Hurricane season is upon us, and winter storms will follow shortly. If you're anything like us, you want to be prepared! Fortify your home to survive hurricanes, storms, and extreme weather without much damage.
So that you can prepare well for unexpected conditions, here's what damage to watch out for and how to ensure your home can be protected from storm damage.
What Storm Damage to Expect
What does hurricane and winter storm damage look like in the Twin Cities? Let's go back to the 11th of May, 2022. A severe storm broke out, causing damage to a neighborhood's homes.
In a CBS News article, Blaine resident Alex Millerbernd described it like this: "Flooding on all levels of the house. My house got worse. I walked in, and it reminded me of 'Titanic,' the water comes through the cracks, the lights. It was scary." He said a neighbor's tree fell into their garage, almost crushing the car and puncturing a brand-new trailer!
Another homeowner, Terry, expressed: "There's a good size hole in the roof where the branch had gone through. It looked like there were a couple of branches there, and the water was seeping down into the basement from here, so I had to move a lot of stuff away so the water could drain out properly."
As a fellow resident yourself, you probably know that this storm was far from an isolated incident. The Twin Cities were hit with several EFO tornados in late August last year.
Is there anything you can do other than wait for the storm to break (literally) and hope for the best? Working with ZUPS Construction allows you to be one step ahead. After all, who's better equipped to prepare for damage than storm damage repair specialists?
How to Protect Your Home From Storm Damage
Since you're wondering how to ensure your home is protected from storm damage, you should take the following actionable steps. This way, you won't end up featured in one of those CBS News articles this storm season!
Maintain Your Roof
Roofs get the worst of high winds and hailstorms. You may not need to worry about newly installed roofs, but five-year-old roofs and older require inspections and maintenance.
Hire a professional roofer to inspect your roof annually for loose or split shingles and loose nails and fix any structural problems. These weak points can be entries for water or wind, damaging your home's interiors.
Do Yard Work
Yard maintenance is integral if you want to avoid a storm flooding your property. Trim your grass and remove dead vegetation from the yard. Tree branches tend to snap during storms, damaging surrounding objects, such as houses, roofs, and windows. So, prune tree branches and trim dead and dying foliage for safety (and aesthetic purposes, too!)
Store/Anchor Outdoor Objects
Outdoor objects are easy targets for high winds. We're talking patio and lawn furniture, flowerpots, outdoor ornaments, trashcans, and other items on the deck or by the pool. Keep them stored in a pool house, garage, shed, or another closed space. If you don't have enough room inside, anchor these outdoor objects.
Protect Your Windows and Doors
In a hurricane-prone area like yours, you must seal your doors and windows tightly because wind, water, and debris can slip through windows, garage doors, entry doors, and cracks.
When it comes to doors, you should ensure the weatherstripping around them is intact and effective, especially if they aren't closely sealed. And steel hardware doors are an option, adding structural support to your house.
As for windows, tap their panes, and listen for any rattling noises, or hold up a damp hand near the window seals to sense any drafts. You can call experts to get vinyl replacement windows, as they give your home extra protection and last for years with minimal wear and tear (even in bad weather conditions).
Better yet, consider investing in storm shutters; their impact resistance will prevent weather damage to your windows.
Go Over Your Insurance Policy
Reviewing your homeowner's insurance policy is important to ensure your home is protected from storm damage. Unfortunately, a standard homeowner's policy doesn't usually cover floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, so you'll need to purchase it.
Also, documenting your valuables and belongings with lists, photos, and videos in an archive will help you put together future insurance claims.
Our contractors can help you with insurance claim knowledge and commercial storm damage claims. They work with you and your insurance company to give you the best services for the best price.
Final Verdict
Protecting your home from storm damage is about targeting potential weak points that could bring the outside chaos inside. That's why you should maintain your roof, yard, windows, and doors, secure or store damage-prone objects, and ensure your insurance company will cover potential storm-related damage.
Luckily, Zups Construction can help you with roofing maintenance, window replacement, insurance policies, and information about storm damage, allowing you to glide through this storm season!