The weather has been a hot topic lately due to the severe storms that ripped through the Southeastern United States on April 27th. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial estimates are that there were well over 300 tornados during that 24-hour storm period, making it the worst outbreak in the nation’s recorded history. Super Cell Storms can bring strong, damaging straight line winds and extremely damaging hail, as many residents of Knoxville, TN witnessed by the large holes left in their roofs and walls from baseball sized hail. Once the home’s exterior is penetrated, then water can get in causing massive damage.
The notoriously accurate prediction team at Colorado State University is calling for an “above-average active hurricane season” which starts on June 1st. They are forecasting 16 named storms with up to five of those becoming major hurricanes. With those storms will come high winds, flying debris, and water.
In the case of either Hurricanes or Severe Storms, there are a few things you can do to significantly improve the chances for your home’s survival. And since May is National Home Improvement Month, now is a great time to get prepared.
Where to start, especially if you live in a hurricane-prone area, you might want to start by replacing you windows with Simonton Stormbreaker Plus Windows:
Features and Benefits:
o Helps protect the home and its contents during severe weather and storms.
o Helps reduce noise infiltration
o Helps impede intrusion and burglary attempts
o Extremely energy-efficient. Helps reduce solar penetration, reducing energy bills
Durable Construction:
• The insulating glass unit in Simonton StormBreaker Plus windows features impact-resistant laminated glass, which consists of a durable interlayer sandwiched between two pieces of glass, along with an outer layer of tempered glass.
• The high-performance laminated glass is designed to resist strong winds and penetration from windborne debris that can jeopardize a home and its contents during a high-wind event, such as a hurricane. Even if the outer layer of tempered glass is shattered, the tough interlayer won’t be compromised—reducing the possibility of injury or damage.
Beauty and Functionality:
• Works 24/7— windows and doors never need to be boarded up or shuttered, so you eliminate last-minute storm preparations and gain beautiful, sturdy windows 365 days a year.
• Simonton ranked “Highest in Builder and Remodeler Satisfaction among Residential Window and Patio Door Manufacturers” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010, 2009, 2008 Builder and Remodeler Residential Window and Patio Door Satisfaction Study.
• Simonton also ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Residential Window and Patio Door Manufacturers” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Windows and Patio Doors Satisfaction Study SM.
For More information, go to www.simonton.com.
Next, consider the material that’s on your roof… Is it able to withstand hail and other storm debris? DaVinci Bellaforté Roofing can!
Features and Benefits of Bellaforté:
Bellaforté is a man-made impact-resistant polymer roofing tile that withstands hail, hurricanes, high winds and other severe weather.
BELLAFORTE PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
- Man-made polymer roofing tiles created with state-of-the-art ultraviolet and color stabilizers to create a durable synthetic roofing tile.
- Superior color fade resistance is achieved with each tile because the color is infused throughout the 100 percent pure resin used to manufacture the tile.
- Polymer tiles resist water absorption, curling, cracking and fading, mold, algae, fungus and insects under normal conditions.
- Bellaforté available in 12” slate tiles in variety of colors; snap-fit together and are self-aligning on roof.
- In many geographic areas, purchasing polymer roofing tiles help save on your homeowner insurance premiums.
- Limited 50-year warranty.
- Fire-resistant
HAIL:
- Bellaforté tiles are impact-resistant; hail bounces off these roofs.
- Achieved Class 4 impact rating.
- FYI – roof is most vulnerable place on the home during a hail event.
- FYI – a baseball dropped from an airplane at 30,000 feet gains speed during the fall and impacts the roof at about 120 mph. This is similar to hail.
HURRICANES:
- Bellaforté tiles have met wind resistance testing of up to 175 mph. (FYI – Category 5 hurricane is 155+mph winds.)
- Achieved Miami Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) and Florida Building Code (FBC)
- FYI – Once air pressure moves through a hole in a roof and into the home during a hurricane, it can literally blow out the walls and windows of the house.
SEVERE WINDS:
- Two different types of winds will affect roofs during severe weather. Straight line winds and pressurized winds can cause different damage — from uplifting the shingles off the roof to pushing intense wind-driven rain and flying debris onto the roof.
- DaVinci tiles have successfully been independently tested to resist straight line winds at 110 mph. The products have also passed the TAS-125 certification test for wind uplift resistance in High Velocity Hurricane Zones and the TAS-100 certification test for wind-driven rain.
For more information, go to: www.davinciroofscapes.com.
If a severe storm hits and you do have wind and water damage, consider calling the crew at ServiceMaster Clean:
• Residential: In an emergency, response is critical to both controlling the damage and getting your life back to normal.
• Commercial: Our number one goal is to minimize business operation when disaster hits.
• Damaged housing or business is not a Do-It-Yourself project. Do not wait to call for professional help. Damage from water and bacteria growth can begin within hours. After flooding or severe rains, the potential for mold is there. You can also have other bacteria that enter the site.
• ServiceMaster Clean is ready to provide rapid response 24/7/365. With a fleet of vehicles and an army of first responders (vans, dryer trucks, on-site mobile command center, experts with proven credentials and a nationwide network of owners), ServiceMaster Clean gives you the power to get your home or business back to normal as quickly as possible.
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PRE-STORM/FLOOD PREPARATION TIPS FOR BUSINESSES AND HOMES
ServiceMaster Clean recommends that you take certain precautions to prepare your home or business in advance of the severe storms:
• Establish a severe weather gathering point inside the structure away from windows
• Have an evacuation plan in place
• Be sure to account for everyone on/off the premises
• If a flood is imminent, take precautions to lessen the impact. Move furniture, computer equipment, photos, books, paintings, and art objects to a higher, safe, dry location.
- Damage to homes or businesses is not a Do-It-Yourself project. Do not wait to call for professional help. Damage from the water and bacteria growth can begin within hours. After flooding, the potential for mold is there, and you have other bacteria that enter the building as the waters rise.
- Do not enter a room with standing water until the electricity has been turned off.
- Do not remove books from shelves. Rather pack them tightly to prevent warping of pages until a restoration professional can begin this specialized drying.
- Wear long sleeves and pants, wear gloves and boots, and if you do have a large presence of mold – you smell that earthy scent in the air – you may want to wear a respirator.
- Dry or discard wet items within 24-48 hours to avoid mold. Even after wet items are removed, mold may remain hidden in drywall, carpeting and HVAC systems. While bleach may be used to control mold, it does not kill it.
- Removing mold requires cutting away damp drywall and sanding wood. The sooner a remediation expert can get to those things covered in mold the less long-term damage.
For more information, contact: www.servicemaster.com.
Brad Staggs is a Home Improvement Expert and Author: His book comes out in July 2011:
You can Pre-Order Spend-A-Little, Save-A-Lot Home Improvement at Amazon.com right now.