Is Your Baton Rouge Roof Ready for Hurricane Season?

It’s that time of the year again, hurricane season. We all know that means to check the generator, stock up on bottled water and locate those important documents. But what does this mean for the roof of your home or business ? As we are all too familiar with, hurricanes bring damaging winds and devastating rains, leaving a path of shattered homes and businesses as well as chaos for the home and business owners.

Your roof is in a vulnerable position during a hurricane. Proper examination of your roof(s) is crucial during every season, but can be a vital step in your preparation during hurricane season. Early preparation is essential in protecting your roof against hurricanes & tropical storms in 2013. Strong winds, storm surges, flooding and tornadoes are a variety of the threats facing your property. Annual maintenance and examination by a certified roofing professional can make a significant difference in your roof’s hurricane preparedness.

Your roof should be examined at least once a year to discover any missing shingles , splitting, lifting or curling shingles, and any loss of granules. Depending on the type of wind impacting your roof, straight line or pressurized, different damages can occur. Shingles can be lifted and thrown from the roof, and/or intense, wind driven rain and debris can be forced onto the roof. Now is the ideal time to have your roof checked. If it’s been a number of years since any maintenance has been performed, the materials and structures in place to protect your roof may no longer be able to endure the powerful, constant winds and rains of a hurricane.

In addition to determining what, if any, work or maintenance your roof needs, there are some other helpful steps you can take now. Photograph or video your home and/or business, inside and out and from all angles. Should a storm damage your property, this will help during the insurance claims process. It is also helpful to discover any potential flaws that you can repair before a storm. Gather the necessary supplies to have on hand should you need to prepare for an impending storm. Heavy plastic sheeting, tie-downs, sandbags, plywood, etc. can all be crucial materials to have while preparing not only your roof, but your entire home or business against damage.

As the season goes on, if and when a hurricane watch is issued, there are further steps you can take to best prepare your roof. Check and secure any items on your roof. HVAC equipment, piping, fans, etc. need to be secured to keep from becoming projectiles in the storm’s strong winds. Another important step, as minor as it may seem, is to close every door and secure every window. According to the Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) an alarming number of roofs were compromised when doors were left open and windows were either shattered or left open allowing high wind speeds to enter the building.

Whether it’s your home or your business, taking these necessary preventative steps now, can save you time, money and headaches later this hurricane season. The professionals at Cribbs Inc. are here to help get and keep your roof in shape for hurricane season and beyond.

For more information about your roof and what to look for to determine if its time for a new one, download this free resource from Cribbs.