Oakland Hills - Earthquakes, landslides or other concerns?

[chelseaTE]

Re frequency of fires in hills in East Bay:

Do not discount the problems caused by fires in the East Bay hills. There have been significant fires in Berkeley in 1923, 1970, 1980, 1991.

"Berkeley is vulnerable to a wind-driven fire starting along the city’s eastern border. The fire risk facing the people and properties in the eastern hills is compounded by the area’s mountainous topography, limited water supply, minimal access and egress routes, and location, overlaid upon the Hayward Fault." 2014 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, City of Berkeley [url=http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Mitigation/]2014 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan - City of Berkeley, CA[/url]

According to the history of the Berkeley Fire Department on the City's website [url]https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Fire/Home/Department_History.aspx[/url]

"On September 1, 1923, Berkeley suffered a catastrophic fire that swept into the north end of the city from what is now Tilden Park, destroying over 600 homes and businesses. The ignition source for this terrible fire, a small grass fire, started over three miles from the city limits. On that day, low humidity coupled with high winds and temperatures created conditions of extreme fire danger that rapidly pushed the fire over the ridge tops and into the homes north of the University of California. The pattern of wildland fire caused by extreme fire conditions would be repeated several more times culminating in the firestorm of October 20, 1991."

""On September 22, 1970, a major fire occurred in the hills between Berkeley and Oakland. Although the fire was in Oakland, the Berkeley Fire Department was a critical contributor to the battle that eventually required 102 engine companies and resulted in the destruction of 37 homes in Oakland."

"The most significant fire of this decade (1980-1990) occurred on December 10, 1980 when a dry northeast wind fanned a fire that destroyed five homes along Wildcat and Woodhaven and nearly crested the ridge at the top of Marin. This fire again demonstrated the vulnerability of the Berkeley community to fires produced by Diablo wind conditions."

"The 1990’s were overshadowed by the 1991 firestorm, the worst conflagration in modern U.S. history. This fire left 25 people dead, and destroyed more than 3,400 dwellings in Oakland and 63 homes in Berkeley. This catastrophic fire was fought by more than 400 fire companies from throughout the state and burned for four days before it was declared out."

Oakland and Berkeley both face wildfire hazards. The 1991 fire in the hills came within a half mile of the boundary of Montclair.

[jeffkitzes]

does earthquake insurance cover landslides due to earthquakes?

[tkpage]

My husband and I are looking to buy a home and Montclair has caught our eye. I googled and found this thread.

12+ Open Houses in Montclair last weekend so I have to wonder why people are fleeing.

One home we loved from a cosmetic perspective and wanted to make an offer until we read the 182 pages of disclosures: seismic retrofitting, roofing, dry rot, plumbing, electric, foundation shifts... It was a disappointment for sure.

Tried keeping an open mind and toured some more open houses. My husband felt a slant in one of the bedrooms and when he asked the realtor about it, seems the foundation had shifted and needs some repair. My husband said that's it, I'm not interested in living in Montclair but I love the idea of Montclair. Up in the hills with views away from the stray gunshots we hear living in Emeryville/NOBE so I decided to do some research and found this thread.

Interesting this thread is from 2013, 2 years later, here is what I have experienced.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by tkpage

My husband and I are looking to buy a home and Montclair has caught our eye. I googled and found this thread.

12+ Open Houses in Montclair last weekend so I have to wonder why people are fleeing.

One home we loved from a cosmetic perspective and wanted to make an offer until we read the 182 pages of disclosures: seismic retrofitting, roofing, dry rot, plumbing, electric, foundation shifts... It was a disappointment for sure.

Tried keeping an open mind and toured some more open houses. My husband felt a slant in one of the bedrooms and when he asked the realtor about it, seems the foundation had shifted and needs some repair. My husband said that's it, I'm not interested in living in Montclair but I love the idea of Montclair. Up in the hills with views away from the stray gunshots we hear living in Emeryville/NOBE so I decided to do some research and found this thread.

