5 Steps to Prevent Storm Damage to Your Home

With summer on the horizon, your thoughts may be drawn to having time off work, enjoying the sunshine or maybe going on a vacation, however, with summer thunderstorms to take into account, it’s crucial that you do everything you can to ensure your home is safe and protected.

Image by Sergio Cerrato from Pixabay 

Heavy rains and strong winds can cause extensive damage to your property, so here are five steps to prevent storm damage to your home and outsmart Mother Nature.

Inspect the Foundation

If you notice any cracks or gaps in the foundation of your property, this increases the chance of water seeping into your home during severe weather. No one wants to deal with major water damage, so repairing any cracks you spot or calling a professional to help is key. Also, make sure that your doors and windows are sealed, as they are other areas of the home where water could sneak in.

Clean Your Gutters

While cleaning your downspouts and gutters may not be the most exciting task, soggy leaves and dirt can accumulate and cause havoc to your home should a storm strike. This is because they can stop water from running off your roof during severe weather. If water starts to build up, it may settle around your roof, which can cause extensive water damage to your property. Cleaning and repairing your gutters should be at the top of your list to keep your home safe and secure from a storm.

Check Your Back Yard

For preventing storm maintenance, one of the best things you can do is to inspect your back yard for diseased or dead trees. When severe weather strikes, trees that are diseased, hollowed or dead may not be able to stand up against strong winds. The last thing you want is for a tree to fall and crash into your home, so while most home insurance policies cover falling trees, it’s advisable to get rid of unsafe trees so no one is put in danger.

Inspect Your Roof

Your roof needs to be maintained and inspected at least once a year. Keeping a close eye on the condition of your roof will help you identify any issues before they turn into major problems. Keeping your roof in good condition can also save you money on your home insurance. If you don’t feel comfortable tackling your roof alone, it’s best to hire a professional.

Watch the Weather

Many homeowners make the mistake of failing to act before severe weather strikes. So you can be confident that you’ve taken the correct precautionary measures, it’s important to keep an eye on the weather forecast. If a storm is heading your way, try and find out how your community reacts to weather emergencies and follow suit.

Create a Checklist

After a storm has hit your area, your first step should be to inspect your home for damage. Creating a damage checklist and going around the interior and exterior of your property will help you identify what action needs to be taken.

If a storm is predicted, it’s important that you take all the precautionary measures listed above to reduce the risk of damage to your property.

Your New-and-Improved Home Essentials Checklist

Now that most people have been spending a lot more time at home due to COVID-19, there are probably a few things you’ve noticed in your house that you’d love to improve. Life is usually such a whirlwind, so it’s easy to let inconveniences go unnoticed—especially if it’s how you’ve done it for years and years. If you haven’t really touched anything in your home since the early 2000s, you’re missing out on some incredible technology that would not only make your home look incredible, but make your life easier. Now that you're home more often, take note of everything you’d like to get done and follow along with this checklist of essentials that will make your home feel new and improved.

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Keeping all of your memories in one place

The first step in improving your home is preserving your memories. Although there is something to be said about going through old photo albums, you run the risk of damaging a really special memory every time you turn a page, depending on the age of the photos. Not to mention all of the new memories you and your family are creating every day. Whether it’s pictures of the grand kids or your vacation from last summer, all of these images end up on different phones and social media platforms, making it difficult to keep track of them on your own.

Now you can actually keep everything in one convenient place with Meet ibi. This device acts as a personal cloud that can store over 250,000 photos or over 100 hours of video. Also, there’s not a monthly subscription fee, like so many other photo services, so you’ll be saving money. It’s also very simple to set up. All you need to do is plug in your ibi and download the app, and it will guide you easily through the rest of the setup. From there, select which devices and social media accounts you’d like ibi to collect from and choose your “inner circle” to privately share content with. Take photos of your old albums and then upload them to your cloud. You’ll be able to share old photos that people have never seen or maybe forgot were ever taken.

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Living in a fairytale

Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to your very own fairytale every day, or at the very least be able to park your car in a beautiful garage? Garages aren’t exactly the most visually appealing part of any house, so improving that area should definitely be on your checklist. Make your garage go from drab to fab by searching for custom wood garage doors. RW Garage Doors has dedicated its whole company towards building superior quality carriage house garage doors. They handpick every piece of wood and fully inspect their materials before using them in their projects. Your neighbors are certain to be jealous of the premium build.

Making a splash with backsplash

The kitchen is where people gather and put a lot of love in the dishes they create. It’s a cornerstone of family gatherings. That being said, the kitchen is the first place to get a little messy when there’s a lot of activity going on in the house. Upgrading the design of this space will not only make it look great, but make things run more smoothly. You'll find backsplash in almost every new kitchen right now. It’s a beautiful, tiled accent that makes your eating space look almost like a restaurant. Since it’s tile, any pasta sauce that bubbles out can easily be wiped away without leaving a trace of a stain. It's functional and beautiful.