Where home is should be safeguarded. Natural disasters are inevitable, and we need to know what to do after they destroy our homes. Taking the opportunity to renovate your damaged home could be the best solution. If you had wanted to remodel your home but had no chance, this is the time to do so.
Natural disasters destroy property and kill millions of people every year. Unfortunately, these natural disasters are unpredictable. A hurricane storm may unleash its fury on your house, or have an old tree fall on your roof. It is, therefore, essential to get prepared for such times to help reduce damages. We all know home is where the heart is and we can’t prevent some of these disasters happening. But when they happen, it may be an ample time for you to do all the renovations you wanted to do in your home but had no time or chance.
Though the damages come at a price, looking at the brighter side, the disaster may have done a positive thing to offer you a chance to make a home choice you always wanted. If your home gets damaged by a natural disaster, seek the services of a professional constructor to have it repaired. You can have the contractor transform the house into a home design you want. But if you want to renovate it, you should do several things. Continue reading to grasp some knowledge.
What You Should Do To Renovate a Home Damaged by Natural Disasters
1. Clean Up Your Yard
Unfortunately, if you own a big yard, the damage from a natural disaster may be intense. When a storm occurs, the strong winds may throw debris and branches of trees from your yard all over. Severe storms can uproot a tree that might fall on your house or properties within. Regarding this, it is important to call a tree specialist after the disaster for advice.
You may need to cut others while you prune some. Whatever the recommendations, you will be able to evade such a disaster next time, and your yard will look better than before. For smaller damage, you can do the clearing yourself. With the best electric chainsaw, clearing branches and shrubs will not be a hustle.
2. Upgrade the Basement
A home basement is likely to get affected most by a natural disaster, especially flooding due to a hurricane or heavy rain. Have you ever walked in your basement only to find it submerged in water? The sight is horrifying, while the incident destroys home essentials stored in the basement. Some even park their high-end cars in the basement. You can imagine what that kind of water can do to your precious machine.
The best way to handle the situation is to repair the basement such that it doesn’t get affected next time when such a disaster happens. Install it with an effective drainage system, and use quality equipment like pumps, drains, and pipes. Renovate the basement’s outside grading to slope away from your house. It will prevent the water from flowing inside your home.
3. Backup Your Power System
With natural disasters like heavy rain, your power may go off any time. If you stay in an area prone to such natural disasters, it’s advisable to back up your power system by buying a generator, battery, or installing a solar system. You wouldn’t want to operate with a dim torch at night or miss out on your favorite TV program due to power outage. Instead, have a supporting system to sort you out in such times.
Money shouldn’t be a problem because the market gets flooded with quality and very cheap generators. Most people can afford one. You can have a standby generator that will go on immediately when the power is off. More so, such backup power systems last for many hours and are powerful enough to run various essential appliances at home.
4. Safeguard Your Roof
Mostly, roofs are the most affected parts of a building when a natural disaster hits. For example, in the event of a major hurricane, the roof may get blown away. A home without a roof is uninhabitable. When renovating such a roof after a natural disaster, install it with high-quality shingles that can withstand any flying object and strong winds. Pay attention to the flashing as it’s most prone to leaks. Ensure the contractors do the flashing correctly.
If strong winds frequent your place, instruct your contractors to install hurricane strapping to your roof. It will help prevent your roof from getting blown away by the strong wind. The strapping entails straps and clips that get tied to your roof and secured using a house-framing system.
5. Fortify Your Exterior and Interior Walls
You should never go easy on your interior walls just because they get based inside the house. Though walls inside a building hardly get affected by the elements outside, they can be damaged by moisture during a heavy downfall or flood. If you poorly build your interior walls, the work and cost of renovating them will double. When your house get destroyed by a natural disaster, upgrade your walls as one of your home improvement activities. Have your interior walls deodorized while constructing your house to avoid microbes from generating. If not, in the event of a natural disaster, you will need to remove them and build them again with all measures put into consideration.
For the outside walls, reconstruct them using water-resistant materials. Avoid constructing your walls’ baseboards with wood trim as it will soak in water and get destroyed. Instead, use a baseboard made with polyvinyl chloride, which is water-resistant and lasts long.
Conclusion
To have your home destroyed by a natural disaster is not a good thing. But as explained above, it offers you an opportunity to renovate your home to your preference. Sometimes you could plan to renovate your house but lack time to do it. When such a calamity hits, you are bound to embrace the opportunity and transform your house to your desired home.
Don’t forget to change your home furnishings as part of the renovation. Home insurance service providers insure homes protected well from various natural disasters. As you renovate your home, pay attention to protective measures.
Has your home ever been hit by a natural disaster? How did you manage the damage? If faced with such a scenario and have no idea what to do, the tips explained above about renovating a home after a natural disaster will help you strengthen your home to avoid such damages in the future. How did you renovate your home the last time you got hit by a natural disaster? Your opinion counts!
Author’s bio
Archie was a builder for more than 40 years. Mainly after his retirement the enthusiastic electrical works in garden and writes for a blog Homemakerguide.com to keep himself occupied. His many years of experience can get you the right tool reviews whether it is a drill, welding machine or so. An impressive fact to note about him is that almost everything in his house is a representation of his skills made by his hands.