PSPIC - Gallery

	Victorian home with collapsed cripple walls This two-story Victorian home suffered the collapse of its foundation cripple walls in the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 1989.
Unreinforced masonry damage Brick, stone and concrete masonry block walls are easily damaged in earthquakes unless they are reinforced with steel. This Coalinga home was badly damaged in the May 1983 earthquake.
	Foundation system failure The risk of foundation failure, as shown here, might have been prevented with bracing of the cripple walls and anchor-bolting of the wood frame to the foundation.
Not well-connected In the Coalinga earthquake, the ground suddenly moved right -- but the home didn't. The wood frame was not well-anchored and braced on its foundation.
	More residential earthquake damage Another example of what can happen when the cripple walls are not braced with plywood and lots of nails.
Neighborhood of damaged homes Entire neighborhoods of old homes all of similar vintage commonly suffer a similar fate -- lost equity and relocated families until the damage is repaired.
	Another cripple-wall failure The pattern of damage repeats itself in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
A 3-foot fall from grace The front steps show the former level of the first floor before the unbraced cripple walls toppled over and "let the family down" in the 1992 Mendocino earthquake in northern California.
	Floor collapse in another old Victorian The cripple walls support the first floor and the home above it against the downward pull of gravity -- until recent code improvements, they were not designed to resist the sideways forces of earthquakes.
Up close and personal In the 1984 Morgan Hill earthquake, the shaking forces easily pulled the unbraced studs of the wood cripple wall off of the sill plate (the exposed board in the lower center of the photo) -- even though the sill plate,it appears, was anchor-bolted to the concrete foundation. Cripple-wall bracing and anchor-bolting should be done together.
	Twisted staircase The ground and front steps moved to the right -- house moved the other way. A common style of damage to unbraced cripple walls.
Apartment and condominium buildings are also at risk A common problem with condominium and appartment buildings is a weak first floor level, as resulted in the destruction of this San Francisco apartment building in Loma Prieta earthquake. The problem is the large openings in the ground floor walls, such as garage door openings or open parking bays. These walls are collapse-prone in strong earthquakes and should be strengthened.