Hurricane Preparedness Week: Strengthen Your Home
If you plan to ride out the storm in your home, make sure it is in good repair and up to local hurricane building code specifications. Many of these retrofits do not cost much or take as long to do as you may think. Have the proper plywood, steel or aluminum panels to board up the windows and doors. Remember, the garage door is the most vulnerable part of the home, so it must be able to withstand the winds.
Gutters
Along with strong wind, hurricanes bring heavy rains. Your gutters are there to direct this rainfall away from your home and prevent flooding. This only works if your gutters are clear and in good shape. Take the day to clear out leaves or any other debris. While you’re up there make sure you don’t have any rusted out spots, holes, or openings.
Enhancing Roof Sheathing Attachment
You can improve your roof’s resistance to uplift, without removing any of your roof covering! Proper application of the right caulk can increase the wind uplift resistance of your plywood roof sheathing by as much as three times! This one-day activity should be started in the early morning hours as attics can become quite warm in the afternoon hours.
Instructions and a list of supplies can be found on the Federal Alliance For Safe Homes website.
Information and graphics from the National Weather Service and FLASH.
About the Author (Author Profile)
Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
