Anyone who has lived in Colorado knows...

how destructive our hail season can be. Rain clouds can quickly turn into short storms producing pea sized to baseball sized hail. The damage left in the wake of these downpours can be extensive, from totaled cars to insurance claims filed for new roofs. We can’t stop the hail from coming, but we can as home and business owners, take steps to protect our property from suffering hail damage at its worst. 

Have a solid, maintained roof is a must to protect from roof leaks during storm season, but there are a couple more opportunities we can explore. Let’s look at two of them; windows and landscaping.

Windows 

Egress windows are commonly found throughout basements providing the safety of quick exits in emergency situations as well as being a good source of natural light for an otherwise dark basement.   Despite their usefulness, they can be a source of water damage for many basements when springs rains roll in. Some people find water will fill up in their window well and leak inside through cracks or other openings through the siding or the frame, causing immediate water damage and requiring a response. Other times, this leaking water may take months of storms to eventually show the slow water and mold damage occurring to the structural materials over time. When these storms happen to also produce hail, egress windows are at an even greater risk of glass being broken through and allowing the elements to affect the inside of your home. Water damage and debris are common in these situations and may result in you taking steps towards filing an insurance property claim to restore and clean the area. A solution to consider would be a window well cover that would prevent the worst of the hail and water from entering into the window well and providing an extra layer of protection. Window well covers come in all shapes and sizes and with a little research, one can find a product to fit their needs. 

Keep in mind, egress windows aren’t the only ones to pay attention too. All windows, especially if a house is experiencing sinking or shifting, has the chance to provide openings to the weather. Identify and fix any holes or cracks to prevent leakage into window frames and protect the inside of your home.

*Speak with your insurance agent to discuss your specific homeowners policy so you know exactly what will be covered should a situation like this arise. Not all policies and their coverages are the same. It’s important to know beforehand what you are protected against in order to make the right decisions for your specific property.

Landscaping

Plants have power. 

Landscaping is a simple, yet effective way to prevent water damage and mold growth from affecting you. Plants have power for both good and bad and as plants mature, so do their root systems. As these root systems expand and stretch, they can push against pipes, walls, sprinkler systems, and foundations where years ago, they were too small to make much of an impact. Pressure from these two forces can cause cracking and breaking of these materials and eventually end up causing water damage in a basement or to other levels of your home.

Another aspect of your landscaping to keep an eye on is the slope in the surrounding yards. The sloping of your yard after years of erosion, foot traffic, and environmental impact can change where rainwater collects and flows. If water flows towards your home, it can cause a flooding issue, instead of away into street gutters or collection ponds like its suppose to. 

 Keep an eye on how your yard surrounding your house is handling storms this spring. Ensure water releasing from the gutter downspouts is traveling away from your home. If gutters are not releasing any water at all and is pooling on your roof or overflowing to the ground base of your siding, gutters are most likely blocked and will need to be cleared. Make sure the sloping of your yard allows water to flow away from the home and in bare patches of dirt, consider planting grass to help natural collection efforts.

The good thing about hail season is that it is predictably comes upon us every year, allowing us to take the correct steps to minimize any damage. Staying on top of the little things helps us avoid requiring dealing with the big ones.