How To Prepare Your Home For A Hurricane: Protect Your Crawl Space And Basements

May 30, 2012 - PRLog -- Preparing for a hurricane in Hampton Roads, Virginia is not something most of us think about until it’s in our backyard.

According to the Virginia Department of Energy Management, flooding is the most common and costly natural disasters in Virginia. If you have just one inch of water in your crawl space or basement, it could cost you up to $8,000 in clean-up and repair!

In addition to the normal hurricane preparation recommended by http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes, JES Construction, Inc recommends you take these additional steps to protect your home.

Clean your gutters. Clogged gutters overflow and the water that’s meant to drain away from your home will end up draining right next to your crawl space foundation.

Extend your downspouts 7-10 feet away from your home.  Extending your downspout drainage will help keep your crawl space dry in the event of heavy rain.

Check the grade around your home.  If there are any areas that don’t slope away from your foundation, fill them in with soil to create a slope. This will help drain water away from your crawl space foundation.

Replace your crawl space vents.  If you’re in an area prone to flooding replace your crawl space vents with flood vents. Flood vents are designed to relieve the water pressure when your crawl space floods.

Check your sump pump.  If you have a sump pump make sure it’s working properly. In the event of a power outage it’s always good to have a battery backup to ensure your sump pump will continue to work.

Check your insurance policy. Is flood damage covered?

"Remember to take a few precautions before the storm. A few simple hurricane preparation steps for your home can end up saving you a lot on crawl space and basement repairs." said Corey, a staff of JES Construction, Inc.

If you’re not sure about the safety of your crawl space and basement, visit http://www.jeswork.com or call 866-370-4816 for more information.


About JES Construction, Inc.

JES Construction, Inc is a structural engineering solutions firm specializing in residential and commercial foundation repair, basement waterproofing systems, and crawl space moisture control systems. JES operates out of three locations in Virginia including Virginia Beach, Chester, and Manassas and locally serves the state of Virginia, Maryland,Washington D.C. and Northeastern North Carolina. For more information about JES Construction, Inc please visit http://www.jeswork.com of call 866-370-4816 to get a free consultation.