Preparing Your Business For A Hurricane

11/27/2017 (Permalink)

The damage at this business was caused by hurricane Irma.

Each year, hurricane season storms result in billions of dollars of damage due to wind and water. Taking the time to prepare your property for hurricane season provides the building with greater protection in the event that a storm hits. Hurricane risk mitigation can also help property owners qualify for lower insurance premiums. Commercial property owners can greatly reduce the risk of hurricane damage by employing the following tips:

1. Have Your Windows Inspected and Properly Sealed

Properly sealing windows is an often overlooked step in preparing a property for hurricane season. It can be quite difficult to determine if the weather stripping needs to be replaced. Have your windows regularly inspected to determine window seal integrity.

All caulking should be inspected and, if needed, should be removed and replaced with a high-quality urethane caulk.

2. Reinforce Overhead Doors

If commercial and industrial doors are not properly sealed, they can allow wind to enter the property. This can cause costly damage to the roof and siding. They’re also extremely susceptible to wind damage. Hurricane-resistant doors and wind-pressure systems can help mitigate risk.

As with your building’s windows, all caulking should be inspected and, if needed, should be removed and replaced with a high-quality urethane caulk.

3. Seal Wall Gaps, Inspect Wall Systems, and Secure Soffits

Be diligent in seal gaps in outer walls to prevent water from getting into the building and securing soffits to the walls to keep them from blowing off and allowing wind-driven rain into the building. All stucco should be inspected. It is typical of all stucco to show some signs of cracking, however the size and severity of the damage will help to decide whether a normal elastomeric patch followed by a high-quality sealer and paint will work, or, alternatively, if it needs a high-build product designed to bridge these stucco cracks in order to fully waterproof the envelope of the property.

Don’t forget to consider of all the holes that are in your building, from plumbing and irrigation connections to lighting to HVAC system elements. Then there are unplanned holes, too – sealants that have long ago vanished, or settling cracks, to name a couple of reasons. Make sure you inspect your wall systems before hurricane season to prevent costly repairs later.

Interior and exterior walls, pipes and joints, roofs and foundations are most likely to need waterproofing. Adequate waterproofing requires more than a commercial sealant that comes in a tube, or just another coat of paint. These measures are more cosmetic than anything else and don’t address the underlying problem of why there is dampness in the first place. Waterproofing should not only sort out the cause of the problem, but prevent its recurrence in the long-term.

4. Check Gutters and Roof Sealants

Have your gutters and roof sealants checked. A gutter system is supposed to channel water away from the roof and deposit it to a more useful location – but clogged gutters on the upper floors of your building can cause water to backflow, almost guaranteeing water damage will occur. While you have someone up on the roof inspecting your gutters, check the roof’s sealants – nothing causes more water damage from stores than leaking sealants. Check all roofing penetrations such as stacks, skylights, and chimneys for decaying sealants and make the repairs as needed.