April showers bring more than just May flowers. While rain and blooming flowers can be a welcoming sign of spring, strong storms are a looming inevitability that can cause serious damage to your building if you aren’t prepared. After a mild winter, it can be easy to forget how harsh spring storms can be. However, there are easy actions you can take to ensure your building, and everyone inside, stays safe during and after severe weather.
Complete Interior & Exterior Building Checks
To make an accurate assessment on the stability of your building, walking around and checking both the interior and exterior of your space will help you identify any potential damage that could worsen during a storm.
Examine walls, floors, doors, windows and foundations for cracks or other physical damage which left untouched, can cause serious problems after heavy rain, wind or hail. If you notice any puddles of water from lighter rainfalls, it could be a sign of a leak or waterproofing problem that will need fixed.
Make a Safety Plan
The Midwest is no stranger to severe thunderstorms that turn into tornado watches and warnings. When danger is on the horizon, having a thorough safety plan is an effective way to protect both yourself and your building.
After you run through shelter-in-place and evacuation plans with everyone in your building, make sure everyone knows proper procedures for securing your building. From simple tasks like locking windows and doors to double-checking that all exterior facts are bolted in place, staying on top of safety tasks will contribute to the longevity of your building.
Schedule Repair Services
If you notice significant physical problems throughout your building, you should be proactive and schedule repairs before a storm has the chance to hit.
A lack of, or low quality, waterproofing on your building can lead to serious problems that will compromise your foundation’s performance and lifespan. The water and moisture created from storm surges can cause extensive and expensive damage to the physical structure of your building, as well as harm your indoor air quality.
Structural concrete cracks and other physical building damage only worsen over time. To have a long-lasting, healthy building, concrete and masonry problems need to be addressed and fixed right away.