5 Steps To Avoid Meeting Your Friendly, Local Damage Contractors
Storms happen. Floods happen. No matter how hard we try, sometimes things just happen that are out of our control. Or, are they? There are a few steps you can take to avoid, or at least minimize, disaster.
1. Trim Trees: Trees do millions of dollars worth of damage to homes each and every year due to both toppled trees and falling branches. Homeowners should be proactive in removing both dead or dying trees and branches before severe weather hits to protect their homes. Likewise, taking good care of trees to prevent disease and insect infestation through consultation with an area arborist is a good decision.
Trees that have branches located near power lines or overhanging the roof of your garage, shed, or home should be trimmed. Trees that have existing cracks or V-shaped divisions have a tendency to break at that point. A professional can inspect it to determine if it needs to be removed or if it can be shored up and saved.
2. Crawl Space Waterproofing: According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, all 50 states have experienced either flooding or flash flooding in the last five years. No one is immune to it. To add to the problem, most homeowners do not have flood insurance, and those that do, unfortunately, do not carry adequate flood insurance to match the anticipated damages that can occur when a basement or crawlspace flood. In fact, the average amount of damage due to a flood in a residential home is over $48,000. Luckily, adding an efficient sump pump, storing mementos off the ground in waterproof containers, and investing in quality waterproofing from a company such as Central Penn Waterproofing can all minimize your losses.
3. Proper Drainage: Another way to protect your foundation and crawl space or basement is to ensure that the surrounding ground is sloped away from your home so that rain can drain towards the street. Older homes are in particular need of this. While they may have once had land that sloped away from the foundation, over time, dirt, grass, and landscaping materials have all built up on the site, gradually changing the slope.
4. Working Smoke Detectors: Thankfully, damage contractors can do amazing things in this day and age regarding cleanup after a residential fire. The easiest way to finding out exactly how amazing is to make sure that your home always has working smoke detectors and fully charged fire extinguishers on all levels of the home. Check the batteries twice a year on the same day that you change the clocks forward or back with Daylight Savings time so it's easy to remember. Invest in a fireproof safe. While you may not have any fine jewelry to store in it, a fireproof safe is a great place to keep irreplaceable paperwork, documents, and family photos. Depending on the circumstances, you could grab the entire safe in the event of an emergency or you could leave it. According to Lifehacker, most models can withstand "30 minutes at temperatures of 1,550 degrees Fahrenheit," which is good enough for paper. If you are storing photos on a thumb drive or the DVD of your wedding, however, you need a safe that maintains an internal temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
5. Earthquake Bracing: Houses in earthquake zones need to be able to protect its residents and stay standing during an earthquake. While most building codes in earthquake zones have specific requirements, you can consult a structural engineer to help you determine the best way to strengthen your existing foundation as well as save for future upgrades. Damage can occur in homes when the earthquake measure as little as a 4 on the Richter scale, per the USGS.
While no one can prevent these forces of nature, everyone can take steps to reduce the amount of damage they experience simply by being prepared.
