We seem to be having more than our fair share of heavy rains this season. We have actually had rain for 18 days in a row now, and power outages all over the island occurring from the 90 mile an hour winds. The storms to the southern island, have been so powerful, BC Ferries have been knocked out of some of their service runs ( what else is new ) and most of us are wondering what on earth is going on? We were also hit with a fairly large earth quake not more than a month or so ago. Preparedness is key. All of these weather and earth changes, inspired us to write about things we need to do to get our homes in order. Here are a few tips to help you with heavy rains, storms and potential floods this spring

Photo by Owner and Operator - Dylan Conrad

Roof: Get your roof ready for the rains. Inspect your roof twice a year to avoid costly problems that can and might escalate into tremendous cost. An ounce of prevention saves a pound of stress later

Look for cracks along the ridge of your roof and where your shingles fold over to form the cap.
Inspect the valleys of your roof (the area of your roof with a downward slope). Make sure that the metal flashing does not have any damage or rusty areas.
Make sure that you do not have any loose, missing or curled shingles.If you find any in that condition, make sure you replace them as soon as possible, so as to avoid moisture leaks inside your home that can weaken your walls and/or ceilings.

Gutters: make sure that they drain well and don't cause water to back up. Make sure that there are not a lot of little granules collecting in the gutters. Granules in your gutter are a sign that your roof is deteriorating - resealing is in order, or perhaps more

Gutters can collect a lot of debris during the rainy season so be sure to clean them weekly to ensure that they are free of debris and not backing up.

Down Pipe Clogs: Make sure that you don't have any down pipe clogs.

Check for potential clogs from the inside out. Inside your home, check out your ceilings to make sure that you are not experiencing signs of roof or other leakage. Look for water rings, mold or wall or ceiling discoloration. Make all necessary repairs to fix and prevent the issue from happening again during the next rainy season.

Doors and Windows. Make sure that both doors and windows close and seal properly, and make any repairs or improvements as necessary.

Purchase hurricane socks ( http://www.amazon.com/Cleanup-Stuff-Absorbent-Absorbing-Hurricane/dp/B00Q5GV7KU) to help absorb water that leaks into garages, basements or in through windows or doors.

Hurricane socks soak up up one gallon of water at a time. You can even dry them out faster by putting them in your washer on spin cycle.

Clear debris: Make sure that dead branches and dead trees have been cleared from around your house. This will reduce the risk that they will fall during the storm and damage your home.

Basement inspection: If water is seeping in, you may have to have the whole basement resealed.

Sandbags when flooding: Consider using sandbags in the low areas around your house to help keep flood water at bay.

Those beautiful branches can be a hazard to your home if they are dead

Best of luck. Batten down the hatches. Atleast we are not suffering drought like our poor neighbors in California.