What To Do If Your Roof Receives Extensive Storm Damage
In South Florida, we are no strangers to severe weather and powerful storms. While northern states have peaceful Springs and beautiful Falls, every year beginning around June and continuing as late as November, Floridians celebrate hurricane season. While we may be weathered veterans, we may not be aware of how to detect post-storm damage and what we should do about it. Residential reroofing in Miami is very common after hurricane season, but if you leave any storm damage alone without fixing it, you leave yourselves vulnerable to Florida's harsh elements and to further damages. Hurricanes are able to produce immensely powerful winds, strong enough to rip trees from the ground and throw cars around as if they weigh nothing. If hurricanes can do this, then they are obviously able to do great damage to your home. As we are aware of the power of these great storms, we have begun building our homes with hurricane proof materials. Unfortunately, our roofing materials are still susceptible to being damaged. Your roof is your first line of defense from Florida’s seemingly constant rains. Most roofing damage is related to missing shingles. Shingle damage can be a very simple fix, but even if you think your home is fine after a storm season passes, it would still be wise to have a roofing company come out to assess your roof’s damage.
Have a Professional Assess your Roof
After any severe weather, it is wise to have a professional come out and look over your home. Climbing up onto your roof to inspect it yourself can be very dangerous. Every year, many homeowners are injured from falling from their roofs or even killed. It is best to leave this task to the professionals. If you do choose to get up and look around it is best to wait until the roof is dry and the winds have stopped. Be careful while getting off and back onto the ladder; watch your step. A self-check may be useful in finding any significant damage that needs immediate repair, but when a storm passes through, there is the potential for more hidden issues. If you choose to just inspect the roof yourself and only fix the obvious damages, it’s very possible that you might miss many of the less conspicuous issues. Many homeowners choose to only fix the large issues and decide to do subpar DIY jobs on the small damages, but with the weather we experience here, small damages can very quickly become large problems. What might have been a quick, easy, and inexpensive repair can very quickly become a very costly fix. An added benefit to having a professional roofing company come to inspect your home is that they can be a great help to you and handle your insurance claim. Insurance companies require extensive proof that there is actual damage to your roof. During your inspection, a professional will be sure to take pictures of all of the damages and will fill out an in-depth summary of everything they find. All of their reports are professionally certified, and as such, your insurance company will not be able to decline it. This will be extremely useful if you end up needing an expensive repair like a residential reroof in Miami.
Do your Research
Reroofing is more than just nailing down new shingles. New innovations in roofing technologies mean that effective roofing now depends on advanced material technology. It is important to read up a little on roofing materials and practices so that you not only choose the best company to do the work for you but that you also get the best price possible. The process may begin with removing all the shingles and then inspecting the integrity of the roof. If your damage is severe, perhaps a part of your roof was crushed by a falling limb or tree, then the process will begin with rebuilding your roof’s basic structure before then continuing to reshingling the structure. Reshingling is a multistep and potentially multi-week process, it is wise to familiarize yourself with the process so that you are not taken advantage of. This is also why it is important to not only get quotes from multiple roofing companies but to also interview or research the companies in order to find an honest company that specializes in residential reroofing in Miami. I say specialize because it will make the process that much more efficient if they focus on homes in the Miami area. The reason is that the laws concerning homes and businesses are very different and differ from city to city.
While we may be used to storms here in Florida, they can still be frightening. This is especially true when they bring damages to your home. There are many things that could possibly happen to your homes roof during a storm, and with the higher than average frequency of storms that we have down here in South Florida, it is smart to have a plan after a strong storm or series of storms pass through. You can not be too careful when the safety of your family is at stake. Do some research now and be prepared for the next time your home has the potential for roof damage. Do not be caught off guard by a storm and let your family be without a plan for something like this.
Hurricane damage does not need to be stressful, but it can easily be taxing if you are not prepared. With how common dangerous storms are in South Florida, this should just be another piece of your emergency preparedness. Do not let small damages grow to be serious structural problems that can cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Catch these issues before they are serious by employing trained professionals and keep your home safe from future storms that may come. With only a little bit of research, you can arm yourself with knowledge about who to call and what to do this coming hurricane season.
