Protecting Your Home from Bad Weather

While it may still feel too cold in some parts of the country to think of springtime, the fact is that spring is now in full swing, at least according to the calendar. With spring comes the unpredictability of spring weather. Will it rain? Will it hail? Will a tornado come blasting through my neighborhood? All of these questions arise when you are thinking about the safety of your family and the protection of your own home. Here are some tips to consider as you protect your home against the many variables of spring weather.

1. If your home does not have gutters, now is the time to have them installed. For a nominal fee and a short amount of time, you can have gutters placed on your home to help direct water away from the house.
2. If hail strikes or if you need to replace your roof for any reason, make sure you choose Class 4 shingles. These samples show that they did not crack when hit twice with a 2-inch steel ball. It doesn’t hurt to have a roofer out to inspect your roof for weather readiness at the start of spring either.
3. For those living in the part of the country where hurricanes strike, make sure you have hurricane shutters on your home in the event that you need to evacuate and board up your house.
4. Make sure you keep trees and shrubbery trimmed back. If a tornado or straight-line winds strike your area, this will protect your home from your trees and bushes breaking apart and flying through your windows. It also works to prevent trees from falling on your house.
5. If you are having a remodel or inspection this time of year, ask them to provide you with recommendations to make your home as safe as possible in the event of a tornado.
6. Torrential rains are a big part of spring weather, one big problem that comes with spring is the potential for flooding. Assess your yard at the start of spring. Usually there are landscaping fixes that can help direct water away from your home and prevent flooding.
7. In the bitter cold of winter, cleaning your gutters seems like a horrible task. But as the weather warms, now is the time to clean out the leaves and debris that have been building up all these months. This will save you on unnecessary water build-up later.
8. Your closets should be stocked with battery operated flashlights and a weather radio should your power go out.