People have fought to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their belongings from the elements since the beginning of time. In the 21st century, the story remains the same. As tough as our homes are nowadays, they are still susceptible to harsh weather conditions that cause serious damage. If you haven’t already, you are certain to experience something along these lines at some point in life.
Compleat Restorations serves the community by keeping people aware of the dangers facing their homes and what you can do to avoid dire circumstances. In the event that you deal with serious weather damage that requires an emergency response, it’s good to know your next course of action.
Let’s take a look at weather damage and what we can do to handle it.
Common Weather Damage
Depending on where you live geographically, there is a wide range of ways that severe weather impacts your property. It’s necessary to know the dangers your house faces so that you can prevent residential home damage and respond to emergencies.
High Winds
High winds can be a daily occurrence for weeks or flare-up as a result of major storms. Even smaller storms can be dangerous, but occasionally they grow into real emergency response situations. Did you know this year Pennsylvania saw a significantly higher-than-average amount of tornadoes? These major windstorms wreak significant havoc on communities, causing devastating structural damage.
Flood Damage
The dreaded “January Thaw” is a threat every year to towns around the state. When the weather suddenly shifts its gears into Spring, the melting snow causes dangerous floods. These can occur slowly over time or ravage communities as instantaneous flash floods. This causes serious water damage in basements, cellars, and foundations of buildings.
Winter Storm Damage
Did you know that Pennsylvania ranks an average of #19 out of all the United States in terms of snowfall each year? It’s no wonder there is plenty of need for damage restoration when it comes to the snowy winter months.
Snow and winter storms can affect your property in a wide variety of ways. Heavy buildup on rooftops causes collapse and pipes burst from water freezing and expanding. Small “ice dams” also appear in gutters, causing water to find its way into your home through the roof and walls.
Thunderstorms
A thunderstorm is classified as “severe” when it contains hail one inch or greater across or winds gusting in excess of 50 knots. Despite the label, even smaller thunderstorms are catastrophic for structures. Heavy rain causes flooding, lightning creates fires, and large hail damages windows and roofs.
Weather Damage Restoration
Often the damage dealt by severe weather is sudden and unexpected. You may have some warning ahead of time to protect your lives as well as valuables, but your structure takes the brunt of any extreme weather. Once this happens, the process of restoration is necessary to salvage your belongings and support the rebuilding of your home.
There is a lot more that goes into the weather damage restoration process than it initially seems. You must move quickly to increase your chances of protecting your property. Leaving the comfort of your home isn’t a great experience when you have no choice, so how can you speed up the process?
Residential weather damage restoration requires a multi-faceted approach. Depending on the type of weather your house endured, the steps differ. For example, you may need to board up and tarp your home to secure and protect it. Severe damage may require the demolition of any unstable structures.
Hiring a professional team to help you bring your home back to life is the most efficient and effective way to handle residential home damage. In the case of Compleat, our team offers temporary power and lighting so you can continue to live your life, as well as providing professional drying equipment to remove the damaging water from your structure.
It goes further than just handling the physical property. Compleat set up a mobile command center to help things move smoothly and assist you with navigating your insurance claims to make the recovery process as fast as possible. For a complete rundown of how we can help repair your home and return the comfort you deserve, visit our Storm Damage Restoration Process page.
(Pssst! Did we mention we’ll get to your house in under 2 hours? 24/7, 365 days a year.)
Weather Damage Prevention
If you aren’t currently dealing with hardships due to extreme weather, you should first thank your lucky stars! Second, you need to recognize your prevention steps and emergency plan. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and what you can do about it makes all the difference.
Here are some easy, actionable steps to keep your house’s defenses up against severe weather damage. Keep in mind that nature is always able to have her way if she wants, but a little prevention gives you a leg up when your home needs it the most:
- Install a sump pump, and make sure to check that it’s running correctly
- Check all your window and door seals for cracks or breaks
- Design your property to direct water away from the house, not towards it
- Fix any broken or missing shingles
- Unblock gutters and ensure that they are connected and emptying to the right spot
If you run a business of your own, it’s the smart choice as an owner to have an ERP (Emergency Restoration Plan) in place as a precaution. Compleat has over 40 years of experience in this area and makes sure you are ready and able to be helped in the event of a weather emergency. The recovery process is less stressful when chaos and confusion are minimized. This is the result of an effective, efficient response that is ready to be put into action.
Learn more about Emergency Restoration Plans by clicking here.
Contact Us
Are you in need of help immediately? Are you looking for prevention tips, or wanting to implement an Emergency Restoration Plan to protect your livelihood? Contacting Compleat Restoration should be your first step to protect your home, belongings, and/or business.
Fill out a short form here and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can, or call (800) 699-1176.
