Weather Disasters: 10 Ridiculously Unprepared Homes – Would Yours Make the List?

When you become comfortable in a home over a period of years, sometimes you can become blind to the structural fixes it needs.

The experts at Paul Davis Restoration & Emergency Services of Woodbury & St. Paul have seen how floods, windstorms, wildfires and other weather disasters can unfortunately leave even the most sturdily built home in a pile of rubble.

Through our years of service restoring homes and personal property, we know that a house that’s unprepared or constructed with the wrong materials for any given region can be seriously damaged by an event that leaves other structures unscathed. Here are pictures of 10 houses that will be in big trouble when the next storm hits.

The gutters in this home aren’t just clogged with a few leaves and twigs. They’re supporting an entire ecosystem! When gutters are stopped up, a heavy rainstorm can hurt a house from top to bottom. Rain may seep in under the eaves, rotting the wood fascia. It can also pour directly onto the ground around the house, leading to foundation issues. Mold, insect infestation, flooded basements and more can result from this type of clogged gutter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artdrauglis/3849505103/   Photo credit: Flickr

A falling tree limb struck this house in Salt Lake City, Utah (a common event during weather disasters). Any time shingles are worn and torn, they become much easier for the wind to lift off. You can see why it needs to have the roof restored before the next windstorm. There may also be hidden damage to the substructure or underlayment of the roof. Putting new shingles on without
ensuring that all the other problems are fixed is like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deltamike/204302921/  Photo credit: Flickr

Disaster is literally raining down on this residence that appears to be a victim of a house fire. The fact that it was left un-restored means it’ll be vulnerable to rainstorm damage. In the meantime, insulation in the walls that was soaked during efforts to extinguish the fire is probably festering with mold. Even worse, the house is directly joined to the neighboring structure!

If the damaged house leaks or floods, this could potentially lead to problems for the adjacent dwelling. You should look at any attached structures on your property
as part of your house. If they are vulnerable to infiltration by water, the rest of your home is also at risk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlevine/87841928/  Photo credit: Flickr

Ah, the tile roof. Reminiscent of the Mediterranean and oh-so-dreamy blue skies.  However, a roof like this on a home in states like Kansas and Texas can leave some homeowners very unprepared when hailstorms hit.

Tile doesn’t respond well to sharp impacts and can easily crack under pressure from hail stones. The Midwest is particularly prone to severe hail. Storms regularly cause hundreds of millions in property damage every year. Any type of roof should be inspected after a heavy hail storm – but you can expect a less extensive insurance claim if your shingles are rated for hail resistance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7147684@N03/543564835/ Photo credit: Flickr

This old-fashioned straw roof would go up like a matchstick if a wildfire blew through town! Modern homes obviously don’t have thatch roofs. However, not all shingle materials are equally fire resistant. If you live in an area like the west coast that’s prone to wildfires, you should choose a ‘class A’ fire
resistant roofing material. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shibuya246/5106627299/  Photo credit: Flickr

This house in New England wasn’t equipped to prevent ice buildup during a recent snowstorm. The ice dam above the gutters could allow moisture to seep in under the shingles since proper drainage is inhibited. This type of roof leak can lead to rotting wood and mold-infested insulation. The problem is likely to get worse with each subsequent blizzard if it’s not addressed. If you’ve let a winter go by without checking the integrity of your roof, eaves, and gutters, inspect them soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misssage/3128629886/ 

This skylight is quaint, but it’s obviously not leak proof. You can see the stains from previous water penetration along one corner. It’s ripe for another soaking with the next rainstorm. This old-style skylight has a flat surface and is designed to open – two features that aren’t actually needed and make the design much more prone to leaking. New, domed models that maximize light through refraction while allowing rain to run off onto the roof make more sense. No matter what type of skylight you have, you should check the flashing around it at least once a year to make sure there’s no chance of water getting in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12099014@N03/5541318125/ 

Basements are a fairly common house feature in northern areas of the U.S. They can be very useful for storage or an extra room (it’s the ideal spot for a “man cave”). But the basement in this photo shows you one common problem that can leave a home very unprepared for flooding. Imagine what’s going to happen down in this basement when snowmelt brings spring floods! Cracks like this are a sign of foundation problems that will only get worse with time – leaving a home vulnerable to cracked walls, busted plumbing, and worse.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buymelunch/4024807886/ 

Check out the flimsy corrugated roof on this house on stilts! Fortunately, this residence is located in the UK. If it was in Oklahoma, we can just see the entire roof being peeled off in a single swipe by a tornado. If the house was along the West Coast and a mudslide hit, the weight of the soil would probably snap those stilts like toothpicks. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johndunster/57531562/

What can we even say about this sad shack in Ontario, Canada? We’re afraid that even a slight breeze might cause it to completely collapse! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobolink/5708424710/   Photo credit: Flickr

Do you have a ridiculously unprepared home in your neighborhood? Send us an image!  cbrunz@pdr-usa.net