Heather Jones
We have all experienced the situation of an inclement weather report that makes our hearts begin to pump more blood than usual. These reports can be bothersome as a homeowner because your home is valuable to you, and safeguarding it will always be your top priority. In addition, nobody wants to be accosted by home repair bills due to bad weather conditions.
The rise in global warming has brought with it a high level of extreme weather conditions. As a result, we all have experienced either more heat or cold over the past few years than usual. These changes may not be noticeable for those who are not conscious enough. But if you pay attention to the weather reports, you will discover that the hurricanes come now almost the same way the snow falls.
While it is true that weather is very unpredictable, there are steps you can take to reduce its damaging effect on your home. This blog post contains a few things you can do to prepare your home against inclement weather conditions.
What Type of Weather Are You Preparing Against?
It’s not just about preparing your home for bad weather, but what type of weather condition is more rampant in your region? Extreme weather conditions include storms, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes. Knowing what is coming is key to every form of preparation. So the first step is to listen to weather reports often to know what bad weather is typical in your environment.
Check Your Insurance Policy
When preparing for inclement weather, you must check your insurance policy to ensure it covers the type of inclement weather. For example, some insurance companies may leave out flood and hurricane coverage on an insurance policy.
Furthermore, ensure to ascertain the insurance policies to know your compensation for damages due to extreme weather. To enjoy the proper compensation, you must ensure your home content has regular valuation. If you are renting, ensure you insure your contents since most times, your landlord’s insurance policy does not cover your contents.
Begin With Tightening the Roof
Hurricanes and tornadoes can inflict significant damage to your roof. Besides, roof holes can inflate your extensive list of repairs if a strong storm lifts your roofings.
Check for soft patches, missing shingles, and loose overflowing gutters. If you see any of these problems on your roof, you should fix them quickly.
Install Weather-Safe Materials in Your House
Depending on the type of weather you are battling, there are many ways you can weatherproof your home in harsh weather conditions.
Storm Windows
Storm windows can be durable glass or plastic panels that insulate the house against cold or heat. It also stands against the pressure from strong winds and rain more than regular windows.
Automatic Water Shut-Off System
Install a water shut-off system for the whole house to switch off the main water source. These devices are necessary for events of leaks due to frozen pipe bursts. Also, they help minimize the level of damage.
If you are out of the house, turn off the water from the primary source. You can also insulate your pipes to save from freezing.
Trim Trees Around the House
Before each season, walk around the house to check the tree limbs. During heavy storms and wildfires, tree limbs extending over the house can be dangerous.
Nonetheless, trim or cut down trees that can fall on the house or properties should there be a storm, flood, or wildfire.
Keep the Gutters Empty
Clean up your gutters to ensure that they can withstand heavy rain or snow. Block drainage systems or gutters can easily overflow into the house during floods. Also, take note of the directional cues of your drains to ensure they take water away from your home without any blockage. Add gutter extensions to get water in various directions away from your house if you get a lot of rain or snow.
In case of wildfire, clearing bushes and vegetation around your house is necessary.
Run Inventory of Your Home Items
In extreme weather conditions, there may be a need for an evacuation. To prepare for such, taking inventory of your home items is essential—plan about assets that insurance can replace, such as heirlooms. Also, compile a rapid inventory of your essential belongings, for example, documents, invoices, and certificates.
You can keep these belongings in a safety box, at the bank, or elsewhere safe.
What Is Your Safety Plan?
During natural disasters, it is crucial to have a safety plan. For example, in those harsh weather times, there may be power outages; to stay up to date and survive, you must make sure to plan.
First, create a muster point for every family should there be a natural disaster. You can also make emergency numbers available for the family. It is crucial to maintain contact during an emergency. Choose a distant relative to be your constant check-in in a situation where your local lines are down.
Also, select a safe place where family members can all meet if inclement weather conditions separate them when far away from home.
Emergency Kits
Extreme weather conditions can deny you essential services for hours or even days. As a result, things you know cannot be easily accessible once the weather sets in should be gotten earlier. Also, tune up your car and feel it up.
Image Credits: Unsplash
Make sure the following items are in your emergency kit:
- Extra battery for flashlights.
- Battery-powered radio
- Canned and non-perishable food items.
- Medical kits for first aid
- Blankets
- Bottled water
- Cash savings
- Portable cell phone chargers
Build Emergency Rooms
Think about building a safe room if your house allows it. They can be a basement with less or no window furniture for tornadoes or a high ground in the case of a flood. But make sure your safe rooms meet up to the standard.
Bottom Line
Weather is unpredictable, but the level of damage you incur due to extreme weather conditions depends on your preparation level. You always incur little or no damage when you prepare beforehand.
This article has itemized different ways to prepare for extreme weather conditions. With this knowledge, we hope you can equip your home against future inclement weather conditions and incur little or no damage.
However, as you protect your home, also ensure to protect the planet by maintaining a green environment.
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