Decks; they come in all sizes, shapes and age. They’re an extension of our living space as the weather warms and we spend more time outdoors. They can also be an accident waiting to happen.
A study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that close to 50,000 people are injured each year from falls off decks, porches and stairs; about 15 percent of those were from a structural failure or collapse.
Summer is when most deck collapses are reported. The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors says of the more than 45 million existing decks in North America, only 40 percent are absolutely safe.
Most failures take place while the decks were occupied and approximately 90 percent were a result of separation of the house and the deck ledger board. While age can be a factor, deck collapse can take place on any deck that was not properly installed.
Here are five deck safety and inspection tips from the North American Deck and Railing Association (NADRA) that can keep the summer BBQ from becoming a trip to the hospital:
Search for split or decaying wood including support beams and joists below
Test railings and banisters to make sure they are firmly attached
Check fasteners to make sure they have not come loose or corroded
Step carefully looking for loose boards or spongy areas
Clean up debris like leaves branches and other things that can cause slipping and mildew
NADRA also urges homeowners to test deck stairs, make sure grills and fire pits are on a non-flammable pad and away from walls and overhangs, and to consider proper lighting for nighttime use.
Michael Beaudry, executive vice president of the NADRA wants people to know about the importance of annually inspecting their decks. “Outdoor structures like decks are exposed to sun, rain, snow and extreme temperature changes over the years. The need to maintain and inspect them is critical for keeping decks strong and safe.”
You can find an extensive point-by-point deck inspection check list from the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors at https://www.nachi.org/deck-inspections.htm.
Another piece of protection is to inspect your home or renters insurance. Now’s a great time to review your policy and make sure you have the proper liability coverage if someone gets hurt at your home. Call a California Casualty advisor today at 1.800.800.9410 or by visiting www.calcas.com.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
Summer is more than just a great time for BBQs, baseball and swimming pools; it’s the perfect time to get your home maintenance done.
The experts say warm weather is perfect for:
• Interior and exterior painting
• Power washing exterior walls to remove dust, mold or grime
• Power washing and re-staining decks
• Replacing loose or broken boards on decks and hammering or screwing down nails or screws that have come loose
• Checking roofs for winter wear
• Checking and clearing gutters and drain spouts of debris and making sure the spouts direct water away from the home’s foundation
• Pruning trees and shrubs and removing overhanging branches
• Fixing any plumbing problems while pipes are warm
• Inspecting for insect and termite damage to baseboards, decks or around windows – look for soft spots in wood around doors and windows or mud tubes against outside walls
Summer is also a great time to make sure your home or renters insurance is up-to-date. Get a free policy review with a California Casualty advisor at 1.800.800.9410 or at www.calcas.com.
Hurricane season began June 1. Are you ready? The nation’s top emergency managers warn that millions of Americans from the Gulf Coast to the Eastern Seaboard as far north as Maine are in danger. Southern California has even experienced tropical storms, giving the West Coast a reason to be concerned.
While hurricanes are associated with extreme winds, the National Hurricane Center warns that storm surge actually causes the most damage and loss of life. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed new maps to show the danger. They also have a list of hurricane preparedness tips that include:
Understand your insurance – know whether you have actual cash value or replacement cost coverage, know how much living expenses coverage you have and make sure you have flood insurance (not covered with most home or renters insurance)
Store copies of your inventory and insurance information in a safe location away from home
Get an annual insurance review to make sure you have enough coverage for the dwelling and possessions
Contact your insurance company as soon as possible
Secure the property from further damage or theft
Keep or document receipts and other expenses if you are evacuated or forced to find another place to live because of damage to your home or apartment
Be wary of unscrupulous contractors following a natural disaster
California Casualty is ready to help before or after the storm. Contact an advisor today for a policy review, to arrange for flood insurance or upgrade coverages at 1.800.800.9410 or visit www.calcas.com. It’s also our policy to call customers in a disaster area to make sure you are okay and help start a claim, and our Claims department is available 24 hours a day, even on holidays if you have an emergency.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
Springtime is tornado season in the United States. Many people have been lulled into false sense of security by the relatively slow start this year. But once again Mother Nature flexed her muscles sending destructive storms roaring through much of the Midwest. As the cleanup of twisted metal and splintered wood continues, it’s a reminder that people in tornado prone areas need to be ever vigilant of the often deadly storms.
