Shake Up Your Home Safety After A Quake

Living in an area that is susceptible to the fierce temper of Mother Nature is equally exciting and scary all in one go. It’s not difficult to feel in awe of the power of an earthquake or a tornado, but when you are living in the middle of it and you are right in the thick of the action, the awe quickly turns to a mixture of fear and worry for your home. You probably don’t have the money to put the roof back on every time a hurricane rips it off and trying to keep the money to one side for repairs when an earthquake hits the area is tough.

If an earthquake hits in your area, you need to know how to give your home the once-over before you call in the insurers, and we’ve got a list of where you need to look before you call in the insurance company:

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Foundations

The foundations of your home need to inspected straight away because you need to check if they are safe and secure and not affected because of the earthquake’s power. Calling in a company to check over structural safety is a smart thing to do if you don’t know what you are looking for. Checking the foundations first is going to dictate how your insurance company responds.

Windows

It’s likely your windows will have received some sort of damage as a result of the quake, leaving you with bent window frames and shattered glass. Using fiberglass as an alternative to window replacement helps reinforce your windows and will help keep your foundations at bay in the future, too.

Roof

There are some situations you won’t have to do much to check on your roof to know if there is a leak. Simply looking up and seeing the roof is still on top of the house is enough to know it hasn’t flown down the street, but if so you need to make sure there are no missing tiles where water could flow through. You need to hire specialist roofing contractors if this is the case.

Plumbing

Urgent or even emergency repair work that is needed after a quake to make your home secure and protect it from further damage can include the plumbing. If the hot-water cylinder has cracks in it or your pipes under the home have cracked open, you need to hire a plumber so that you can get those fixed as soon as possible.

Sewage

You need to ensure that your home is safe and secure, and if you have sewage leaking into your home, you’ll need to ring in a specialist. You cannot repair sewage leaks yourself, unless you are a qualified plumber, of course.

As you go around the house to check on any damage, you need to take photographs as you go. You need to be able to show the issues to the insurance company so that you can make a claim that is correct. The professionals will need to safeguard your home from further structural damage and leaks. If you happen to have the spare money, please do consider earthquake retrofitting. Mother Nature can be a cruel beast during a temper, but if you choose to live in an area that suffers from earthquakes, the key is to be prepared!