How Safe Is Your House? Phivolcs Article

[Call me bubba]

was reading and came across this article . 

hopefully this can be of use to those who are building a house & those who can retrofit it to improve the safety

 

 

Just how safe is your house?

State seismologists have developed a 12-point self-check tool to determine if houses made of concrete hollow blocks would be able to withstand a major earthquake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology 

launched on Wednesday the self-assessment test that would enable homeowners to rate the safety of their own houses based on their history and structural details.

In a briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Quezon City,

 

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said he hoped the new tool would be disseminated to local governments from the provincial down to the barangay or village level.

 

The self-check tool consists of 12 questions about the house,

including who built or designed it,

how old it is, its shape, the thickness of the walls,

its foundation, the condition of the soil underneath, and its overall condition.

Points are assigned based on the level of risk, and a house with 11 to 12 points,

the maximum score, is regarded “safe for now, [but] please consult experts for confirmation.”

 

Houses with a score of 8-10 points will “require strengthening,” while those with 0  to 7 points are “disturbing.”

The self-check tool recommends that whether the score is 0 or 12, the homeowner must consult professionals about the safety of the house, and whether it complies with standards set by the National Building Code.

Once a homeowner discovers that his house is vulnerable, the next step will be to consult local government engineers who may be able to recommend affordable ways of strengthening or retrofitting the house, Solidum said.

Ronaldo Ison of the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP), one of the partners of the project, said the organization was holding workshops throughout the country to teach the public cheap and simple ways to retrofit their homes.

The self-check project is a collaboration among Phivolcs, the Japan International Cooperation Agency,the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and ASEP.

 

Solidum said a great majority of houses in the Philippines were made with concrete hollow blocks, and were “non-engineered,” as most people  hire only carpenters and masons to build a house, and not engineers because of the cost.

Most of these houses do not comply with the specifications set by the building code.

In fact, in February 2011, scientists from Japan and the Philippines tested two full-scale models of concrete hollow block houses, one of which was constructed following the building code standards while the other was not.

 

The first model, after being subjected to a simulated magnitude 6.9 quake, withstood the tremors with only minor damage, but the second model had its gable collapsing.

The gable is the triangular portion of the wall between the sloping edges of the roof.

Solidum said Phivolcs would collaborate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and other agencies for the dissemination of the 12-point self-check tool to the general public.

“The next question is what is the solution (to unsafe houses)?

The solution might not be the same for everyone,” which is why, he said, it is important to consult building experts and professionals.

 

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/579163/phivolcs-draws-up-do-it-yourself-test-for-house-safety

 

(i am unable to open the below links to post)

 

http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/images/IEC/what_to_do_pocketsize.pdf

 

http://202.90.128.67/html/update_SOEPD/jica_phivolcs_how_safe_is_your_house_feb2014.pdf

 

http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/

 

 

if you want to find out if you have had an earthquake here is the site to check,

http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/html/update_SOEPD/EQLatest.html

 

[Thomas]

Concerning building NEW, a dome house type can be a much safer alternative
http://www.philippines-expats.com/topic/17651-catastrophe-safe-built-houses/

 

Many small such has been built supported by aid organisations after typhons and earthquakes e g

in  Malaysia

and at north Cebu after Yolanda (ready yet?)

[Gerald Glatt]

Monolithic is kind of radical, no corners, makes room and furniture placement difficult.  While looking at Thomas's link there is a product that perhaps could be made under license in the Philippines.  It is a building system of polystyrene plastic spacers and corners and rebar. Looks as if it snaps together like legos 4  inch solid pour inside and R28 insulation in walls. The company claims a 40-50% savings in cooling saving $38000 in 10 years in Florida for 1000 sq ft home. electricity here is 6 cents a kw.  last I heard was 20 in Cebu so should pay off faster. I sent for a price (retail) on a kit for two story 1000 sq home 4 corners can be made with 8 or more also, besides arranging inside w/o connors a dome need a knee wall sor head room or loses some space inside. 

[Call me bubba]

here is the quiz as the other may not be as clear

 

thanks to Phivolcs and

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/579309/phivolcs-self-check-tool-for-earthquake-safety

 

if you do take the quiz could you tell us your score ?

 

1. Who built or designed my house?

A. Built or designed by a licensed civil engineer/architect (1 point)

B. Not built by a licensed civil engineer/architect (0 point)

C. Not clear or unknown (0 point)

 

2. How old is my house?

A. Built in or after 1992 (1)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

B. Built before 1992 (0)

3. Has my house been damaged by past earthquakes or disasters?

A. NO or YES but repaired (1)

C. Unknown (0)

B. YES but not yet repaired (0)

4. What is the shape of my house?

 

A. Regular (symmetrical, rectangular, box-type) (1)

B. Irregular/complicated (0)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

 

5. Has my house been extended or expanded?

 

A. NO or YES but supervised by a civil engineer/architect (1)

B. YES but not supervised by a civil engineer/architect (0)

C. Unknown (0)

6. Are the external walls of my house 6 inches (150 mm) thick?

 

A. YES, they are. (1)

B. NO, they are thinner than 6 inches. (0)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

 

7. Are the steel bars in the walls of standard size and properly spaced?

 

 

A. YES—10 mm in diameter, tied and spaced correctly (1)

B. NO—Sizes smaller than 10 mm (0)

C. None or unknown (0)

 

8. Are the unsupported walls more than 3 meters wide?

A. NO, all unsupported walls are less than 3 m wide. (1)

B. YES, at least one unsupported wall is more than 3 m wide. (0)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

 

9. What is the gable wall of my house made of?

 

A. Light materials, properly anchored hollow blocks, no-gable wall (1)

B. Not properly anchored blocks, bricks, stone (0)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

 

10. What is the foundation of my house?

 

A. Reinforced concrete (1)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

B. Stones or unreinforced concrete (0)

 

11. What is the soil condition under my house?

 

A. Hard (rock or stiff soil) (1)

B. Soft (muddy or reclaimed) (0)

C. Not clear or unknown (0)

 

12. What is the overall condition of my house?

 

A. Good condition (1)

B. Poor condition (0)

C. Not clear (0)