The secret B.C. isn’t telling owners of  homes built in the 80s and 90s

How often have you heard, “homes built since 1970 should perform well in an earthquake due to modern seismic building codes”?

That little metal strap is the first clue that your house was not secured to the foundation with foundation bolts

One of the code requirements was for the sill plate to be attached to the foundation with a 1/2″ bolt every 8 feet at most. Somehow, though, tens of thousands of houses built throughout BC in the 90s and 80s have NO foundation bolts whatsoever.

In their place are flimsy metal straps sold as Tidy Ties. It seems the were a locally made knock-off of another strap made by Simpson Strong Tie, the manufacturer of just about every piece of metal that goes into a house. They were a big failure in California’s 1994 earthquake.

These will not prevent an earthquake from shaking your house off the foundation.

According to the Building Safety and Standards Branch, there is no record of an approval going 35 years back,These ties will not keep your house on its foundation during an earthquake.yet it seems building inspector and builders know all about them and think nothing of it. They should. Tidy Ties have no seismic value at all.

If you see them in your home, it is at risk of falling off its foundation in an earthquake. 

It is fairly economical to replace them with standard foundation bolts, if there is room to drill down, or side-bolted foundation plates if there is not.  Just give us a call.