BUILDING BLOCKS

A CASH agreement between a
homeowner and a renovator in
order to avoid tuxes makes the
contract illegal and therefore
unenforceable.

You could
deposit. ;

Recently, a home owner sued his renovator for failing to five up
to his part of the bargain, The lawsuit was thrown out of court on
the grounds that you can't conspire to defraud the state.and then
expect the court to come to your. rescue when things don't work
oul,

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WHETHER “PURCHASING: a
house or planning renovations of
your existing home, itis important
to have a clear picture of the over-
all structure condition.

By Mant Foxall
Contributing Writer

This can be established by hir-
ing a professional home inspector
tu go through the home.

For a fee in the order of $250 to
$500 (normally based on the size of
the house), the inspector will ana-
lyze all the major components of
the home. He can point out mainte-
nance items which are or will be
required.

Life ¢ expectancies of such things
as the roofing, furnace, and hot-
water tank are important for bud-
geting future expenditures,

Identification: of critical. bear-
ing-wal] . structure, Jocation of
water and sewer pipes for proposed
plumbing fixtures, and adequacy of
the electrical system are just a few
areas where the inspectors can be
of assistance.

Knowledge of this information

can minimize the disappointment -

of cost over-runs associated with
poor planning.

Earthquake stability is an area
of increasing concern to homeown-

‘ers.

Older homes were designed to

withstand vertical static forces but,

not the dynamic sideways seismic
forces associated with earthquakes.

Houses that are not anchored to
their concrele foundations can shift
sideways off provided foundations
and are, as.9 consequence. more

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susceptible ta collapse during
heavy earthquake.

Older post-and-beam designs
that were common during the 1960
to 1970 construction period are
more Unin adequate for stauie loads
but perform poorly under lateral
horizontal loads associated with
earthquakes,

A knowledgeable inspector, and
preferably one with an associated
professional cngineering back-

ground, can identify structure defi-

ciencies and recommend compen-
sating upgrading measures.

Seismic upgrading should be
included as a fundamental part of
any renovation project.

Inexpensive modifications are
often possible during renovations
when surface finishes are stripped
back to the underlying wood-frame
structure.

Whether you are purchasing a
home of you already own one, hir-
ing a knowledgeable home inspec-
tor with more specific training in
structures should be considered,

This will permit identification
of areas of weakness in the struc-
ture. in addition to other more com-
mon inspections that are covered in
most conventional — residential
inspections.

Earthquake upgrading of the
house structure is, in most cases, a
minor cost’ compared. with the
potential losses that one could
incur from major earthquake dam-
age.

Matt Foxall is one of Western
inspection Engincering's team of °
inspectors. He. is a professional
engineer with extensive experience
in’ residential and other larger.
structures.

NEWS photo. Mike Wokefietd ,

WEST VANCOUVER Director of Municipal Planning’ Steve’
Nichols reflects on the progress and future development of

his municipality.

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