Bracing yourself for hurricane season? If you’re paying attention to the state’s warnings and recommendations, you’re taking lots of proactive steps to protect yourself, your family, and your property.
They likely include making sure your windows are closed and shuttered (and perhaps even installing hurricane-proof windows), investing in a generator, building your personal food and water stockpile, and checking your insurance policies are in order.
Things can get hectic — and we’re here to remind you not to forget about your roof. After all, protecting your Florida home is impossible without a solid roof over your head!
Not every hurricane season roofing step is obvious, so let’s make sure you’ve got all your bases covered.
1. Start Your Prep Work with a Roof Inspection
Got any loose, damaged, cracked, or missing shingles? Is your flashing intact and properly sealed? If you’re not sure, you can count on one thing — whatever is already wrong with your roof before hurricane season will get 10 times worse when the storm hits. (You don’t want your roofing materials to fly around your neighborhood, after all!)
Start your prep work by hiring a reputable roofing company to thoroughly check the condition of your roof and roofing materials. One of the key things your roofing contractor should do ahead of hurricane season is to check that your roof is properly anchored to your home’s wall. Where necessary, you can have roof repair work carried out immediately.
2. Take Care of Your Routine Roof Maintenance Needs
Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need an experienced Florida roofing company for all your hurricane season roofing preparations. Here are some of the things you may be able to do yourself:
- Clean your gutters and downspouts to make sure water can properly drain off your roof when stormy weather begins.
- If you have any trees anywhere near your home’s foundation, especially with branches overhanging your roof, trim them ahead of time.
- Consider securing heavy outdoor items or storing them away. Things like grills, garden furniture sets, trash cans, and container garden setups should be cleared out of the way. They can’t only damage your roof when high wind speeds lift them off the ground, but also other parts of your property. These heavy items can also injure people.
3. Think About Having Storm Straps Installed to Protect Your Roofing
During hurricane season roofing materials are subjected to immense amounts of stress. Storm straps can keep your roof in place and lower the odds that you’ll have to hire us or one of our colleagues to carry out extensive roof repair work.
It’s not a fun statistic to think about, but a large portion of the roofing contractors’ revenue in Florida comes from hurricane-related roof replacement projects. Ensure your roof doesn’t become a statistic, and do everything you can to protect it!
4. Make Sure You Have a Good Working Relationship with a Florida Roofing Company
Even if your roof is in tip-top condition right now, you never know what hurricane season will do to it. At the very least, make sure you know which roof replacement company you plan to call if you need emergency storm restoration services.
You’re welcome to save contact details for Chappelle Roofing to your phone and give us a call if your roofing situation needs urgent attention. It’s even better if you already have a good working relationship with your local roofing team, because roofers tend to get very busy during this time of year.
Got Questions About Your Hurricane Season Roofing Needs?
Preparing your roofing for hurricane season can be tough, whether you’re new to Florida or you’re a first-time homeowner without previous experience. The Chappelle Roofing team would be happy to answer your questions, give you pointers, or come over for a thorough roof inspection.
We’ll brave the storm together, and make sure your Florida roof is fully prepared for the storm ahead!
