Stay Safe, Dry and Comfortable at Home

Hurricane season is on its way again. While the Sunshine State is no stranger to extreme weather, preparing for every possibility is crucial to keeping your home and family safe. Incoming hurricanes can be scary, but years of experience have taught us the best course of action is to exercise caution well before the forecasts start to roll in.

Let’s explore some steps you can take to face 2024’s storm season with care. That includes protecting your health, your property and, of course, your comfort with equipment like a whole-home generator to keep the power on at all times.

Protecting Your Family

Your first and most important priorities in a weather emergency are your loved ones. Hurricanes are unpredictable. Just because the last one didn’t hit hard doesn’t mean you’ll dodge the next one. When it comes to your health and safety, there should be no risks!

• Stock up on supplies. It’s always a great idea to have extra food and water in the house, but especially helpful to have an emergency supply (including non-perishable food) that you stash away for emergencies.
• Create an emergency kit. First aid supplies, extra rations, medications, batteries, cash and copies of your important personal documents are all great to have handy and in one place at a moment’s notice.
• Have a plan. Don’t expect to wait out a hurricane sitting in your living room. Plan to shelter in the safest part of the house. If no area feels suitable, make an evacuation plan to get your family and pets to safety.

Protecting Your Property

With plenty of supplies and emergency plans in place, you can work on securing your home to handle the storm. You may not be able to completely protect it from damage, but there are steps you can take to help minimize problems.

• Secure loose outdoor furniture. That includes patio furniture, grills and anything laying around the yard. You don’t want to lose these items, but, more importantly, you don’t want them to cause additional damage if picked up by the wind.
• Secure doors, windows and walls. Any loose doors, cracked walls or aging windows need to be addressed right away, as extreme weather conditions will only provide further damage.
• Secure your roof. Now is the ideal time to have your roof inspected for any missing shingles or leaks. You also may opt to add hurricane straps if you haven’t already.
• Review your insurance policy. Many home insurance policies have separate deductibles for hurricane damage and may or may not cover everything you expect them to cover. Often, you can make adjustments as long as a hurricane is not imminent.

Protecting Your Comfort

In a perfect scenario, your family will be safe indoors and your home will be able to withstand the storm. However, there’s still the possibility your home comfort can be affected. Here are additional steps you can take to ensure you’re cozy while you wait for the weather to pass.

• Secure your outdoor unit. Applying a weather-proof cover or hurricane straps can help prevent damage to the unit during a storm.
• Turn the system off. Operating your system during a storm can result in damage that could have been avoided. Cool the house down before the rain starts and then shut your AC down to prevent indoor flooding or electrical damage.
• Invest in a generator. There are multiple generator types available, from whole-home options to portable units. All of them are excellent ways to keep your home’s essentials working in the event of lost power. Don’t forget to only trust professionals with your generator installations!
• Call us for an inspection. Inspecting ahead of time will reveal any damage that should be addressed immediately. A post-storm inspection will assess any damage sustained during the hurricane and explain how to rectify it.

Rain or Shine, Cornerstone Will Answer the Call

You deserve to be comfortable at home in good times and challenging times. Rely on us to keep your safe haven secure all year round. We stand by our work, our team members and our equipment from partners like Generac to keep Tampa and surrounding communities safe from harm.

Whatever you need, feel free to reach out to us online or call Cornerstone Pros at 813.859.6786 today to discuss your next project!