ORLANDO, Fla. – Your home is probably your biggest investment and with the state of Florida’s property insurance market, experts advise to start preparing your home before a storm even comes.
“Do some things ahead of time and then be ready to do the rest when it’s actually coming,” said Brian Farr, co-founder of BFARR Contracting.
The first thing you should do is document the outside of your home.
“We can walk along the perimeter. We’re going to check the gutters. We’re going to check the soffits, the HVAC, the window screens. We’re going to get photos of all of those things beforehand,” said Brian Walton, managing partner, BFARR Contracting.
Another thing to document is your fence.
“If you’re looking along it, you can see if it’s leaning or how it stands up straight,” Walton said.
After that, Walton recommended documenting inside your home.
“I like to go to the corner of the house and I’ll slowly take a video of all the contents in the house before we evacuate and before the storm hits just so I have that on record,” Walton told News 6.
If you do not have impact windows, there are two things you can do to protect your windows.
“You get a sheet of plywood and make it bigger than this window, and what we’re going to do, we’re going to fasten that with a tapcon (concrete screw) and a washer. You’re going to use a concrete drill bit and you’re going to drill right in there and fasten these in,” Walton said.
If using a drill is not for you, Walton recommended getting PLYLOX window clips. According to Walton, measure the height of the window, subtract 1/4 inch from each measurement leaving 1/8 inch clearance. Then cut the plywood.
“The plywood simply slides into this clip, and then it just locks right into place,” Walton said.
Another vulnerability, the roof.
“Checking your roof ahead of time, making sure you don’t have any problems and if you do, address them,” Farr said. “You can mitigate some interior damages if you address it ahead of time.”
Next, take a look at the trees in your yard and make sure the limbs are not near the home.
“Anything that’s lower hanging or dead, or doesn’t need to be in there because they can be projectiles,” Farr said.
Farr recommends hiring a professional to trim your trees because it can be dangerous.
Once the limbs are cut, “you want to bundle them up in a manner that will make it so the trash guys will take it,” Farr advised.
While in the yard, put away any yard furniture or decorations.
“Some of the little small things is where you’ll fail if you don’t do it,” Farr said.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, also shared five things you can do to prepare before a storm:
1. MAKE A PLAN
2. BUILD A HURRICANE SUPPLY KIT
“If you have older folks in your family, make sure you have the prescriptions, medications they are going to need. If you have kids, make sure you have batteries for iPads, tablets, iPhones to keep them happy if you will, if they have to evacuate,” Guthrie said.
[DOWNLOAD HERE: News 6 hurricane preparedness checklist]
3. KNOW YOUR HOME AND EVACUATION ZONE
“If your house has been built in the State of Florida after 2004, you’re most likely built to Florida building code or you should be built to Florida building code, which means your home should be able to withstand 115 mph or higher winds,” Guthrie said.
Guthrie told News 6, people who live in manufactured houses, mobile homes and RVs should evacuate.
Find out if your home is in an evacuation zone here.
4. HALFWAY FULL IS THE NEW EMPTY
“Halfway on an electric charge, halfway on a gas tank is now the new empty. We want you to fill up when you get to halfway full,” Guthrie said. “What we’re trying to do is cut down on crowds. Crowds lead to lines, lines lead to blocked traffic, blocked traffic leads to people not be able to evacuate.
Here’s what you can do to stock up on gas for months.
5. EVACUATE TENS OF MILES
Guthrie said people do not need to evacuate hundreds of miles.
“Individuals that live on the coastal areas of this viewing community, you’re in Brevard County, you’re in Volusia County, you’re in Flagler County, you only need to go most likely west of I-95 and you’ll be out of most of our evacuation zones.”