniture in the kitchen, especially wall cabinets, should be entrusted to specialists – material, dimensions, location and fastening.

With their help, you will be able to create a truly cozy and safe room in which everything you need will be harmoniously combined.

When arranging the work area, pay great attention to the tabletop. If you live in earthquake-prone areas, you should not choose a stone countertop. It is quite heavy and can be dangerous during earthquakes.

6. It is better to cover the area near the house with concrete pavers instead of concrete. It is a little more expensive to install, but it does not crack! The natural joints move under pressure, eliminating the cracks inherent in conventional concrete pavement.

If the cobblestone driveway needs repair, the repair is very simple. Pavers are made uniform, so they are easy to replace without leaving ugly spots and scars. This is achieved by removing any damaged bricks and replacing them with new paver bricks. It’s that easy and your road will look like new!

This also applies to facing tiles for walls and floors. The stronger it is, the greater shocks it will be able to withstand without spoiling its appearance.

A good choice for decorating walls in earthquake-prone areas is mosaic tiles. Such tiles are easy and safe to cut, clean and repair if necessary.

Brick tiles are also suitable. Such decoration of the facade will cost much less than natural brickwork, and the decoration with this type of cladding will add decorativeness and attractiveness to the structure. Repair of this type of decoration will be quite simple.

7. If your home was built before 1950, consider seismic retrofitting to strengthen your home’s foundation to make it more earthquake-resistant. Such work should be performed only by a specialist in the modernization of the foundation, who has the appropriate license and many recommendations.