Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 54 posts · 7 votes
I was thinking about buying a home on a fault line in Texas. The home seems to be in decent condition but I would think that it would not be wise to build a new home on a fault line. It's not a fault like California but it has been known to slowly change over decades. Thoughts?
Rental Property Investor · Jupiter, FL · Member since 2013 · 48 posts · 18 votes
9y
Many years ago, I had a real estate mentor drive me around Memorial (upscale Houston neighborhood) and show me all the fault lines in the area. You could see the dip in the road and how it ran right across the front yard and under the house. She noted that the houses that straddled the fault lines were always for sale and at a discount compared to others in the area. It is my understanding that you would have to constantly adjust piers under the house to keep the foundation level. I am not scared of foundation issues but the deal would have to come with lots of equity before I acquired a never ending foundation issue. However, if the price it right......
Developer · Covington, LA · Member since 2017 · 224 posts · 124 votes
9y
@Frank S. thst's an interesting question. How do you know the house is on a fault line? What type of fault, strike, dip, other? I wonder if disclosure statements include a property's plate tectonics.
This is a wildly new and original question for the boards. Nice work. Any input from geologists lurking?
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 54 posts · 7 votes
9y
@Rogers Smith The disclosure statement says it's on a well-known fault line in Houston called "Long Point Fault". I believe that is a dip fault. I'm leaning on avoiding this project because I think it would be difficult to resale and I'd hate to pour money into a property that is on uncertain ground. I know in California, this may not be a big deal because there are lots of faults but in Houston there is not and because people don't know about them, including myself, it's a negative.
Rental Property Investor · Jupiter, FL · Member since 2013 · 48 posts · 18 votes
9y
Many years ago, I had a real estate mentor drive me around Memorial (upscale Houston neighborhood) and show me all the fault lines in the area. You could see the dip in the road and how it ran right across the front yard and under the house. She noted that the houses that straddled the fault lines were always for sale and at a discount compared to others in the area. It is my understanding that you would have to constantly adjust piers under the house to keep the foundation level. I am not scared of foundation issues but the deal would have to come with lots of equity before I acquired a never ending foundation issue. However, if the price it right......
I've never heard about drastic movements in Texas because of tectonic plates movements... there is none indeed. A fault that affect thousands of homes? The issue you are referring might be due to other localized geological behaviors, non related to historically tectonic movements/earthquake.
See below, Texas is almost Class 0, where California is Class 4, Puerto Rico is Class 3. This is coming form the ASCE design manual for concrete structures related to zones prone to earthquakes...
I come from earthquake country originally, and I’ve been through a few big ones. I’ve watched this geologist get pretty good at forecasting quakes. He actually tells you why he thinks the sequence happens and it’s a cool live feed.
Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
You can, but safety factors on your foundation should be big enough to withstand it. it means increasing from 24" to 36" or 36" to 48". Pretty costly foundation wise. Heck, you'll be implementing CA codes and seismic loads. hehe
Real Estate Agent · Houma, LA · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 115 votes
9y
The issues with the faults in and around Houston is not a matter of earthquakes, it appears to be a slow shifting of the ground to each side of the fault. A couple of years ago, this was a big issue for homes in a new subdivision in The Woodlands area. It was a big enough issue to make the news. Running a split down a driveway and having a 12-16 inch height differential.
I come from earthquake country originally, and I’ve been through a few big ones. I’ve watched this geologist get pretty good at forecasting quakes. He actually tells you why he thinks the sequence happens and it’s a cool live feed.
I come from earthquake country originally, and I’ve been through a few big ones. I’ve watched this geologist get pretty good at forecasting quakes. He actually tells you why he thinks the sequence happens and it’s a cool live feed.
If you know when an earthquake will happen, let everyone else know... If you can predict lottery, let me know (just me!)...
Please, please...
You're a funny guy. Why not just watch one of his older videos, see what he forecasts, (not predicts) and see what happened? As a civil engineer, I sure you are open to discovery.
I come from earthquake country originally, and I’ve been through a few big ones. I’ve watched this geologist get pretty good at forecasting quakes. He actually tells you why he thinks the sequence happens and it’s a cool live feed.
If you know when an earthquake will happen, let everyone else know... If you can predict lottery, let me know (just me!)...
Please, please...
You're a funny guy. Why not just watch one of his older videos, see what he forecasts, (not predicts) and see what happened? As a civil engineer, I sure you are open to discovery.
I loved to hear more about the seismic model 24-7 on youtube... On a "kind-of-a" serious note, I actually know someone that is doing some algorithmic on seismic movements in PR and Caribbean. He studied Structural Engineering with me while doing the MS. As the XX commercial says, he is an "interesting person"... just on the engineering side of things.