It is essential to disaster-proof your house to minimize damages to properties and loss of lives. Natural disasters cannot be prevented, but you can put measures in place to ensure that your home is not severely affected. The following tips are ways to disaster-proof your house.
1. How to Protect Your House From Wind
While you cannot prevent the wind from blowing, you can protect your home from being vulnerable. Strong winds target holes and cracks in a house, causing the building to collapse and damage the belongings.
You can disaster-proof your house against the wind by caulking or filling cracks or holes around windows and doors. Ensure that your door hinges are in good condition. Replace your doors and windows where necessary. Also, if your roof is gabled, install truss bracing. Your house will be able to withstand strong winds.
2. How to Protect Your House From Flooding
In addition to monitoring the weather forecasts for your state or city, you must protect your house from flooding. The state of the physical structure of your home is crucial to withstanding flooding. To protect your house, seal up cracks or holes in the house’s foundation using mortar or masonry caulk. Also, apply sealants and coatings to your foundation, doorway, windows, and walls to prevent water from penetrating your house.
Another tip on how to protect your house from flooding is to install a battery-powered sump pump to pump water outside the house when there is a power outage due to a torrential downpour. Besides, you should install backflow valves into your sewer or septic lines to prevent water backup in your home.
Another helpful tip to protect your house from flooding is to grade your lawn away from your home to enable free flow of rainwater from your house. Meanwhile, make sure that you relocate essential documents and items to higher ground.
3. How to Prevent Your Home From Cold Weather Damage
Extreme cold weather causes pipes to freeze and burst, causing water damage in your home. Ensure to remove and drain hoses from the faucets. Turn off the water supply to the outdoor faucets or open valves on the faucets to drain them. Let your faucets drip to prevent your pipes from freezing.
Takeaway
Follow the tips above on how to protect your house from flooding and disaster-proof your home. Secure your home while you can to avoid damages and loss of property.