Are you ready? A recent survey commissioned by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) found 56 percent of Midwesterners consider themselves not well prepared for the aftermath of a natural disaster or severe weather.
Tornados are violent, abrupt and are often obscured by rain or darkness. Being prepared ahead of time is essential.
Here is important, potentially lifesaving information about tornados from Weather Underground:
Develop an emergency plan for your family
Know where safety shelters are located
Monitor NOAA Weather Radio when severe weather is forecast
Know the difference between a tornado watch and warning – a watch means conditions are right for tornado activity and people should be on alert, a warning means a tornado has been sighted and you should take shelter immediately
Here are tornado danger signs:
Dark, greenish sky
Large hail
A large, dark, low-lying cloud that may be rotating
A loud roar, often compared to a freight train
These are dos and don’ts from the American Red Cross if you are caught in a tornado:
Do go immediately to an underground shelter, basement or safe room
Do find a small windowless room in the interior of a home or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building
Don’t stay in a mobile home unless absolutely necessary
Do stay in your vehicle with the seat belt fastened and your head below the windows, covering your head with a blanket, coat or your hands
Do go to a low lying area like a culvert or ditch if caught outdoors and cover your head with a coat or your hands
Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.
Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
Stay out of damaged buildings.
Use battery-powered flashlights when examining buildings – do NOT use candles.
If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.
Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
Keep all of your animals under your direct control.
Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.
Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive.
There is new information from recent storms that sturdy garage doors may be the best protector of a home. The study of tornado damage found wood frame homes with sturdy garage doors suffered less damage than homes with flimsy garage doors.
The research from the University of Alabama also concluded that tornado shelters – underground or above ground safe rooms – saved lives.
The researchers compared damage from major tornadoes that struck Moore, Oklahoma in 2013 to studies of similar storms that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri in 2011.
Some of the conclusions:
Flimsy garage doors proved to be a weak link, allowing pressurization that destroyed supporting walls and the roof when the garage was breached by devastating winds
Storm shelters save lives even in the worst tornadoes
In the areas damaged by lesser winds, the garage was often the root cause for failure of residential structures, allowing roofs and supporting walls to collapse
The study found that increased building safety standards and incorporation of more storm shelters are working to prevent some damage and save lives.
Another way to protect your home is with an insurance policy review. Call a California Casualty advisor today, 1.800.800.9410 or visit www.calcas.com.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
California is parched, and bracing for another scary fire year. Once again, much needed rain and snow has eluded the state. The snow pack is a paltry six percent of normal and this January through March was the driest ever in recorded history. The U.S. Drought Monitor has much of the Golden State in extreme or exceptional drought.
In many areas the unprecedented drought has reduced the greenery to dried sticks and CAL FIRE is warning that moisture content in fuels like trees and grasses are at extremely low levels – leaving them tinder dry and susceptible to wildfire.
The National Interagency Fire Center is predicting above normal wildland fire potential for much of California, starting in May and June and continuing through fall.
It is imperative that you take steps NOW to protect your home and property.
That’s why California Casualty has prepared this important fire prevention information, because we have a stake in keeping you, your family and your most important asset as safe as possible.
Home Wildfire Prevention Tips:
Create a 30-foot defensible space around your home by removing as much flammable material as you can. Replace flammable vegetation with fire resistive plants.*
Reduce the number of trees in heavily wooded areas by spacing native trees and shrubs at least 10 feet apart. On trees taller than 18 feet, prune lower branches six to ten feet off the ground.
Remove branches overhanging the roof or coming within 10 feet of the chimney. Clean all dead leaves and needles from the roof, gutters, and yard.
Install a roof that meets a fire classification of “Class B” or better. Cover the chimney outlet and stovepipe with nonflammable screening no larger than half-inch mesh.
Install dual- or triple-paned windows, and limit the size and number of windows that face large areas of vegetation.
Put woodpiles and liquid propane gas tanks at least 30 feet from all structures and clear away flammable vegetation within 10 feet of those woodpiles and propane tanks.
*California Casualty has a free “Reducing Wildfire Risk” pamphlet available here. You can also find additional helpful information linked from our home insurance page.
