2. Prefab
homes
can
be
found
in
earthquake
and
seismic
zones
from
California
to
Alaska,
Hawaii,
the
Caribbean
and
Japan.
Each
house
design
is
individually
engineered
to
meet
local
seismic
code
requirements
and
to
adapt
to
the
natural
terrain
uBlizing
one
among
the
many
foundaBon
opBons
available.
The
biggest
misconcepBon
is
that
prefab
homes
are
flimsy
and
fall
apart
easy.
This
is
due
to
the
videos
we
see
on
television
about
old
mobile
home
parks
in
hurricanes.
The
fact
of
the
maEer
is
that
the
new
prefab
homes
are
built
as
strong
as
or
stronger
than
convenBonal
homes.
Earthquake
Hazard
Levels
are
based
on
the
seismic
risk
and
the
damage
anBcipated
from
major
seismic
events.
While
seismic
acBvity
is
much
more
common
in
California,
Hawaii,
the
Pacific
Northwest
and
Alaska,
damage
from
major
earthquakes
in
other
areas
could
be
significant
since
few
structures
elsewhere
are
built
to
be
earthquake
and
seismic
resistant.
3. A
unique
approach
of
integraBng
Post
and
Beam
construcBon
technology
with
almost
any
foundaBon
type
makes
prefab
homes
adaptable
to
nearly
any
terrain,
climate
or
design
need.
FoundaBon
types
include
sBlts
&
pilings,
basements,
crawl-‐spaces,
and
on-‐grade
slabs,
as
well
as
a
unique
pedestal
foundaBon
design.
Depending
upon
the
specific
locaBon
and
the
condiBon
of
the
soil,
various
approaches
are
employed
to
stabilize
the
home
foundaBons.
Slab
foundaBon
homes
oQen
only
require
large
steel-‐reinforced
floaBng
slabs,
but
in
some
circumstances
where
soil
condiBons
are
poor,
steel-‐reinforced
grade
beams
may
also
be
required.
In
other
seSngs,
foundaBons
may
actually
have
to
be
pinned
to
stable
rock
formaBons
below.
And
in
the
most
extreme
seismic
areas,
anchoring
foundaBons
deep
in
the
ground
to
stabilizing
pilings
may
be
necessary.
No
maEer
what
the
requirement,
working
closely
with
structural
engineers
and
local
building
officials
to
create
the
appropriate
and
safe
foundaBon
design,
is
the
best
approach.
