Next to your family, your home is one of your most important assets. It is important that you begin to prepare now to protect your home from a hurricane. If you take the time to prepare now, then when a hurricane is coming you will just need to complete a few simple steps in order to protect your home. Here are a few steps to help protect your home:
1) Make sure that you have homeowner’s insurance. As you talk with your insurance agent make sure that you understand what is covered in case of an emergency and what is not. You may want to consider buying additional flood insurance.
2) You should look at the trees around your house at least once a year, and make sure that they are doing okay. If any tree looks like it has died, you will want to have it removed. If you are in a hurricane prone area you may want to cut down trees that actually hang over the house or are tall enough and large enough that they could do real damage to your home. I don’t advocate cutting trees down unnecessarily, but you should cut down any that would be hazards to your home. I also recommend hiring someone to do it for you. You don’t want to have a tree fall on your home, when that is what you are trying to prevent.
3) Take time now to purchase and prepare any plywood shutters that your home may need. You should cover your windows and your doors to protect them from the wind. You can prepare the shutters now, and store them in your garage so that when the times comes all you will need to do is install the shutters. This will save you time. You can find more information here.
4) There are other areas of your home that you may want to reinforce before the next hurricane comes. You should look at your roof, and your garage door. This is especially true if you have an older home or live in area that does not have strict building codes. You can find more information here.
As you take the steps to prepare now, you will be grateful later. You will not need to stand in long lines at the hardware store, and can install the shutters quickly. Once you have done this you will be able to focus on keeping your family safe. You will not worry as much about your home, because you have taken the steps you needed to protect your home.