Home Inspections
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Not every home is able to be built earthquake-proof, especially for the ones that are already built. However, one thing we can do is to perform building inspections to possibly re-construct some parts of a building that might be fragile or prone to falling apart during an earthquake. New placements could be added, and and overall inspection would help residents feel safe.
There are many different hazards to an unsafe and unprepared home, such as:
A thorough inspection of a building to prevent these types of damage in case of an earthquake would include inspecting the potential hazards and solving them, such as:
By performing these checks in a building and fixing them if necessary, it will make the buildings much safer and more secure in case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
There are many different hazards to an unsafe and unprepared home, such as:
- Rupturing gas connections, possibly leading to a fire or explosion
- Unsecure homes breaking loose and weakening over time
- Unreinforced chimneys breaking and bricks falling onto the building
- Heavy furniture dislodging
- Windows shattering during an earthquake harming the people inside the building
A thorough inspection of a building to prevent these types of damage in case of an earthquake would include inspecting the potential hazards and solving them, such as:
- Checking gas connections - Reinforcing gas connections and securing them
- Checking if the base of a building is secure - Attaching a base isolation system to the bottom of the house underground to secure the house further, especially if it's on a slope
- Checking to see if chimneys are secure and sturdy enough - Reinforcing chimneys
- Checking to see if heavy furniture has a risk of damaging objects/people - Weighing down heavy furniture to make sure they have a small chance of falling over
- Checking if window glass is fragile or thin - Securing windows by reinstalling impact-resistant windows
- Checking if water and gas pipes are flexible - Replacing stiff pipes with bendable pipes
By performing these checks in a building and fixing them if necessary, it will make the buildings much safer and more secure in case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
Analysis on Design Constraints
In comparison to the earlier proposal of placing seismic dampers in buildings, this proposal states to perform annual building inspections and make small fixes to the buildings to reduce as much damage as possible. To see which is the better proposal, I will use the "SAFE" acronym again to analyze the solution on the different design constraints.
Safety - Since building inspections will be performed by highly trained professionals, and necessary fixes will be small fixes such as securing windows (rather than an entire renovation of a building), safety will be guaranteed. By fixing these small problems that might lead to a huge problem later, this will definitely ensure the safety of the residents.
Aesthetics - Aesthetics isn't something that can be measured, since this is a safety measure rather than an object that is being used.
Function - Building inspections would really work its way, since its entire purpose is to find unsafe components of a building and fix them afterwards. With these annual inspections, the buildings will be safer and the people would feel safer as well.
Economics - To ensure that all buildings and homes will get this inspection regardless of each person's financial situation, home inspections will be performed for free. The city will get the money to pay the inspectors from the taxes that they receive from the citizens. Besides the money spent to pay the inspectors, since this would be an annual check, money won't be something big to worry about.
Safety - Since building inspections will be performed by highly trained professionals, and necessary fixes will be small fixes such as securing windows (rather than an entire renovation of a building), safety will be guaranteed. By fixing these small problems that might lead to a huge problem later, this will definitely ensure the safety of the residents.
Aesthetics - Aesthetics isn't something that can be measured, since this is a safety measure rather than an object that is being used.
Function - Building inspections would really work its way, since its entire purpose is to find unsafe components of a building and fix them afterwards. With these annual inspections, the buildings will be safer and the people would feel safer as well.
Economics - To ensure that all buildings and homes will get this inspection regardless of each person's financial situation, home inspections will be performed for free. The city will get the money to pay the inspectors from the taxes that they receive from the citizens. Besides the money spent to pay the inspectors, since this would be an annual check, money won't be something big to worry about.