What You Should Be Doing to Prepare Your Screen Enclosure for Hurricane Season
Unlike tornados which often come quickly, you usually have days and weeks to plan for a hurricane’s arrival. On June 1st, hurricane season officially kicked off for the Atlantic. The all-too-familiar season is not taken lightly in Florida. Many start to scramble to prepare for the potential storms. If you hear about a hurricane, then you might want to prepare your patio for the hurricane.
Preparing for a Hurricane or Tropical Storm
Tropical storms and hurricanes are volatile and pose a major threat to your family and property. Every year you should prepare for a storm’s potential arrival. As you get ready for the impact you might focus on your Florida screen enclosure or windows. You will need to secure things in your backyard and think of protection options because every hurricane brings torrential rain.
Large Outdoor Items
Gather up your large items such as patio furniture, potted plants, wall decor, and trash cans, which can quickly blow over or fly away. Remember, if it is not nailed down then it can quickly become a deadly projectile that has the potential to cause a great deal of damage to not only your own home and property but also that of your neighbors. Even lightweight PVC chairs or tables can become destructive when the wind grabs them and send the items sailing through a window. You will need to store outdoor items in a garage or storage unit. If you do not have space available, then you can always take a rope and tie the items down to a firm surface to prevent them from blowing away.
Things to Secure Before a Hurricane
Here is a brief list of the heavy items that you need to secure before a hurricane arrives:
- Heavy items such as furniture or tables: Lay chairs down and turn tables upside down to prevent them from being caught up by the wind and flying. You can secure them using a rope. Perhaps tie them all together or anchor them to something heavy if you cannot store items indoors.
- Potted plants in varying sizes pose a danger during a storm. Even if you only have small pots filled with plants they can still be blown around and become dangerous projectiles during powerful winds. Ideally, you should bring such items indoors for safe storage.
- Decorative items can be taken indoors for protection from the wind and rain.
- Patio umbrellas seem like they are made to catch the wind and fly. An umbrella can fly for miles and become extremely damaging. You should always crank down all umbrella and either tie them in place or store them out of the storm.
- Cut back any damaged limbs or ones that are hanging over your patio, screen room, screen enclosure, outdoor kitchen, or sunroom. You want all main branches to cut back away from your home and other areas to reduce the danger. If you notice a limb or branch that might have decay you fear poses a danger to your home, then you need to trim it back.
- If you have an in ground then leave it full during a hurricane. You should also add additional chlorine to the water to reduce the potential for contamination.
- Cover all outdoor electrical outlets to prevent the potential for electrical shock.
If you are interested in a new screen enclosure, screen room or patio enclosure, then please contact U.S. Aluminum.