Help Firefighters Save Your Home!
Make access easy. Roads need to be wide enough to accommodate fire trucks with room for them to turn around. Driveways and bridges must be strong enough to carry heavy emergency vehicles and equipment. Identify at least two ways to and from your house and make sure they are clearly marked. All access routes should be free of low hanging tree branches and cleared of flammable vegetation at least 10 feet from roads and five feet from driveways.
Maintain an emergency water supply that meets fire department standards, such as a community water hydrant system, or a cooperative emergency storage tank with neighbors. If your water comes from a well, consider an emergency generator to operate the pump during a power failure. Clearly mark all water sources and create easy access to your closest emergency water source.
If You’re Forced to Evacuate:
Know the best routes to safe areas and practice them with your family.
Prepare an evacuation kit ahead of time.
Know where and how you and your family will reconnect if you become separated.
In case of possible evacuation, your kit should contain the following items:
Residents evacuated from their homes should contact their insurance agents or companies immediately and let them know where they can be reached. As adjusters are allowed into the burned-out areas they will want to go in with their policyholders to assess the damage. Many companies will set up 24-hour emergency hotlines.
Keep receipts. Out of pocket expenses during a mandatory evacuation are reimbursable under most standard homeowner policies.
Be prepared to give your agent or insurance representative a description of your damage.
Take photos of the damaged areas. These will help with your claims process and will assist the adjuster in the investigation.
Prepare a detailed inventory of all damaged or destroyed personal property. Be sure to make two copies-one for yourself and one for the adjuster. Your list should be as complete as possible, including a description of the items, dates of purchase or approximate age, cost at time of purchase and estimated replacement cost.
Make whatever temporary repairs you can. Cover broken windows, damaged roofs and walls to prevent further destruction. Save receipts for supplies and materials you purchase. Your company will reimburse you for reasonable expenses in making temporary repairs.
Secure a detailed estimate for permanent repairs to your home from a reliable contractor and give it to the adjuster. The estimate should contain the proposed repairs, repair costs and replacement prices.
Serious losses will be given priority. If your home has been destroyed or seriously damaged, your agent will do everything possible to assure that you are given priority.
Don’t forget to make a complete inventory of all the items in your home before disaster strikes – doing so will help if you have to make a claim.
You and your home have ridden out one of the coldest nights of the year; the weather is warming when suddenly you hear water running inside a room. It’s a burst pipe, which can lead to substantial damage in your home.
How much damage can a broken pipe cause? The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that just two inches of water can cause more than $10,000 for repairs and replacement of flooded items. Six inches of water can add up to more than $30,000.
While frozen pipes are most common in northern and mountainous areas of the country, they can occur anywhere when a major polar front hits. Homes from California to Florida have suffered water damage from broken pipes after spells of severe cold.
So before the thermometer plunges, here are things the American Red Cross advises you do to prevent pipes from freezing:
Disconnect outside hoses from faucets
Insulate water pipes, especially along exterior walls and unheated areas
Add insulation to walls and attics where pipes may run
Once the sub-zero weather hits you should:
Let faucets drip to prevent freezing
Keep the thermostat above 55 degrees
Make sure garage doors are closed
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinets to allow warm air to circulate around plumbing
So you’ve prepared and kept as much heat as possible going to cold areas, but the cold air still froze a pipe; what now? Stay calm but act as quickly as possible to:
Locate where the pipe is frozen
Open the nearest faucet to relieve pressure when the ice thaws
Slowly warm the pipe with a heating pad, hair dryer, space heater or wrapping it with hot towels – never use a blow torch or open flame
If the pipe has cracked or broken, immediately turn off water at the main water valve and call a plumber. Shutting off the water will prevent further damage.
Once a pipe freezes, odds are it will happen again. Here are some tips to prevent it in the future:
Hire a plumber to relocate to a warmer area
Add more insulation in walls, attics and crawl spaces
Wrap the pipe with electric heat tape, when temperatures drop, plug it in
Remember, if a burst pipe sends water into your home, contact a California Casualty Claims advisor as soon as possible; we can help get you started on the clean-up.
And before the next cold front hits, call a California Casualty advisor for a free auto or home insurance policy comparison and review to make sure you are protected against winter’s fury, 1.800.800.9410.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
