Six Ways to Prepare Your Roof for Hurricane Season

2. Invest in Hurricane Connectors

Roofs are natural weak spots during storms because strong winds can create an uplift, causing a roof to separate from the rafters. Once your roof is gone, everything inside your home will be blown away or ruined by water, resulting in total loss. A roof-to-wall connection is critical to keep your roof attached to the rest of your house by transferring uplift load onto walls.

Florida has statewide building codes in place to strengthen roofs during construction, including the use of hurricane connectors (also called hurricane clips or straps). Incorporating hurricane connectors into a home under construction is required by Florida law. Older homes can be retrofitted with connectors and doing this when a new roof is installed is an excellent idea. Building code in our area requires that we completely remove the old roof, inspect the roof sheathing and replace as needed. Though not every homeowner requests this service as part of the project, we can add these clips easily when we install your new roof.

Hurricane connectors are made of galvanized steel and are used to fasten roof trusses to walls at the top plate. Meant to reinforce joints, they anchor the roof to the rest of the house and provide a continuous load from the roof to the ground. According to Jack Glenn, technical services director at the Florida Home Builders Association in Tallahassee, "as winds project additional loads on the roof, the load is dissipated down the walls to the foundation," effectively creating a solid structure that is less likely to be torn apart.

3. Trim or Remove Trees Close to Your Home

A single projectile, such as a tree branch, can cause as much damage to your home as the wind itself. Additionally, debris from trees, such as leaves, twigs, and needles, can collect on your roof and in gutters, causing clogs and areas where soppy mulch collects. Areas of a roof that are constantly wet can cause shingles and underlying roof structures to rot.

You should also examine the trees near your home for diseases and pests that could weaken trunks and limbs, making them susceptible to uprooting and breakage during the strong storms that sometimes threaten Sarasota and Bradenton. It’s best to be proactive and remove unhealthy trees when their structural health is even questionable as having them fall on your roof during a hurricane will negate all your other preparations.

4. Clean Gutters and Drains

At least once a year, thoroughly clean all drains and gutters to ensure that rainwater runs freely from your roof. Remove anything that can block the flow of water away from your roof. If it has no way to run off the roof outside, water will eventually find a way to drain inside your home via the path of least resistance.

While you are cleaning your gutters, you are in a perfect postion to examine your roof closely. Take a moment and look at your roof; you don't have to be an expert to realize that there are problems developing when you see something.  Trust your instincts and look for conditions that just don't seem right. For example, there is always going to be a certain amount of waviness in a roof deck but if you see obvious sagging in any one area - that's a cause for concern.