Frozen pipes can cause tremendous damage to your home. When water in a pipe freezes, it expands and puts immense pressure on both metal and plastic pipes ─ and when the pipe breaks, it could potentially release a cascade of water into your home, causing mass amounts of structural damage. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, claim payments by all insurance companies in the past decade for those kinds of losses have exceeded $4 billion.
With the official start of fall right around the corner and winter not far behind now is a good time to do some seasonal maintenance on your home. The shift between the seasons can be quick and unpredictable so it is important to prepare for both in order to avoid costly repairs and aggravation. Here are some tips for getting the interior, exterior, and garage ready for not only the fall but also the following winter months:
Ice dams are a common destructive roofing dilemma materializing during the winter months. Typically roofing concerns arise when snow melts, runs down a rooftop and refreezes near the edges. As a rule ice dams are created by having a warm attic space resulting in a combination of poor attic and roof ventilation. Ice damming can cause extensive damage to your roof, gutters, insulation and interior ice walls therefore it is imperative one learns how to prevent such.
Although emergencies most often occur when you least expect them, you can do a great deal to mitigate potential damage by anticipating and being prepared. This is particularly true when it comes to being ready to act in the case of a fire emergency.
Fortunately, a house fire is not something that everyone has experienced in their lifetime. Unfortunately, most do not realize that house fires are more common than people think. According to The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) there are more than 360,000 home structure fires each year, resulting in about $6-8 billion dollars in damage.
A weather forecast calling for gusting winds is most often overlooked by the public. Perhaps it does not sound as bad as a “winter storm warning” or a “hurricane watch”, but unfortunately, the power of wind is highly underestimated. The force of wind is something that should not be taken lightly, and its threat to the safety of your home should not be ignored.
Minimize your risks for home damages and danger by following these tips the next time the weather man is calling for strong winds:
Bring in and Secure Outdoor Items
Most people keep unsecured items out during weather conditions of high winds, and only realize that they should have secured them after one of those items flew through the window of their home or blew away down the street. Objects left outdoors during wind storms generate two kinds of predicaments. They can potentially injure your home, property, family and others and can also be lost or ruined, creating a financial loss for you and your family.
