Introduction
According to Handy, it is crucial to build your home with materials that are resistant to extreme weather conditions. Over the years, the heat from the sun, rain, cold, snow, and even drought can take a toll on your house, and you must do all you can to minimize the damage.
The Possibilities
Here are a few ways weather can damage your house:
- Rain – It is crucial to conduct an annual inspection of all the areas in your house such as the skylights, chimneys, and plumbing vents since they create penetrations in the roof which need to be sealed by roof cement, caulk, and flashing to ensure they remain in top condition. Without proper maintenance, the sealant will eventually dry out, expand, and erode away and make the roof susceptible to water penetration and damage.
Further, it is necessary to check the home’s foundation since rainwater can also damage it when the soil cannot absorb sufficient water.
- Wind – During extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and tornadoes, the rapidly moving winds create an uplift or an area of low pressure over the house and around the walls. The excess pressure can cause the structural components of the house to push outward and get damaged.
Your house can also get damaged when extremely high-speed winds hit the house during storms and drive rainwater up under window frames, vertical sliding, and shingles. It can even tear the shingles off the roof.
- Heat and Sun – Extreme heat from the sun can cause the house to age prematurely and dry out. This is easily noticeable in desert areas with high heat where the roofing materials of the houses wear out at an accelerated rate.
Damage due to heat and sun is more common in homes that have a darker color scheme, don’t have sufficient ridge vents or attic fans around the attic access door, and are re-roofed.
- Snow – Snow is very heavy and can weigh 40-50 pounds per cubic foot when wet. Light snow can weigh about 10-15 pounds per cubic foot. If you live in an area that has heavy snowfall and your house is not designed to withstand the weight of heavy snow, the roof of your house can sag, crack, and even collapse in certain circumstances.
- Drought – In areas that witness low rainfall, drought can become a regular occurrence. Long-term and frequent droughts can cause the soil around the foundation of the house to become dry, shrink, and crack. This puts excess stress on the foundation of the house and can damage it if it is not built to sustain that much stress over the long term.
Conclusion
Handy suggests you check your home periodically for signs of weather damage and fix them before they get worse over time. Also, don’t hesitate to hire professionals to fix the damage to your home that you cannot fix yourself. The longer you delay the worse the damage would get, and it would cost you extra to repair the old damage.
