Wow time flies! It has been over a year and half since the last time we were invited to guest blog for Total Prepare and what a busy time it’s been!
Our business continues to grow by leaps and bounds. We have doubled in size since we last wrote here and expect to double again this year. This has been a very exciting time for us, but along with this success (and trust me: It feels great each time we make a home QuakeSafe!) it is also imperative that we don’t rest on our laurels. We always look for improvements to our techniques and we have recently implemented a best practices policy and a program of continuous improvement.
We’re doing our best to get the word out, Total Prepare Inc. is obviously doing a fabulous job in growing earthquake preparedness awareness, as are others, including Professor Yeats at Oregon State University. We’ve recently been in contact with Professor Emeritus Robert S. Yeats in the Geology and Geophysics department who has a new, soon to be published, book on Cascadia’s fault written for the general public. We are excited about this book release because we particularly liked one of his previous titles:
LIVING WITH EARTHQUAKES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
A Survivor’s guide
Which is now available online for free:
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/oer/earthquake/index.html
Prof. Yeats is an expert on the geology of the Pacific Northwest. This book, though not new, is an easy read with plain language and a relaxed style. The whole book is informative and as relevant today as when it was first published, but we are particularly pleased with chapters 11 and 15. In chapter 11, Mr. Yeats uses plain language to explain seismic loads exerted on timber-framed houses, the importance of bolting houses to their foundations, and the function and significance of installing shear walls to pony (and cripple) walls. All the same things we’ve been ‘preaching’ for years! Whereas, in chapter 15, the author writes about earthquake kits, drinking water, practice drills and the like. All the things Total Prepare can help you with.
An ever-growing trend of awareness!
For more information on retrofits or to talk to us about your home and earthquake safety, please visit our website quakesafe.ca or visit our FB page. Our inspections are still FREE in greater Victoria and though a charge applies to other areas of the province, we credit this amount back to you if you decide to go ahead with the work.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your interest in earthquake safety!
Mike Ursel, P.Eng
President
QuakeSafe Retrofits Construction Corp.
Phone: 250-590-8544 | Fax: 250-479-4192