YOU WANT EVERYBODY TO
SURVIVE.
YOU DON'T WANT YOUR HOUSE TO
COLLAPSE ON YOU.
JENNIFER: EXPERTS SAY OVER AND
OVER WE'RE DUE FOR A GIANT
EARTHQUAKE WHICH COULD FORCE
PEOPLE ACROSS THE REGION TO FEND
FOR THEMSELVES FOR DAYS.
DAN: MANY HOMES WILL BE
DESTROYED.
SO SOME HOMEOWNERS ARE GETTING
THEIR HOMES SEISMICALLY
RETROFITTED.
BUT TONIGHT IN A KOIN 6
INVESTIGATION, WE REVEAL THERE
ARE HOMEOWNERS WHO ARE NOT
GETTING WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY
WERE PAYING FOR BECAUSE THERE
ARE NO RULES ABOUT HOW A
RETROFIT SHOULD BE DONE.
RECENTLY WE WERE DOING A STORY
ON SEISMICALLY RETROFITTING
HOMES.
WITH CONTRACTOR MICHAEL WIEBER
WHO'S BEEN SPECIALIZING IN IT
FOR 25 YEARS.
THIS IS A RETROFIT ANCHOR
BOLT.
DAN: WE WERE COVERING THE
BASICS, WHEN SUDDENLY HE SAID
THE UNEXPECTED.
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT
AND CALL IT A SEISMIC RETROFIT.
INTERESTING.
IT'S THE WILD WEST.
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT.
DAN: ANYTHING YOU WANT.
THE WILD WEST.
AS IN UNREGULATED ONLY REQUIRING
A RUDIMENTARY DRAWING.
AN INSPECTOR LOOKS AT THIS
AND LOOKS AT THE WORK AND SAYS
YES, THAT'S WHAT YOU DID.
NOT THAT IT WOULD BE AFFECTIVE
IN ANY WAY IN AN EARTHQUAKE.
IT'S CONSIDERED A VOLUNTARY
UPGRADE.
DAN: HE SAID THE INSPECTOR WILL
COME OUT, AND THE INSPECTOR WILL
LOOK AT THIS AND LOOK AT THE
WORK AND SAY YES, THAT'S WHAT
YOU DID AND THEN SIGNS OFF ON
IT?
YEAH, THAT IS PRETTY MUCH
WHAT THEY DO.
THEY -- BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A
CODE STANDARD.
DAN: TERRY WHITEHILL IS THE HEAD
BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL IN
PORTLAND.
ALL WE CAN DO IS LOOK AT WHAT
THEY'RE PROPOSING TO DO AND MAKE
SURE THEY'RE NOT MAKING THE
BUILDING ANY LESS SAFE THAN IT
ALREADY IS.
HE'S SAYS THE STATE MOSTLY
LEAVES VOLUNTARY UPGRADES LIKE
RETROFITTING UP TO CITIES AND
COUNTIES.
THE CITY OF PORTLAND'S WEBSITE
DOES HAVE GUIDELINES ABOUT HOW A
RETROFIT COULD BE DONE TO A
HOUSE.
AND ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF
OREGON'S CONSTRUCTION
CONTRACTORS BOARD, THE CITY OF
PORTLAND IS THE ONLY
JURISDICTION IN OREGON THAT HAS
ADOPTED SPECIFIC, PRESCRIPTIVE
STANDARDS FOR EARTHQUAKE
RETROFITTING.
BUT THE KEY WORD IN THE SENTENCE
IS PRESCRIPTIVE MEANING THE CITY
IS ONLY OFFERING SUGGESTIONS.
NO ONE IN OREGON OR WASHINGTON
HAS ANY REQUIREMENTS ABOUT HOW A
HOME SEISMIC RETROFIT HAS TO BE
DONE WHICH MEANS CONTRACTORS
DON'T NEED EXTRA TRAINING TO DO
THE WORK.
THERE'S PEOPLE OUT THERE DOING
THIS THAT AREN'T QUALIFIED?
LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY.
