Preparing your home for severe storms and hurricanes

By Stephen Fritz, Realtor 832-483-1839

www.BuysellHoustonhomes.com

www.longpointwoods.com

Preparing your home for severe storms and hurricanes

When a hurricane threatens, your primary concern is for the safety of your family. But your house is important too, and it requires protection even though you may be evacuating the area. The most important step you can take is to make plans and provisions to protect your home long before hurricane season starts. That way, when a storm does threaten, you can concentrate on the safety of your family and know that you have done your best to protect your home.

Before the Storm: What Can You Do To Protect Your Home?

1) Keep your home safe and secure

Hurricanes pose both wind and flood damage potential, but there are things you can do to greatly reduce the impact on your home. One of your main goals is to prevent the wind from damaging the home in a way that allows water to enter and do further damage. Make sure your doors and windows are secure. Wind inside your home will push upward against the roof and try to lift it, while winds outside create a suction pressure, almost doubling the roof's load.

Despite the best attempts at protecting your home, damage may still occur. Take a look at your insurance policies to make sure you are adequately covered. Keep lists or video tapes of your belongings as documentation for the insurance company.

2) Prepare Your Roof

If you have an exterior television antenna or satellite dish, disconnect it and remove it.

Remove roof turbines and cover the holes where they were installed. Otherwise, high winds could remove them for you, leaving a gaping hole through which heavy rain could enter your home to do damage.

Check for loose or damaged shingles, and seal around flashings, chimneys or vent pipes. A roof in good repair is much better able to stand the torture inflicted upon it by a storm. For more on roof repair, visit How to Repair Shingled Roofing.

Check for loose and clogged gutters and downspouts. Backed-up gutters can send water flowing into your home in the event of heavy rains. For detailed information, see How To Maintain Your Gutters.

If your roof is damaged in a storm, use tarps secured with ropes and nails to cover it as soon as you can. Heavy rains usually occur during and after a hurricane, and water can cause devastating damage to the interior of your home. Any step you can take to minimize water damage will help.

3) Cover The Windows

If you live in an area vulnerable to hurricanes, consider installing storm shutters. They are available in several different types, and they will go a long way toward keeping the damaging wind and rain from entering through your home's windows. As a side benefit, they may reduce your homeowner's insurance premium.

If you wish, you can build your own hurricane shutters. Check with a local home improvement or hardware store, such as Lowe's to learn about the different kinds you can build on your own.

5) Secure The Doors

Steel entry doors provide the best protection for your home. Double doors and French doors are most vulnerable to high winds. No matter what type of door you have, a hurricane panel is your best option to keep damage at a minimum. These galvanized steel or PVC panels are available at your local Lowe's. You can also nail plywood over your doors to help keep out water and debris. Do not nail yourself inside the house, in case you need to evacuate the area on short notice.

If you have double doors that have no structural member in the center between them, you should purchase and install special hardware to secure the doors where they meet. Bolts that secure the door into the framing at both the top and bottom greatly increase the door's strength. Wedge a dowel or a piece of broom handle into the track of sliding glass doors to prevent them from coming loose when the wind howls.

Provide stiffening support for garage doors. The pressure from wind increases with the door's size, and wide doors in particular need bracing for stability during high winds. Make your own vertical supports by nailing two 2x4s together and attaching them to the inside of your garage door with "L" brackets.

6) Keep the Yards Clear of Flying Debris

Keep loose tree limbs trimmed to avoid flying debris.
Flying tree limbs pose a great danger during high winds. Trim trees to avoid the possibility of large limbs doing damage to your house. In addition, selectively thinning out the branches to allow wind to pass through will reduce the potential for damage to the tree itself. Dead or damaged branches should be removed before they become flying missiles aimed straight for your house.

Lawn furniture, ornaments, toys, grills and exterior potted plants should be taken inside. Anything that cannot be brought inside should be tied down. Sheds, doghouses, playhouses, swing sets, and boat trailers should be secured with tiedowns, turnbuckles and cable or stout rope. Concrete tiedown spaces are a good home improvement in areas susceptible to hurricanes. If you do not have concrete-mounted tiedowns when the weather threatens, screw type tiedowns secured deep in the ground must suffice.
If you live in a mobile home, it is particularly important that you inspect and repair your home's tiedowns.

Cars, Trucks and Boats

If you live in a low-lying area, move your car, truck or boat to higher ground, preferably to an enclosed garage or warehouse.

If you must leave a boat behind, do not leave it in the water. If the boat is left outside, anchor the trailer tongue of a trailered boat to a firm spot on the ground. Lash the boat to the trailer; let some air out of the tires. Add water for weight, but make sure you keep it below engine level. Stow all loose gear (outriggers, canvas tops, etc.) and remove electronics and other valuables to avoid damage and theft. Cover the boat to keep additional water and debris out.


Involve Your Family

Get every member of your household involved in storm preparation. Set aside time for a family meeting to discuss the following:

1) An Evacuation Package

Think about keepsakes, personal items you would hate to lose, things insurance could never replace. Examples: your children's baby books and photos, an heirloom quilt. Place them in a waterproof and fireproof container. Include important family documents, such as birth certificates and insurance policies. Make sure everyone knows where the package is kept and assign a family member responsibility for it in case you need to evacuate.

2) A Safety Kit

Put together a safety kit. Include first aid supplies and essential medications, a fire extinguisher, packaged or canned non-perishable food and a non-electric can opener, water (no more than 6 months old) in a non-breakable container, protective clothing, rainwear and blankets. Make sure everyone in the household knows where this kit is kept.

3) Emergency Contact

Pick a friend or family member out of state to call in case a hurricane hits or you need to evacuate. This contact can be the person who lets others know where you are and that you are safe so you will not have to spend precious time doing so.

After the Storm: Is Your Home In Need Of Repairs?

Make repairs quickly after the storm passes. Property damage created by storms can be devastating. Structural and electrical damage must be repaired by licensed contractors and building professionals, and should be brought up to the most current standards for storm protection.

There are smaller jobs as well, however - jobs that can be done by homeowners while contractors focus on the worst of the storm damage.

Source: Lowes Home Improvement Centers, online at www.lowes.com.