7 Ways to Prepare Your Home for a Hurricane

While Hurricane Earl has been downgraded slightly and may not have direct impact on the Eastern seaboard this Labor Day weekend, it's still important for homeowners to take precautions now to avoid any damage to their home during any hurricane. Remember: hurricane season goes through November 30th. Plus, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Research office, hurricanes are most likely to occur August through October.

So with Hurricane Earl on the horizon—and the fact that September is National Preparedness Month—here are 7 ways you can prepare your home for a hurricane.

1. Do a walk around your yard to inspect for possible dangers. These include loose or dead limbs on trees, which you should prune so they don't become projectiles in the wind. Additionally, take a close look at your roof and nail down (or hire someone to do the nailing of) any loose shingles that could fly off during the storm. Wilmington, North Carolina contractor Rusty Meador says all homeowners can think of five to 10 items on the exterior of their house that need to be addressed. "These include loose TV dishes, loose siding, and missing shingles, which are the first items to get worse when a 100mph wind hits them," he says.
2. Plug up any potential leaky areas. Use silicone caulk around outside wall openings, such as vents, outdoor electrical outlets, garden hose bibs and locations where cables or pipes go through the wall to prevent water penetration. Also, stock up on sandbags to place around exterior doors. Remember to get enough sandbags to put along door jambs inside and outside your house.
   
3. Bring in outdoor furniture and toys, or secure them, well, securely outside. Anything that isn't nailed down in your backyard, on your patio or elsewhere could go flying during a storm. So if possible bring them into the house or the garage. Forget the shed, which might blow away, too. If things are too heavy to move, tie them down. Use nylon rope—and your knot-tying knowledge from your scout days—or if you're not a knot ace, you can use bungee chords instead to hold things in one place.
4. Board up windows and doors. If your home doesn't have storm shutters, which are designed to close over and protect windows and doors during a storm (thus the name), board up your home's openings with plywood. Nail or screw the wood into place so that it stays put. Never rely on tape only to protect glass from breaking.
5. Clean your gutters. This may seem to be the least important thing you could worry about but Meador warns that clogged gutters can lead to busted gutters if a hurricane brings torrential downpours. (Then again this is wise advice for regular home maintenance if any rainstorm can weigh down—literally—your gutters.) Again, if you're not comfortable going up on a ladder to do this task, you can always use services such as ServiceMagic and Angie's List to find a contractor for the job.
6. Find higher ground for things that water might damage. According to a Stanley Steemer survey, only two inches of water in a home can cause up to $8,000 in damage. So get things off the floor in case water gets in. This could be as simple as putting furniture on risers or storing decorative items and rugs on the top shelves of your closets.
7. Videotape your possessions before the storm. If there is extensive hurricane damage, you will need this "proof" of your now-damaged or destroyed appliances, artwork, etc for any insurance claims, suggests Ronald R. Reitz, President, Quality Claims Management in San Diego, California. Of course, it goes without saying that if you need to evacuate, take the videocamera with you!

What are some things you've done in the past to help your house weather a hurricane or other kinds of storm?