April brings spring showers and is the season for severe thunderstorms. High winds, large hail and heavy rains are becoming more and more common across the U.S. Preparation for severe weather is essential to protect your own home or property and the people that mean the most to you, your family. This often involves the exterior landscape and sometimes making adjustments as needed to the landscaping materials around the exterior of your home. You may also need to manicure the trees close to the home to protect the roof in preparation for a severe storm. At Home Improvement Guyz we are storm restoration specialist and would like to share a few tips on how to prepare the exterior of your home for the 2016 severe spring and summer season storms.

Manicure Trees & Assess Landscaping Types

Dead tree branches and ordinary landscaping materials can cause very serious damage during severe storm with high winds like those in the Midwest areas. The large older trees around your home or property typical also have large older branches that could potentially be dead and snap off causing damage during a severe storm. So it’s important to make the effort to trim theses trees and remove some of these high risk branches to prevent damages especially if these trees are nearby. Also you must examine the landscaping and make adjustments accordingly. The average gravel landscaping found in most home centers can become projectiles during severe storms with extremely high winds and can potentially cause major damage to the exterior of your home and any structure in close proximity. The best solution is to consider replacing the gravel with wood chips or a mulch to prevent potential damages during severe storms with high winds.

Protect Windows and Structures

Being proactive about protecting the exterior of your home and other structures nearby is the most important step in preparing for severe weather and large hail. Protecting doors and windows is the most pressing concern when planning for hail damage and high winds, but take into account roofing as well. Inspect the shingles for hail damage or wind damage and do any necessary roof repairs to replace any hail damage shingles or secure any loose shingles. Also, check ridge vents, mushroom vents, and equipment like satellite dishes for secure attachment. It often takes 70 mph winds and greater to do serious damage to these items on the roof, but less extreme winds can peel off shingles, and cause large items around the yard to become projectiles that can damage a structures exterior.

Remove Outdoor Furniture

If you have items outdoors like lawn furniture, tables, gas grills or other types of equipment, remove and store these items in preparation of a severe storm. Hail with high winds and rains can cause damage to these items and they should be covered, tied down, or removed to a safe enclosed structure prior to a severe storm. Securing and relocating these items entirely when necessary is the best way to ensure they are not damaged during a severe hail storm or cause damage to any nearby structures during extreme high winds.