By Jim Wheeler
Not many people look forward to hurricanes, but they are a fact of life in some parts of the country. As a contractor, you likely have a lot of material, tools and equipment at a job site, and you want to minimize your potential losses.
Take a few minutes now to read this list, then print it out and put it someplace where you can find it when you need it. Give copies to your project managers, lead carpenters and foremen, too. If it turns out that you have to put this plan into action, you'll have lots more to think about than trying to remember where you put that darn list.
Step 1: Get Help. When you know that a storm is approaching with high winds (more than 60 mph), you need to protect your construction investment and limit your company’s exposure to damage from flying debris. Depending on the size of the project, there is likely far too much for one or two people to do. Don’t try to nickel-and-dime your preparations, even if you’re unsure the storm will strike your area head on. Get help!
Contact a day-labor firm and hire enough people, then put yourself or your employees in charge of pointing out what needs to be done. Do this as soon as possible, because everyone wants to get home to protect his or her own belongings and families. They will want to leave early, and you should let them.
Also contact all your subcontractors and ask them to come and "batten down the hatches" on their own portions of the job. A better idea in high-risk areas, though, is to require them to do a full cleanup and make sure everything is secured each day during the storm season. By the time a hurricane is imminent, they also may be short of help and trying to handle multiple sites.
Step 2: Contact Your Disposal Company. Disposal companies are going to be extremely busy before a storm hits, so get your company’s name on the list as soon as possible for a pickup as late as possible. That will give you have time to dispose of as much trash and debris as you can.
Step 3: Pick Up Around the Site. Have your help pick up and throw away any loose boards, plywood, insulation, construction paper, shingles, etc., that may have been thrown down during construction.
Move all construction materials and tools inside the structure. Loose windows and appliances should be moved inside an inner protected wall. And remember that any unsecured plywood may be stolen!
Step 4: Secure Unfinished Construction. Especially where trusses are exposed, roofing or shingles are incomplete, or exterior walls and siding are still unfinished, someone must add secure bracing to prevent a collapse. Cover everything as securely as possible to minimize water damage.
Step 5: Turn Off Utilities. All uninhabited structures (including your construction sheds and offices) should have the water, gas, and electricity turned off.
Step 6: Secure Your Job Site Buildings. Make sure that construction trailers and sheds can withstand the blow. Trailers that aren’t tied down (and some that are) will blow over or be blown apart; so will temporary sheds. Do what you must to strengthen and secure them, and move whatever you can’t afford to lose to a safer place.
Step 7: Safeguard Windows. If you have plywood on the job, use it to cover all windows securely. If the roof is incomplete, open or remove the windows. However, if the roof is finished, close and lock all windows and doors to keep wind pressure from blowing the roof off.
Step 8: Secure Your Signs. The first things destroyed during a hard blow are all the signs in and around the property, so take them down or reinforce them to keep them from being damaged or from becoming missiles that can do much worse damage.
Step 9: Anticipate High-Water Damage. While the codes in most coastal areas require construction that will withstand storm surges, recent hurricanes brought high water to areas far inland. So if there is any sort of body of water near your construction site, move or raise anything that could be damaged, such as A/C units, furnaces, water heaters and appliances. And where high water is very likely, floor coverings should be removed.
Step 10: Don’t Forget Your Models and Main Office.Whereas most of us think first of the possible damage to new construction from a storm, don’t forget that your business may depend on your model homes and on the paperwork in your main offices. So don’t overlook the need to secure everything there. You should not only protect the windows and secure for possible high water, but also take a look at the landscaping and fences. The second most common damage in a storm (after signage) results from falling trees and fences, so they may require bracing, or even removal.
Jim Wheeler is an award-winning writer, teacher and contractor with more that twenty-five years of experiences.
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