Interesting this thread is from 2013, 2 years later, here is what I have experienced.

People are not fleeing per se.

It is a case (at least for most sellers) of buy low sell high.

[jk88cal]

Originally Posted by tkpage

One home we loved from a cosmetic perspective and wanted to make an offer until we read the 182 pages of disclosures: seismic retrofitting, roofing, dry rot, plumbing, electric, foundation shifts... It was a disappointment for sure.

1st time buyer? None of these are necessarily related to hills. Suspect most of these are non-issue. And if the price is right, it can be a great buy in today's super competitive market.

I live in the flat area 6' above sea level. We have following issues.
- Seismic retrofitting: Check. Something was done, as house is bolted down to foundation. Unknown if it is up to today's code.
- Roofing: Check. Wood shingle roof in poor condition. Replaced at move in.
- Dry rot: Check. Isolate locations. Fixed at move in.
- Termites: Check. (Surprise this is not on your list). Had signs of past termite activity, both drywood and subterranean. Probably no issue. But we fumigated anyways at move in.
- Plumbing: Check. Anodized metal pipes that give the water a nice brown color and great rusty taste; cast iron sewage pipe that is a concern of clogging. On our wishlist, if and when we decide to remodel the old bathrooms.
- Electric: Check. Knob and tube wiring in the attic.
- Foundation: Unknown. Floor not level. Likely foundation settling. We don't care. Didn't bother finding out what might be the issue or fix.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jk88cal

1st time buyer? None of these are necessarily related to hills. Suspect most of these are non-issue. And if the price is right, it can be a great buy in today's super competitive market.

I live in the flat area 6' above sea level. We have following issues.
- Seismic retrofitting: Check. Something was done, as house is bolted down to foundation. Unknown if it is up to today's code.
- Roofing: Check. Wood shingle roof in poor condition. Replaced at move in.
- Dry rot: Check. Isolate locations. Fixed at move in.
- Termites: Check. (Surprise this is not on your list). Had signs of past termite activity, both drywood and subterranean. Probably no issue. But we fumigated anyways at move in.
- Plumbing: Check. Anodized metal pipes that give the water a nice brown color and great rusty taste; cast iron sewage pipe that is a concern of clogging. On our wishlist, if and when we decide to remodel the old bathrooms.
- Electric: Check. Knob and tube wiring in the attic.
- Foundation: Unknown. Floor not level. Likely foundation settling. We don't care. Didn't bother finding out what might be the issue or fix.

RE: Foundation. It's actually better if in the hills, if the foundation needs work. Typically there is much easier access via a massive crawl space or even partial to full basement. And the types of problems tend to be easy to correct. One of the worst houses we looked at back in the day was on the flats. It had settled so much (owing to our wonderful seasonally expansive adobe which is the most common soil throughout the Bay Area) that drainage for the entire property flowed toward the house - it had formed its own little crater. The fix - imagine jacking up up the entire house and putting it on blocks, tearing out the existing foundation, re-grading the parcel, placing French Drains with sumps around and under the house, rebuilding the foundation with deep piers down to the bed rock (maybe 40 - 50 feet down? Maybe even more? This was thick alluvium / alluvial fan stuff), then remounting the house.

[PBob]

For anyone who knows the Oakland Hills, Armour Drive used to be a through street. In an El Nino year (1977?), the hill slid and wiped out my parent's street below. Here's hoping that - if the rains come this year - we won't have that again.

[Ultrarunner]

If you are not comfortable... that's the end of it.

There has been an uptick of open houses... prices are up and many feel it's time to cash in the chips... especially those looking either to downsize or retire outside the Bay Area.

Many of the newer homes in Montclair are very well built... the seismic codes insist on it... older homes are more of a hit or miss.

Another thing to consider anywhere in the woodsy parts of California is Fire Insurance... i.e. new policies.

Have a lot of friends in Montclair and most love it...