Five ways to prepare your home to withstand deadly weather

The weather wasn’t this bad in the past, or maybe it was and we just can’t remember. Every time you hear about something tragic on the news there is a good chance it was cause by our lovely friend, Mother Nature. It’s getting worse and you want to make sure you’re fully prepared because there is nothing more horrible than ending up with a severely damaged home. Let’s look at a few of the things you can do to ensure you make it out of the other side unscathed.

Get the supplies ready

I’m not talking about gathering up tins of baked beans to eat when the power goes out. You need to have supplies ready so you can board up your windows. When the wind is powerful enough it could smash your windows and it will cause a lot of damage inside your home. Even a small object will shatter glass if it’s moving fast enough. If you keep some wooden boards, a hammer, and some nails in your garden shed you will be ready to act straight away.

Secure your garage door

The garage is a very dangerous place in the middle of a storm because the door isn’t known for being very strong. It’s also a huge target and a lot of wind will be pounding into it. Around 80% of wind damage is caused because it comes in through the garage, so if you can secure the door there will be a lot less chance of anything bad happening. If you have some money to spare you could maybe invest it in a hurricane-rated door.

Trim your trees

If you have trees in your garden you need to make sure you look after them. This means giving them a trim, especially the branches close to your home because they’re going to snap off in a hurricane. You don’t want them to land on your roof because your tiles will smash into pieces. Can you imagine all that rain getting in and causing even more damage? If the branches are big enough they could also go straight through a boarded window, so cut them down and skip them if they’re too close to your home.

It’s raining chairs and plants

If you’ve ever seen the movie, Twister you’ll know how easy it is for large objects to be picked up and thrown around. You surely remember some random cows flying past your screen. If you have a lot of furniture and plant pots in the garden you will need to get rid of them before the wind picks up, or it could be too late. Make sure you know where you are going to put them and that will be half the battle won.

Get the sandbags ready

Flooding is also a very realistic possibility because there is going to be a lot of rain when a hurricane strikes. If you live close to a river it might eventually burst its banks. You might even live at the bottom of a street and when all the water comes rushing down the road it will go straight into your home. Have some sandbags lying around if you live in a problem area because water has a way of causing nearly as much damage as strong wind.

It pays to be prepared

You will definitely feel a lot better if you have everything prepared because it’s usually the ones running around like headless chickens who have the most problems. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that nothing does happen, but if it does at least you’ll be a lot safer.

This post was written by Jenny Wadlow; she is a freelance blogger and has been researching on projects involving new home construction in Connecticut for her blog. Her hobbies include reading and cycling. You can follow Jenny’s personal and business ramblings on Twitter@JennyWadlow.

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