Storms can strike at any time and cause extensive damage to your home or property. Some damage is direct, such as wind blowing shingles or siding off of your home, or rainwater flooding your basement. Other damage is indirect, such as a lightning strike causing a fire or a tree falling onto your house (high winds, saturated soil and weak branches create the perfect conditions). When dealing with storm damaged trees, you could be looking at a number of problems. Fallen trees can become tangled in utility lines, making them exceptionally dangerous. Also, trees that are partially damaged can continue to weaken and then fall on your house or vehicles. It is best to know what to do ahead of time so follow these steps to resolve the issue properly.
Assess the Damage
Trees with major damage are easy to spot. Fallen trees are easiest to identify. However, standing trees with other types of damage require careful inspection at a safe distance. Consider hazardous, any tree that has both injury and an immediate mark, such as part of your home, people, other buildings, or cars.
Contact Your Insurance Agent
Your insurance agent needs to know about the damage immediately. Your insurance agent will help you report the damage and will arrange for a claims adjuster to visit your home to assess the damage. This is important since the insurance company will typically be responsible for paying the contractors who will do the repairs.
Seek Professional Help
You can save a great deal of time and effort if you choose a Restoration company who will remove the tree as well as repair any structural damage to the home. They will cover the damaged area so rain and debris can’t enter the home, and will then determine the best and most efficient way to rebuild. It is especially important to find a disaster repair provider who you can trust at a time like this.
Don’t Take the Cheap Option
Even if the fallen tree or branch seems small and easy to handle, you should never attempt to deal with the issue by yourself. You risk your personal safety and that of others. A tree or branch landing on your roof can also compromise its structural integrity and increase the danger that it may collapse. For that reason, it is important that the tree is removed safely and correctly. Your neighbor may offer to use his chainsaw to remove your hazardous limbs, but he may not have the knowledge and experience necessary to remove the dead limbs efficiently and with minimal damage to the tree and your yard.
The Storm Damage Restoration Team at Xtreme Home Improvement is ready and willing to help. If a fallen tree results in major structural damage to your home, give us a call so we can handle this situation for you. If you ever go through the unfortunate experience of a tree falling on your roof and causing major damage, you need to have it taken care of immediately. If you wait too long to deal with the issue, you may experience more damage to your home and belongings. You can trust us to get the job done right and quickly.