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What to lookout for on your home after an Earthquake


We recently had a 5.7 earthquake here in Magna here in Utah. Cody Henson with House Inspect.  Doing a quick tutorial and answering some questions and concerns for people after the recent earthquake and aftershocks that we've been having. Some things for you to know and be on the look for around and in your house and to be aware of.

Some of the main things to be checking on your house after and earthquake and aftershocks.

1. The obvious ones are gonna be your, number one being large cracks in the foundation that you're seeing. Anything new that you're seeing that's just a large crack that is definitely gonna cause concern there. As well as separation that the dirt isn't compact now to the foundation, that you actually have separation, that could cause your foundation to fail. And we definitely don't want that, your house to fall down because of that. 

2. The separation of the earth, as well as the sidewalk walkways that are now separate, the elevation changes on it because of the earth settling underneath it, or just the shaking, that can be something that can be a concern too. 

3. Any type of separation from where the wall to the ceiling or the roof meets. Just that connection there. As it separates, that can show that the whole house is actually shifted and changed there. So that would be something to be looking at. Those are kind of the more obvious things. 

4. The more subtle ones are that your doors don't close and don't latch properly now that the inside the frame it's kind of tweaked a little bit, so it's a little harder to close it. That's something that's showing that there's some settling that happened inside. 

5. The floor slope, you can see you know, something happened inside. Whether it be in the basement or in the upper floors, the floor joists that have sunk or things like that. 

6. Any type of just cracks that you're looking for at the connections where the wall and the floor meet, sometimes that'll drop especially in the basement. Obviously with a foundation being covered most of the time with sheetrock, the finished foundation, things like that. You'll not able to see it all the time but where you can see it just keep your eye on it. 

7. And I would highly recommend that you have your home inspected if you are concerned. And if you are thinking about selling prior to a buyer coming in, that may be the number one concern that may hold your home up for sale with any recent earthquake's. If you get your home inspected first then you can have it certified, that the foundation and everything with the home is good.

So, hopefully that you found this information valuable and answered some of the questions or concerns that you may have had with the recent earthquake. 

If you are thinking about selling or buying reach out to me for my FREE consultation Monica Cook 801.997.1770
 
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