Storm season checklist for Buncombe County homes

Before the spring rains

Clear the gutters, check the downspouts and the grading, and make sure the crawl space vents and window wells are clear.

Downspouts should carry water at least a few metres from the foundation. A downspout that empties against the wall sends the water straight to the place where the crawl space and the lower walls take it in.

Look at the ground along the house. A dip that holds water next to the foundation is the place to start, and a contractor can advise on regrading if the dip keeps returning.

• Clear gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris
• Check that downspouts discharge away from the foundation
• Look for dips or low spots against the house walls
• Clear window wells and cover them where they are exposed
• Check the crawl-space vents and the access hatch

Before the summer storms

Check the lowest openings, the valuables and the emergency kit before the storms begin.

The summer storms are often short and heavy. A single storm can wet a lower room in less than an hour, and the lowest door sill is where the water tends to enter first.

Keep the valuables you would miss on a shelf above the lowest floor, and keep a torch, buckets and a copy of the shut-off instructions in one place.

• Check door sills and weatherstripping on the lowest doors
• Move valuables from the lowest room to a shelf or an upper floor
• Keep a torch, buckets and towels in a known place
• Photograph the house and its lowest rooms so the baseline is recorded

Before and during the winter

Know where the main is, insulate exposed lines and keep the heat on a safe setting when a freeze is forecast.

Winter storms in the region can bring ice, and a power cut can leave a house cold for hours. A line in an outside wall or a crawl space is the most at risk.

Check the shut-off turns, and make sure the family knows where it is. Keep the phone number of the 24/7 line where it can be reached in the dark.

• Find the main shut-off and confirm it turns
• Insulate exposed lines and check the insulation after storms
• Keep cabinet doors open under sinks on the coldest nights
• Check the walls and ceilings after the first warm spell

When the river is rising

Move valuables up, keep the drains clear and do not go into moving water. A river rise can leave water in the lowest rooms quickly.

When a river is forecast to rise, move the valuables and the electronics up and out of the lowest rooms, and make sure the utility and the power can be cut from a dry position.

Do not drive or walk through moving water. The road that looks passable may be cut by the current, and the water may be deeper than it looks.

• Move valuables and electronics above the expected water level
• Know how to cut the power to the lowest rooms from a dry spot
• Do not drive or walk through moving water
• Keep the photographs of the last rise for comparison

After each storm

Walk the lower side of the house, note where the water went and photograph any new marks. Record it all in the same file as the last storm.

The most useful record after a storm is a list of where water entered, how far it reached and how long it stayed. Those notes make the next fix easier to plan, and they make a claim easier to support.

If anything is still wet after two days, call. Wet materials that are not dried can grow mold, and the sooner the readings are taken the better the outcome.

How to read the risk for your own house

The checklist is general. Your house has its own low points, its own drainage and its own history, and those are the things to read first. A short note of where water has gone before is the best guide to what to check.

Look at each previous loss, or each time you have seen water in the house. Note the room, the entry point and the season. Patterns usually appear quickly: the same corner, the same door or the same window well.

The patterns tell you where to spend the effort. A corner that fills after every storm needs grading or drainage work. A line that has frozen before needs insulation or a plumber's review. The checklist is the starting point, and the history is the plan.

Working through the checklist with a second person

A second person can see what you have missed. Walk the house and the lot together, and each take a different side of the house so nothing is left out.

The second person can check the gutters from the ground while you look inside, or the crawl space while you check the grade outside. Two people working from the same list catch more than one, and the list can be marked as it is completed.

Keep the marked list with the date. It is a simple record of what was done and when, and it is useful to an insurer who asks what the homeowner did to prevent a loss.

When the checklist shows a problem you cannot fix

Some problems need a contractor: grading, drainage, a roof or a foundation issue. Note them, get a written estimate where you can and keep the notes with the house records.

A contractor should look at any recurring water route, any sagging gutter and any crack in the foundation. Ask the contractor to explain the fix in writing, and to say what it will and will not stop.

Until the fix is done, keep the emergency kit ready and the valuables up. The checklist does not replace the repair, but it reduces the cost of the next storm while the repair is planned.

Setting up a home emergency file

A short emergency file, kept in one place, makes the first hour of a loss much easier. It holds the shut-off instructions, the insurer's contact details, the policy number and the 24/7 line number, along with a list of the valuables in each room.

Keep the file somewhere you can reach it in the dark, such as a drawer near the back door or a shelf in the utility room. Add a current photograph of each room, so the baseline is on record before any loss happens.

Review the file each season. Update the insurer's details, the policy number and the list of valuables, and remove anything that is out of date. A file that is current is the one that gets used in a real emergency.

Common mistakes that make storm losses worse

The most common mistakes are waiting too long to act, closing up wet areas and assuming a dry surface means a dry house. Each one adds drying time and often adds the cost of material that could otherwise have been saved.

Waiting until the next morning to start drying is the most common mistake after a storm. Water that has soaked a subfloor or a wall cavity keeps working into the materials, and every hour it stays adds risk. A short call the same night, with the first steps followed, is much better than a long wait for a convenient time.

Closing a room up while it is still damp is the second mistake. A closed room traps moisture in the walls and the floor, and a finish laid over a wet surface will show the damage later. Keep the room open until the readings are at standard, and only then close it.

The third mistake is trusting a dry-looking surface. A floor, a wall or a ceiling can look dry while the material behind it is still wet enough to support mold. Readings, not the surface, tell you when the house is dry.