PROBABLY ONCE A WEEK WE ARE
RETROFITTING A SEISMIC RETROFIT,
THAT WAS PERMITTED, AND
INSTALLED BY A SEISMIC RETROFIT
CONTRACTOR.
WHO DOES NOTHING BUT SEISMIC
RETROFITS.
IT'S THE WILD WEST.
I DON'T EXPECT THIS HOUSE TO
COME THROUGH A HUGE EARTHQUAKE
WITHOUT A SCRATCH.
DAN: DOCTOR MARY LU HAD HER
PORTLAND HOUSE SEISMICALLY
RETROFITTED THREE YEARS AGO.
RECENTLY SHE WANTED MORE WORK
DONE AND WHEN SHE BROUGHT IN
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, BJ CURE WHO
SPECIALIZES IN RETROFITTING HE
GAVE HER BAD NEWS.
IF YOU'RE MISSING THESE TIES
RIGHT HERE, THEN THE HOUSE CAN
ACTUALLY SLIP ON THIS PLANE.
DAN: THE PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR
USED BRACKETS MEANT TO KEEP A
HOUSE FROM LIFTING OFF THE
FOUNDATION IN A HURRICANE AND
NOT THE CLIPS THAT GUARD AGAINST
THE SIDE TO SIDE MOTION OF AN
EARTHQUAKE.
I GO OUT TO HOUSES ALL THE
TIME WHERE I SEE SHODDY WORK.
DAN: PEOPLE AREN'T GETTING WHAT
THEY'RE PAYING FOR?
I WOULD SAY YES.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THE BEST LUCK
WHEN WE TRY TO DO SEISMIC
ORDINANCES OF LATE AND SO AS
MUCH AS WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT
THIS IS, IF YOU DON'T HAVE
SUPPORT OUT THERE IN THE
COMMUNITY FOR THIS KIND OF WORK,
IT MAKES IT REALLY TOUGH TO PUT
REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE.
DAN: WHITEHILL IS TALKING ABOUT
THE CITY OF PORTLAND'S FAILED
EFFORTS TO REQUIRE THE OWNERS OF
UNREINFORCED MASONRY COMMERICIAL
BUILDINGS TO DO RETROFITS.
HE HASN'T HEARD ANY TALK OF
CHANGING THE CODES FOR HOUSES TO
ENSURE HOMEOWNERS ARE GETTING
WHAT THEY THINK THEY'RE PAYING
FOR.
IF I CAN AT LEAST HAVE A
LITTLE MORE CERTAINTY THAT I CAN
BE IN THIS HOUSE AND IT ISN'T
GOING TO FALL ON MY HEAD AND
CRUSH ME.
THAT'S REALLY THE PEACE OF MIND
I'M LOOKING FOR.
DAN: THERE'S A FLIP SIDE TO
THIS.
BOTH MICHAEL WIEBER AND BJ CURE
AREN'T NECESSARILY CALLING FOR
MORE REGULATIONS.
THEY'RE CONCERNED IF GOVERNMENT
PUTS IN MORE CODES THE ADDED
EXPENSE WILL KEEP MORE PEOPLE
FROM DOING RETROFITS.
THERE'S A SAYING THAT DOING
SOMETHING TO A HOME IS BETTER
THAN DOING NOTHING.
JENNIFER: RETROFITTING IS
EXPENSIVE AS IT IS.
WHAT ADVICE DO THEY GIVE
HOMEOWNERS LOOKING TO RETROFIT?
DAN: THEY ARE SAYING IF YOU HAVE
A HOUSE ON A HILL, ESPECIALLY ON
A HILL OR AN IRREGULAR SHAPE OR
SIZE THAT YOU WANT TO HIRE AN
ENGINEER.
THE PRESCRIBED WAY OF DOING
THIS
WORKS FOR ABOUT 40% OF HOMES BUT
60% NEED TO SOME SPECIAL
ATTENTION.
WE HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT THIS ON OUR WEBSITE AT
KOIN.COM.
YOU CAN GO THERE AND YOU CAN
LEARN ABOUT SEISMIC RETROFITTING
AS WELL AS EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE.
CLICK ON WEATHER AND
EARTHQUAKES.