Topography Changes the Risk
On flat ground an unbraced masonry wall threatens its own footprint and a margin around it. On these streets it can threaten what is downhill, which may be a neighbour's house, a parked car or a public footway.
That is not a legal distinction, it is a practical one, and it means the area around a damaged house here needs treating more conservatively than the same building would need on the valley floor. The framework is on our page covering the brick and the exemption.
What Should I Actually Do About It?
Chimneys Are the Other Half
The retrofit programme in this city funds two things: strengthening the roof-to-wall connection, and bracing chimneys to prevent collapse. Both are about elements that are tall, heavy and inadequately tied.
A fire that takes out the roof structure has usually removed whatever restraint the chimney had at roof level as well, leaving a free-standing masonry stack. On these houses those stacks are frequently substantial.
Does That Mean the Chimney Has to Come Down?
We publish no structural conclusions, review requirements or values for individual Avenues properties. An engineer, the city's preservation staff and local sale evidence answer those respectively.
Repair Rebuilds the Connection Anyway
A point in the owner's favour. Where a house is being put back, the roof and floor structure has to be reconnected to the walls as part of the work, which is the same connection the seismic retrofit programme exists to strengthen.
So a properly engineered repair on this stock leaves the building better braced than it was before the fire. Whether any assistance is available for your property is a question for the city, and the programme has operated with a waiting list.
Values Support the Work
Finished values across the Avenues and Capitol Hill are strong enough that repair is frequently worth more than any cash offer, and we would rather say so at the start than negotiate toward a number that was never competitive.
The Avenues in Context
Where similar brick sits on flatter ground, see our page about Sugar House and Yalecrest. Where later construction changes the question, see our page for the south valley.
The Numbers Behind an Avenues File
Utah has prohibited new unreinforced masonry construction since the 1970s, so this stock predates the change. Estimates of URM buildings run from more than 90,000 along the Wasatch Front to about 144,000 across the valley, with 175,000 statewide reported in January 2023.
The residential exemption under section 59-2-103 removes 45 per cent of value, requires 183 consecutive days of occupation, and section 59-2-103.5(8) allows 90 days to return a declaration.
Avenues Questions
Is the Wall Going to Fall?
Nobody can say from a photograph. Treat it as unsafe, keep the fall zone clear in both directions, and get an engineer on site.
Can a House Like This Be Repaired?
Frequently, and the repair has to be engineered rather than merely built. The roof-to-wall connection is the part that matters.
Will You Buy in the Avenues?
Yes, including buildings an engineer has condemned, and on sound stock we will often tell you repairing is worth more.