B.C. engineers and geoscientists are calling for new wood-framed houses and low-rise condos and apartments to have mandatory safeguards against earthquakes.

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGBC) wants the provincial government to include earthquake-protection guidelines in its new provincial building code, due out later this year. But indications are that the province will not heed the request.

"What the industry is simply looking for is some clarity," says Andy Mill, chairman of the APEGBC's seismic task force.

The current provincial code, implemented in 1998, says "in many cases (earthquake-resistance) considerations can safely be ignored, but in certain configurations, the building's resistance to wind and earthquake loads must be carefully considered."

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
Seismic task force chairman Andy Mill says rules need to be more explicit outside Vancouver.

APEGBC would like the new code to include commentary - as opposed to a specific clause - requiring builders to adopt the Canadian Wood Council's (CWC) guidelines.

"If the contractor is using the Canadian Wood Council guidelines, then they've probably got a building that's earthquake-safe, because they deal with the issue that's in those guidelines," says Mill, a structural engineer with David Nairne and Associates, during an interview in his company's North Vancouver office.

According to the Geological Survey of Canada, more than 4,000 earthquakes have struck an area of the Pacific Ocean approximately 250 miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island in recent weeks. Although they were considered large in magnitude, the quakes - known as swarms - were too far away from shore to pose any damage to buildings.

On March 7, the provincial government allocated an extra $254 million to 80 B.C. schools to fast-track seismic upgrades over the next three years. That money was in addition to $70 million in school earthquake-protection measures already earmarked for 2006-07.

"Earthquakes that we design for typically are large earthquakes of a low probability of occurrence," says Mill. "However, they have a high consequence when they do occur. So they are considered high-risk."

He contends the cost associated with implementing the CWC measures would not be onerous. There would be increases in nailings and wall blocks, but builders could save money by using less glass.

But the province's Building Standards Branch has indicated that it will not devote a specific clause in the code to house and lowrises, which are known as Part 9 buildings.

"It's clear (on earthquake protection requirements) for every other type of building, but for these Part 9 buildings, it's unclear," says Mill. "So, potentially, they're unsafe."

Marisa Adair, a spokeswoman for the province's Ministry of Community, Women's and Aboriginal Services, which writes and governs the provincial building code, says the next code will probably not include specific references to earthquake protection for houses and lowrises.

"There may be some codes on this topic over the next few years," says Adair.

Under the provincial code, new schools, community centres, health centres, highrises and old buildings that receive major renovations are required to include seismic safeguards - but new wood-framed bungalows, apartments, duplexes and triplexes less than three storeys are not.

"These (CWC guidelines) ... you don't need an engineer to use," says Mill. "They are there so that owners and builders and designers can put sufficient walls and lateral elements in buildings so that they will perform well during earthquakes."

Older, less-expensive and less-attractive 1950s and 1960s-era stucco homes with plenty of walls and small windows could be safer than today's open-area houses with panoramic views.

"We want to move beyond that (stucco style)," says Mill. "We want to have more glass, but there reaches a point when you risk instability of the structure during an earthquake if you have, for example, all glass and very little wall or no wall."

The City of Vancouver's building regulations already include the CWC guidelines. Therefore, says Mill, most new homes and lowrises in Vancouver have adequate seismic safeguards - while most outside Vancouver proper, including multimillion-dollar homes in North Vancouver and West Vancouver, do not.

"The local municipalities may be upset at (hearing) that, but that's the way it's worked out," says Mill. "That isn't to say that all houses are unsafe - it's just to say that there's a risk. A lot of contractors know they have to put wall (space) in houses, and most houses, quite frankly, are fine. But with unclear code provisions, it can be that ambiguous, and some houses are all sticks of glass without any wall - that's the risk."

The new B.C. building code will adopt the federal code, making specific revisions to B.C. where necessary. Municipalities set their own rules based on those documents. Mill says the earthquake-protection issue applies primarily to the Lower Mainland, Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver Island and coastal communities, although some parts of Ontario and Quebec are also considered to be at risk.

APEGBC's board advises its members to adopt the CWC measures.

The earthquake-protection methods could also help houses and low-rises stand up better to mudslides such as those that recently struck North Shore homes, says Mill. But there's no guarantee that they will, because engineers and geoscientists do not usually design buildings to guard against mudflows.

Meanwhile, APEGBC is delighted with the province's decision to provide seismic upgrades to schools, some of which are 100 years old. Vancouver's Kitsilano Secondary will receive the most improvements - $16 million worth.

"(Old schools) are beautiful old buildings that need to be salvaged," says Mill, who was involved in negotiations on school upgrades with the province. "But they do need to be seismically upgraded. They're at risk because they often use brittle materials like masonry or reinforced concrete."

APEGBC and UBC are also requesting $4.1 million from the provincial and federal governments over the next three years for additional research into the potential impacts of earthquakes on B.C. buildings. Mill expects a decision within a few weeks.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)