Top 10 things you can do to your home to prepare it for a Hurricane
- Walk your house and seal any cracks you may find in your stucco or near or around windows especially on the side you expect to receive the most amount of wind and rain. When the rain is going sideways it can easily get through the cracks and into your home. When it gets into your home gravity will pull it down to the lowest point and ruin your carpets or hardwood floors.
- Reinforce your garage doors by sliding the lock on the side. If wind enters a garage it can cause dangerous and expensive structural damage. We would also recommend unplugging your garage door opener. That way, when the storm passes you won't accidentally try to open your garage door with the lock on.
- If you have a free standing basketball hoop, lay it to it's side on the ground and next to your home so that it will not fall on one of your vehicles.
- Clear all loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts. The key is to get as much water away from your property as possible so it won't start to form puddles and find ways to enter your house.
- Trim any trees or shrubs which may be close to your home so they will be more wind resistant and less likely to scrap the side of your house. Even if your trees are not hitting your house now, during the storm with the high winds they will be leaning so please keep that in mind.
- For situations, where a hurricane may bring high winds, cover all of the windows of your home with plywood. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows however a second option is to board up windows with 5/8" marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. Tape on your windows does not prevent windows from breaking so no need to put it on your windows
- Bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans and anything else that is not tied down. During the storm you would not them to become flying objects for you or your neighbors.
- If you have a pool I would recommend going to a pool store and getting a floating chlorine dispenser. That way if your electricity goes out you can at least put the floating dispenser in the pool to prevent the pool from going green.
- Purchase some 9 volt batteries for your smoke detectors in the house. The is nothing worse when the power goes out to hear the constant beeps of your smoke detectors!
- Find a safe room for your family within your home. If you have a two story house under the stairs is typically the safest spot but if you don't, an interior room without windows will do (even a bathroom)
Download and print our Hurricane Prep Checklist and the Additional Emergency Contact Info and start making your plans today.
