A storm is comming

2/12/2019 (Permalink)

Winter storms whether it be snow, hail or rain can cause substantial damage to your home. There are plenty of checklists online you can search for to make sure parts of your home weren’t damaged during a storm.

On www.propertycasualty360.com they list seven different areas they feel are important to check over.

1. The roof

Ice dams and winter storms can do a lot of damage to your roof.

An ice dam occurs when snow on the roof melts, runs to the edge and refreezes there, forcing water back up under the roof where it can cause leaks and shingles deterioration.

At the same time, high winds, hail and winter storms can tear off shingles or drive moisture beneath them, causing further damage.

2. Gutters

Ice dams can do damage not only to your roof, but to gutters as well.

That’s because the heavy ice building up on the edge can pull gutters away from the roofline.

At the same time, water freezing inside the gutters and downspouts themselves can lead to separations in some areas, which means that they’ll need to be replaced.

3. House exterior

Cold, snow and hailstones can also take a toll on the outside of a house.

This can result in peeling paint, which if left long enough, could mean that your siding can become susceptible to moisture infiltrating it, which in turn can lead to wood rot and future repairs.

Repainting your exterior in the spring can help prevent these problems.

4. Siding

If the paint has peeled enough on the siding of the house, moisture can begin to infiltrate, causing the wood to begin rotting.

In addition, hail stones or fallen tree limbs can damage siding, whether denting aluminum siding or cracking vinyl. Because the siding is a home’s first line of defense against the elements, it needs to be repaired in a timely way.

5. Driveway

A little known problem that can occur during the cold winter months is damage to a driveway.

Small cracks that develop naturally over time are the perfect place for water to collect. When that water freezes, it expands, causing what’s known as a frost heave. Frost heaves are responsible for large cracks, as well as potholes in your driveway, making just getting home a bumpy adventure.

Repaving your driveway can correct these issues and help prevent additional damage by eliminating those small cracks as well.

6. The foundation

The same freeze/thaw cycle that causes cracks and potholes in a driveway can also affect a foundation.

Hairline cracks in the concrete of a foundation that develop naturally over time because of a home settling can expand during the winter months, causing major structural issues if they aren’t taken care of in a timely way.

Getting a foundation repaired in the spring can help prevent more problems from developing as time goes by.

7. Trees

Your home isn’t the only area that can sustain damage during a winter storm. Trees in your yard can also take a hit.

Heavy snow and high winds can knock down tree limbs, taking out power lines, damaging siding, and generally making your landscaping look a mess.

Getting your trees trimmed can help prevent this type of damage, as well as keep your trees healthy and looking great.