With any heatwave, follows a torrential downpour which means you may have to protect your home. This can ruin your home in so many ways yet we don’t seem to think that rain can harm our properties.
A little won’t hurt, but just like anything, too much of something will be detrimental to our health. Your home shouldn’t be left to defend itself this fall and winter.
In just a few months, the autumn and winter floods could also be arriving at your doorstep. So what do you do to protect your home from too much rain?
What to do outside of your home
- Disconnect downspout from a sewer system. Chances are that the drains of the street you’re on, will overflow and you don’t want some of that water coming back up towards your home’s gutters.
- Put sandbags on the edges of your property. This means, doors, garages, front gates if need be.
- Seal up any cracks that you can see. Go outside and take pictures of all the cracks you can see on the floors, walls, window sills, and the pieces that you want to keep from harm, such as garden fountains and exterior walls.
- Don’t remove any of the shrubs and weeds around your property, they act as a natural barrier to the floods that may be coming down the street.
- Make sure that you have cleared your grates of all debris. Wooden debris like loose bark and chips from the home should be picked up, not swept into the drain.
- Repair any of the tile systems, so that when the rain does fall, it slides off effectively and can then be captured by the gutter system. A cracked tile can actually direct water away from the gutters, causing standing water to build up in your garden. This is obviously a slip hazard, even for younger people, not just the elderly.
What happens afterward?
What do you do if you have damage? Firstly you need to call a professional like HL Restoration who has actually repaired homes that have been hit by serious water damage. Speak to them about the key areas that you need fixing and they’ll go in and do a safe restoration in order to protect your home.
The other task is to learn where the key weak points of your home are. Did your garage have a gap underneath the door where water easily spilled through? Maybe you have an older chimney that has rotting or decaying brickwork which caused a leak? Do these checks to protect your home and see what the situation is.
- Can you see bent up metal or wood, by the bottom of the doors? This is caused by fast-flowing water. Even if the waters didn’t manage to get inside your home, they can still rip off or bend sheet metal that is fitted to the bottom of doors.
- Check to see if any tiles have fallen off your roof and if they have become loose. This is indicated by split water channels when it rains, and irregular patterns such as the water going one way and then veering off to one side.
Final Thoughts on How To Protect Your Home
When there’s too much rain, your home will suffer just like people do. Don’t overlook these issues and prepare to protect your home in time for autumn.
Do you have other suggestions in order to protect your home. Please add them to the comment box below.
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