6/15/20 - Zoro Staff
Hurricanes are more than a weather occurrence. They can cause extensive damage and leave communities shattered. If you work in hurricane-prone areas, you know the magnitude of their brute force. Running a successful construction business in these areas means you face risk. Is your construction business hurricane proof? If not, what can you do to ensure you’ll survive?
Find out what proactive steps you can take to deal with a hurricane. Keeping your construction business healthy and growing could depend on it.[1]
Building Codes Are Your Baseline Defense
Florida and other hurricane-prone areas have strong building codes in place to address these risks. Those include things like installing impact windows, securing roof shingles with nails rather than staples, and using stronger ties between roofs and walls. Because Florida made these changes, structures fared much better during Hurricane Irma in 2017.[2]
When planning out any project that needs to be hurricane rated, building codes should be your baseline. If there are opportunities to exceed what the codes require, talk to your client about the benefits. Offering this knowledge and information to your buyer will help you sustain your business even after a hurricane comes ashore.
Be Up-To-Date on Storm-Proof Construction
A tremendous amount of data and studies exist on new materials and how they fare after a hurricane. This data sometimes impacts regulations, but much of the time, it takes years for these governing bodies to catch up. That’s why it’s essential for your construction business to understand what’s available and whether it’s cost-effective.
The key is to build more-resilient structures, but resilience doesn’t mean expensive or out of reach. You can construct homes or buildings that are better able to handle hurricane-force winds without breaking the budget.
For example, Habitat for Strong Residences is a Habitat for Humanity program that builds homes in hurricane risk areas[3]. Some of those homes were still standing in the Florida panhandle after Hurricane Michael in 2018! These homes were very similar to the national standard of FORTIFIED, a program of IBHS (Insurance Institute of Business & Home Safety).[4]
Building professionals can become FORTIFIED trained. By doing so, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to build stronger structures, which can help your business remain steady, no matter the weather conditions. It will also instill trust and respect from your clients, and they’ll feel comfortable awarding your business the job because you’re prepared.
Prepare the Job Site
As soon as you know a hurricane is headed your way, you must take steps to prepare the jobsite. No matter what stage you are in building, you’ll need to fortify what’s been constructed thus far. Prepare the job site by:
- Developing an action plan to keep structures and employees safe.
- Removing all materials and storing them.
- Moving any heavy equipment to safety.
- Getting rid of any debris.
- Considering the impact of flooding and ensuring that any toxic agents are not at ground level.
- Keeping all safety and tie-down gear in reach.
Protect Your Materials
Should bad weather be on the horizon, you’ll want to clear out your jobsite and get your materials to a safe location. You may have a warehouse or other structure where you keep your supplies, but how secure is it?
There are several areas that you can beef up to ensure that the structure doesn’t fail, including:
- Roof inspections to look for loose shingles, excess debris, ponding water, and cracks.
- Doors: If you haven’t upgraded to commercial doors for your properties, you should consider it. Commercial doors can be wind-rated. If you already have these, do a check to make sure there are no issues with the door frame.
- Windows and shutters: Protect your interior with impact-rated windows and shutters. Windows are a weak spot in any building, so if you have them, make sure they are ready for severe weather.
Have Hurricane Safety Gear Available
During hurricane season, you should always be prepared and have hurricane safety gear[5] available to your workers. That gear may include safety glasses, safety cabinets for anything flammable or biohazardous, tie-downs, anchors, and other essential elements to protect your jobsite should a hurricane be forecasted for the area.
All these materials should be readily available and kept in stock, especially during hurricane season in late summer and into fall.
Hurricanes Are a Threat, But You Can Be Prepared
Hurricanes are unpredictable and a hard risk to manage. Following these tips to be prepared can help ensure your construction business is hurricane-proof.
[1] https://www.zoro.com/resourcehub/the-smart-contractors-guide-to-growing-a-construction-business/
[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-early-lesson-from-irma-hurricane-building-codes-work-1505559600
[3] https://www.habitat.org/impact/our-work/home-construction/habitat-strong
[4] https://fortifiedhome.org/
[5] https://www.zoro.com/kbmt/hurricane-safety/
Product Compliance and Suitability
The product statements contained in this guide are intended for general informational purposes only. Such product statements do not constitute a product recommendation or representation as to the appropriateness, accuracy, completeness, correctness or currentness of the information provided. Information provided in this guide does not replace the use by you of any manufacturer instructions, technical product manual, or other professional resource or adviser available to you. Always read, understand and follow all manufacturer instructions.