Beware of Bricks
When deciding on a home to buy, choose carefully how the home was built. Flexibility and reinforcement are two important factors in selecting infrastructure materials. Wood is a better choice than brick due to its flexibility. Buildings that rely on bricks for load bearing do not have a skeleton to keep the structure together. In fact, California has demolished or retrofitted many brick buildings due to the danger of their collapse during an earthquake. Base isolation pads are another form of security when building a home. These lead or rubber pads are placed between the foundation and the base of a house. They will absorb a lot of the vibration during an earthquake.