Getting
your
building inspected
How do you locate a professional
to advise you on the resistance of your building to earthquake shaking?
Civil and structural engineers
and architects are trained and licensed to provide such information
about structures. Geologists, foundation engineers, and geotechnical
engineers are trained and licensed to evaluate the soil conditions and
recommend appropriate action.
When hiring such a consultant,
you are asking an experienced professional to review a potential problem
and possibly to provide plans and specifications for correcting the
problem. The amount of work required is not known when you hire the
consultant, and thus it is important to select someone you trust and
to develop a scope of work as you proceed.
A good place to start is
to call a professional organization and ask
for information about the different types of work that might be required,
for information about how to select an engineer, geologist, or architect,
and for a list of members in your area.
Contact several firms or
individuals to determine if they do the different types of work you
need. Ask for information that explains the type of firms they are and
that identifies others whom they have served. Check to see how satisfied
other clients were.
Recognize that the quality
of the advice given and of the work performed, as well as the price
you pay, may depend critically on the care you take in making a selection.
Become informed. Even if
you do not understand the technical details, ask enough questions to
understand the concepts and relative importance of the issues involved.
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| The
Alaskan Hotel, an unreinforced masonry building in Valdez, suffered
extensive damage in the 1964 earthquake, in contrast to Woodford's,
which had timber-frame construction. |
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Do not be afraid to ask
questions that you fear might appear stupid. Your money is going to
be spent, your life and belongings are at risk, so you have a right
to understand what needs to be done and why.
For projects more complex
than inspecting a single-family home, you should meet with the selected
firm and discuss the options. In almost every case, there will be a
number of approaches for solving any given problem. Get the consultant
to explain the pros and cons of each, as well as the dollars and risks
involved. Once this is done, you will have defined the work the consultant
will do for you. Then a fee can be set and you can discuss how changing
the work would change the fee.
State and federal agencies
do not inspect individual buildings. Your local building department
may be willing to inspect your building, but they are not authorized
to recommend actions to be taken.
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