Protect Your Home From Storm Damage

The 2021 storm season is upon us, and once again thousands of homeowners have to turn their thoughts to protecting their home from potential onslaughts. Below, we have put together a simple guide to five key methods of helping to limit the storm damage on your home – read on to find out more…

Clever landscaping is one of the best ways to prevent water damage as a result of a storm. Landscaping can be specially designed to ensure that water is moved away from your home, helping to eliminate the risks of substantial water accumulation that can lead to flooding.

Ideally, you should choose landscaping that seeks to create a downward slope from your home. This slope does not need to be particularly substantial; just enough for gravity to pull water from your home and instead channel it into lower areas of your property.

Weather stripping is the practice of finding small gaps and holes in your property and then sealing them. Gaps around doors and windows are most liable to be problematic should you experience a storm event, and can allow enough damage to force you to claim on your homeowner’s insurance or foot a large bill yourself. By closing these with specially-designed tape, the potential entry routes for rainwater are minimized.

Weather stripping is quick and easy to do. Use a flashlight to help identify as many gaps as possible, then seal these with tape or – where applicable – add door strips for extra protection.

The gutters of your home serve an important purpose, so you need to be sure that yours are in good condition. It’s all-too-easy for dirt and debris to accumulate in gutters, so sweep these items clear so that your guttering can perform the important work of diverting water away from your home.

During a storm, the roof of your property will experience the full force of wind and rain. To be able to withstand this, your roof needs to be in good condition, so it is important to inspect this area in great detail. Look for loose tiles and missing shingles; these can easily be displaced entirely by high winds, which leaves your home vulnerable to roof leaks.

Think of your roof as the first line of defense against any storm; if it is compromised, the rest of your property will be also. As a result, if you do identify any issues with your roof, remedy them as quickly as possible.

Loose siding is particularly problematic during storms. Not only can it be torn and further damaged by high winds, but loose siding also provides another entry route into your home for water.

Identifying loose siding is, thankfully, simple – a visual inspection will usually suffice, and if anything looks amiss, you can physically check the area to determine the severity of the issue. Focus on repairing the more severely compromised areas as a priority, and the more minor cases at the next opportunity.

In conclusion

If your home experiences a storm, damage is not inevitable. With the right preventative actions – as described above – and the right home insurance plan , you can ensure that damage/cost is minimized, and you are able to return to your property safely and promptly following a major storm.