"Raymond Yeung" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I are looking for a house/condo/apartment in the
South Bay Area of California. We've some earthquake related
questions:

1. There's a 8-storage metropolitan apartment building that
the
builder claims to be built with post-tension
construction. It
was built in early 2003. Is this technique something
especially
for earthquake? Or is it typical of any building these
days,
regardless of geographical locations.

he has to follow the code for earthquake zones...it no doubt
meets the code... your interest should be how close is to
known major fault lines..if its close you are screwed
regardless. If its a few miles away you will probably be fine
with current construciton.



2. Given the current construction methods, what's the safety
profile
of such a multi-level building versus the usual 2-3 story
houses?

Depends on construction details. Generally speaking its a
tiny fraction of the structures in an entire area that go
south in a disaster. Id worry about location on hillsides,
mudslides and fire and what the neigbors house might do in a
shake or fire etc.



3. There're a lot of 40-50 year old houses selling at over
half a
million here due to school district. My impression is
that wood
framed structure tends to age and become weaker. Is this
true?

no.

The old wood is like iron compared to the new growth timber.
If its old and in good shape in this area its well built.
The foundation issues are more relevant to your questions.
You should get a house inspection before buying regardless.

and you need to look at the plus side..when california breaks
off into the pacific you could end up with island or beach
front property.


Phil Scott


Thanks,
Raymond