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Odd House Rides With the Slide

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Living on a landslide that has already moved your house 100 feet downhill is a whole lot easier than having to cope with a “high-speed” disaster like an earthquake, insists Bob McJones of Rancho Palos Verdes.

“Of all the things nature can do, the landslide’s easier because it’s so slow, like molasses,” he said.

For peace of mind, he added, “you just have to have a different attitude about what is fixed in one place and what isn’t.”

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In McJones’ case, the yard is going one way and the driveway another, while the house has dropped five feet, slowly sliding a few feet every year as the Portuguese Bend landslide--which began in 1956--heads for the Pacific Ocean.

McJones and his wife knowingly bought into the problems, paying $10,000 in 1975 for one of 145 homes that suffered major damage or were destroyed when the slide began.

They were attracted by the rural setting, the magnificent views and the low cost of their do-it-yourself project.

McJones said they have put $30,000 into the house, remodeling and bolting it to a Rube Goldberg structure that rides safely with the slide.

“If it weren’t for the slide, the place would now be worth a million dollars,” he said.

For McJones, a big plus to the property is the building moratorium in the 270-acre slide area. That restriction preserves the open spaces from further development.

McJones, a semi-retired engineer, has jacked up the house, bolted it to girders and set it on three steel shipping containers that act as a tripod. Each leg of the tripod can be independently jacked up or down to keep the house level.

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“It’s no harder than changing a tire on your car,” he said.

The land is still moving in his neighborhood, although not as fast as before, but that is no worry. Whatever happens, he said, the house will easily ride it out.

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