What Should Be Considered When Buying a House?

After the 30 magnitude earthquake that took place in İzmir on 2020 October 6.9, 88 100 units with XNUMX independent sections bina urgently destroyed. As a result of the damage assessments, it was determined that 3 buildings with 944 thousand 618 independent sections were heavily damaged, and 6 buildings with 617 thousand 660 independent sections were moderately damaged. This earthquake, "How solid is my house?" brought the question. What should new home buyers pay attention to? We researched for you…

After the 1999 earthquake in Gölcük, earthquake resistance, which is one of the most sought after criteria for home buyers, has become less questionable in recent years compared to the past. After the 30 magnitude earthquake that took place in İzmir on October 2020, 6.9 and caused pain to all of Turkey, “how strong are our houses?” came the question. The criteria we should pay attention to when buying a new house;

- Look into the basement of the building. If rutubeIf it is, it means that the waterproofing of the building is not well done. Corrosion of the carrier systems of buildings with poor insulation causes damage to the structure during a severe earthquake.

- During construction, prefer buildings produced with ready-mixed concrete technology. Do not prefer buildings built with concrete with less than C20 strength in buildings built in earthquake zones.

- The design of the building can also provide earthquake resistance. Design factors such as symmetrical dimensioning and the use of short columns can make the structure more resistant to earthquakes.

- Find out that column and curtain applications are carried out with the right methods. In order to learn the technical features, you can have the engineers examine the building you want to buy an apartment.

- Make sure that one third of the building is under the ground. Remember that the more floors there are under the ground, the more reliable the building is against earthquakes.

- Do not forget to review the floor survey report. Again, it should not be forgotten that not every building can be applied to every floor. The right building applied on the right ground is earthquake resistant.
- Do the buildings have an Energy Performance Certificate? Look. The Energy Identity Certificate, which is now a legal requirement, shows that the building is heat insulated. With fuel savings, your money is in your pocket.

Besides;

First of all, contact the architect and engineer of your building and ask for a determination from an expert organization.
You can learn the earthquake resistance of your building with 8 percent accuracy by making the test prepared by 60 experts, consisting of architects, construction, geology, geophysics and map engineers.

1- The location of your building:

• Rocky ground: 0
• High and hilly place: 1
• Slopes where the slope is over 20 percent: 2
• Pit places according to its circumference: 3
• Stream bed and filled floors: 4
• Watery floors: 5

2-If your building is reinforced concrete, its age:

• 1-10 years: 0
• 10-11 years: 1
• 11-20 years: 3
• 21-30 years: 4
• 31 years and above: 5

3- Carrier system of your building:

• Steel or wooden building: 0
• Reinforced concrete building: 1
• Brickwork masonry building: 2
• Stone knitted masonry building: 3
• Mud brick building: 4
• Mudbrick building with soil roof: 5

4- Basement and ru in your buildingtubet have a problem?

• There is a basement, no rutubet doesn't work: 0
• There is a basement, in the winter months rutubetl: 1
• No basement, rutubeno t: 2
• There is a basement, always rutubehave t: 3
• There is a basement, water accumulates: 5

5- How many floors is your building including the ground floor?

• One storey: 0
• Two floors: 1
• Three floors: 2
• Four-five floors: 3
• Six-eight floors: 4
• Nine floors and above: 5

6- How is the ground floor of your building?

• Same as upper floors: 0
• Further inside than upper floors, but walls closed: 1
• Floor height higher than other floors, but walls closed: 2
• Same as normal floors but no walls: 3
• More inside than regular floors, but no walls: 4
• Floor height more than normal floors, but no wall: 5

7-How are the building protrusions?

• No slots in the building: 0
• Only the balconies are: 1
• There is a closed cantilever throughout the building. Up to 80 cm: 3
• Open overhangs with walls closed: 4
• There is a protrusion of more than 80 cm in the whole building: 5

8-Is there any intervention to the building?

• No changes were made anywhere in the building: 0
• There are sections of the interior walls of the building that have been removed: 1
• There are more than one raised sections on the interior walls of the building: 2
• Windows opened or enlarged on outer walls: 3
• Making additional windows or removing walls in the whole building: 4
• Complete removal of interior partitions and walls (even 1 floor): 5

9-Has the purpose of use of the building been changed?

• The building is used according to its purpose: 0
• It is built for residential purposes and normal floors are used as workshops: 1
• The ground floor is built for residential purposes and used as a shop or workshop: 2
• Later, the elevator was installed in the building: 3
• Later, a water tank with a capacity of more than one ton was built in the attic: 4
• Later, an elevator and a water tank were built in the building: 5

10-In your building until now:

• No repairs made: 0
• Repair was done with a vibrating tool: 1
• The carriers of the structure were repaired with a vibrating tool: 2
• Holes and similar interventions were made to the columns and beams: 3
• Flooring was added to the floor in the building: 4
• There was a fire in the building, albeit partially: 5

11-Previous damage or cracks in your building

• No visible cracks in your building: 0
• There are very fine cracks in the balcony trim or corners: 1
• There are very fine cracks where the outer walls of the overhangs meet the columns and beams: 2
• There are horizontal cracks in the wall under the windows and in the lines: 3
• Cracking in the outer walls horizontally and vertically at the height of the building: 4

12- Building shape, plan scheme:

• Square or polygon: 0
• Rectangle: 1
• Star shaped: 2
• There are deep voids in the building: 3
• Adjacent blocks, not at the same floor level: 4
• Adjacent blocks, not the same height: 5

EVALUATION

When you sum up the values ​​for your answers to each question;

• 0-6 points: There is no serious earthquake risk in your building.
• 7-12 points: Your building has a low earthquake risk.
• 13-20 points: Moderate earthquake risk, building should be examined by experts.
• 21-60 points: You have a structure susceptible to earthquakes.