How to Prepare Your Home for Storm Season

In the bliss of the long-awaited sunshine and blue skies, we often overlook what else summertime brings: summer storms. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but storm season is here and as much as we’d like to ignore it, we cant.
Your homes are as important to us as our own homes are, so in efforts to “be safe than sorry”, we’ll outline some ways that homeowners can prepare their home for storm season.

1. Put together and EMERGENCY KIT.

Storm season prep kitMore important that preparing your home, this kit will prepare you and your family for storm season. If you already have an emergency kit in place, revisit it often to make sure items are still operating.
Flashlights
Candles, matches/lighters
Car phone charger
Extra cash (in case ATM’s are down)
Water. And lots of it!! (for both drinking and cooking)
Sleeping bags, blankets
Canned goods (and something to open them with!)
Battery-powered radio(s)
Camp stove

2. Inspect your GUTTERS

If you have debris and leaves clogging your gutters when it rains, water can pour down the side of your house (instead of being sent down the downspout) or even under your roof. If you have cracks in your exterior, this water runoff could end up inside your home. If your gutters are damaged or cracked, it could cause major damage to your home even during a light storm. Replacing them with a clog-free gutter system would be the best long-term solution. Doing this in advance would be a good idea to avoid a potential worse situation. While you’re up there, make sure the shingles on your roof are in place. (Not a ladder person? You may want to hire a contractor to inspect this part). 3. Secure or remove OUTDOOR ITEMSstorm season preparationHigh winds associated with summer storms are guilty of picking up outdoor furniture, like chairs and umbrellas. To protect you and your home from these being hurled in dangerous directions, make sure to secure the items too large to bring inside and remove the ones that aren’t. *This should be done BEFORE the storm hits!

4. Take a GOOD LOOK OUTSIDE your home

When it rains, does water run away from or toward your home? If it’s running toward your home, with enough water it could get through your walls and inside of your home.
If you have trees that are touching your roof, trim them back to avoid branches scraping at your roof.
If you have a tree that’s in bad shape, consider cutting it down. It may not withstand high winds, causing it to topple.

5. Invest in a standby GENERATOR

Just losing electricity may not be the worst thing that could happen to your home during a storm, but the effects of a power-outage, especially for a long amount of time, are not minuscule. Sump pumps will stop & food will spoil in refrigerators. Not to mention your home could be at risk since your security system won’t be working either. Having an automatic restoration of power from a standby generator keeps your home safe after a storm and may be something to consider, especially if your home loses power often during storms.

Storms can be unpredictable, so taking measures to be prepared for anything is our only defense against Mother Nature. Although there are many steps you can take to protect your home, sometimes she just doesn’t care and damages do happen. If you have broken windows, damaged gutters or any other damage to your home– there are always people like us to help you put the pieces back together, so please let us!