Taking a closer look at earthquake-prone buildings
A new national system for managing earthquake-prone buildings which came into effect on 1 July 2017 and has meant some changes to the Building Act for local councils.
It is now required that Hurunui District Council (HDC) identifies potential earthquake-prone buildings, which will either fit into one of three profile categories specified under the system or HDC may have another reason to suspect the building is earthquake prone.
The three profile categories are: an unreinforced masonry building; a pre-1976 building three or more storeys or 12 metres, or greater in height above the lowest ground level; or a pre-1935 buildings, one or two storeys.
HDC Building and Property Manager Kerry Walsh said the new rules do not apply to most residential and farm buildings.
An assessor will be inspecting from next Monday to review buildings that have met one or more of the three criteria.
“We have carried out a desktop study of over 1000 buildings which has helped us identify what buildings need to be looked at, but it will likely be less than 5% of properties affected across the whole district once we have carried out the inspections.”
Inspections across the district will take up to six months, after which letters will be sent to property owners who have the option to either accept the earthquake-prone status of their building and commit to the cost of having it strengthened, or provide evidence to state their building is not earthquake prone, such as a seismic assessment.
“This is all about providing a safe place to work, gather and socialise,” said Kerry.
Reinforcing a building may mean putting a structure on the interior, such as bracing for extra support.
“Earthquake strengthening work can vary in cost, from $30,000 to several million.”
There is no cost to the property owner for assessment or pre work such as drilling, but they must pay the strengthening cost which can be done any time during the next 15 years.