Hurricane season officially runs from the first of June to the end of November. Everybody knows this. What catches people out is that the useful preparation — the trade work that actually protects a house — cannot be done in the seventy-two hours after a system gets named.
By that point every contractor on the island is booked, the hardware stores are cleared out, and you are competing with your entire parish for the same plywood. The work that matters gets done in June.
Water: Your First Priority
In most storms, the thing that actually disrupts your life is not wind damage. It is losing water and power for days afterwards.
- Storage tank installed, or existing one inspected and cleaned
- Float valve checked so the tank actually fills
- Non-return valve fitted so stored water cannot drain back
- Pressure pump serviced and tested under load
- Main stop valve located and confirmed working
- Gutters and downpipes cleared of debris
A properly sized tank with a working pump turns a week-long water outage from a crisis into an inconvenience. If you have been meaning to sort this out, now is the month. We install and service tank and pump systems islandwide.
Power: Plan Before You Need It
If you have a generator, it needs to be run under load now — not started for the first time in eleven months on the evening the power goes. Fuel degrades, carburettors gum up, and batteries go flat sitting idle.
More importantly, if it is not wired through a proper changeover switch, get that done before the season is underway. Back-feeding the grid from a generator can kill a utility worker, and it is not a corner anybody should cut.
Take photographs of every room, the exterior of the house, and the roof before the season gets going. Store them in the cloud, not just on your phone. If you ever need to make an insurance claim, documented before-and-after condition is worth far more than a description written from memory afterwards.
The Roof And The Envelope
Wind does not usually tear a sound roof off. It finds the loose edge — a lifted sheet, a failed fastener, a section of fascia that has rotted — and works from there.
- Loose or lifting roof sheeting refastened
- Rusted or backed-out screws replaced
- Fascia and soffit boards checked for rot
- Flat concrete roofs inspected for cracks in the waterproofing
- Ridge and flashing details checked
- Trees trimmed back from the roof and the power line
Flat concrete roofs deserve particular attention. Hairline cracks that shed ordinary rain will not shed driven rain under storm conditions. If your waterproof coating is more than five or six years old, have it looked at — we apply proper roof waterproofing systems, which is a different job from simply painting a roof and lasts considerably longer.
Windows, Doors And Openings
If you have shutters, test that they close and latch now. If you plan to board up, cut and label the plywood in advance and store it somewhere dry — measuring and cutting in the rain with a system twelve hours out is how people get hurt.
Check the seals on windows and doors, and look at louvre windows carefully. Individual blades that are cracked or no longer close flush are a standing invitation for driven rain.
Around The Yard
Anything not fixed down becomes a projectile. Plan now where the garden furniture, plant pots, gas bottles, ladders and bins are going to go, so it takes twenty minutes rather than two hours when you need to do it.
Clear drains, gullies and any channel that carries water away from the house. Flooding around a foundation causes damage that shows up months later as damp walls.
Booking Ahead
Almost everything on this list is ordinary maintenance that happens to matter enormously at one time of year. Tank installations, generator wiring, roof repairs, waterproofing and gutter work all book out completely once a storm is on the map.
If you want it done, book it in June. Get in touch and we will schedule a walk-around and give you a written quote for whatever needs doing.
We Can Help With That
Plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, painting and pressure washing — one team, one call, islandwide across Jamaica.