With our extensive experience as fencing contractors, we have put together some tips on what to do when your fence is damaged due to summer storms. We hope that these tips can help alleviate the worry that may come up during the upcoming season.
How Summer Storms Can Damage Your Fence
Summer storms can be way too much for fences. Strong winds blow debris around your yard, while hail and heavy rain can soften the ground and damage your fence. All of these things can cause extensive damage to your fencing, as well as the rest of your property.
While fencing is built to last, it can be fragile depending on the materials. Even the most well-built fence structure can fail during a major weather event. Damage to fences can include pockmarks from hail, broken posts, broken planks, or worse. These damages can be simple to repair or need extensive service work depending on the weather situation.
How To Assess The Damage To Your Fence
While you may want to get out there during the storm to see what is going on with your fence, it is important to stay safe and wait out the storm before you check on your property. Once the storm has let up, it is time to get to work checking out the different areas around your fence to make a general assessment.
Some things to look for include:
- Damage to fence posts
- Damage to planks
- Issues with mountain hardware
- Gates not properly working
- Missing sections of fencing
- Pockmarks in the paint or dents in the wood
As you are making your damage assessment, it is important to take pictures of everything. This will help you throughout the process of getting your fence repaired as well as provide a record of damage so that you can file your property damage on your insurance.
Even small problems with your fence can lead to catastrophic issues such as animals getting in or out of your yard. For this reason, it is important to make sure and repair your fence as soon as physically possible. If you have to wait for a contractor to show up to repair your fence, a DIY solution may suffice as a stopgap to ensure the safety of your property.
Additionally, it is important to inform friends and family members of issues that your fence could potentially cause them. It is always important for people to understand the dangers associated with any damage to your home, fences included.
Get To Cleaning Up Your Damaged Fence
Once you have accurately documented the damage to your fence that is in need of repair, you must get to work cleaning up any debris in your yard.
This is not only a good practice to ensure that your property is in tip-top shape, but it also allows you to find any reusable material or make a case for a better fence material. Regardless of what the outcome is, cleaning up debris in your yard after a storm or extreme weather event can be used to make your property safe, even if only temporarily.
Make Small Scale Repairs If Possible
If your fence's damages are only superficial, it may be more cost-effective, and better matched for you to manage your fence repairs. While we as a fence contractor would much rather rebuild or repair your fence for you, sometimes it only makes sense to do it yourself.
The best way to get to work on your fence is to survey your fencing and check off any missing hardware, damaged posts, or missing planks. Once you have noted any issues, it is time to get to work on resolving any damages. In most cases, fences are fairly easy to repair, but they do sometimes require the expertise of a professional.
Insurance - The First Call You Should Make
If your fence is damaged in such a way that you can not repair it on your own, your best bet is to make a call to your homeowner's insurance company. This step of the process can be rather frustrating, considering that many insurance companies can be hard to deal with.
While they can be frustrating, insurance companies are here to help, especially in the case of damage that is covered by your policy. Most insurance companies cover damage from wind, hail, and lightning. This is not always the case when damage is due to flooding. In that case, it is important to add additional coverage through flood insurance.
Depending on how much damage is inflicted upon your fence, as well as the insurance company’s deductible you may conclude that it makes more sense for you to pay out of pocket. Back-to-back small claims can cause issues with your property converge so you mustn't abuse the system too much.
Replacement May Be The Only Option
As much as you may want to keep your fence around for a long time, sometimes a fence will experience extreme weather and be too far gone. In this case, it is probably time to sit down and think about what you want out of a new fence.
Replacing a fence is the most expensive way to handle a damaged fence. However, sometimes it takes a bad storm to convince you as a homeowner that it may be time to get a new fence. Additionally, your fence may have multiple structural problems, such as rot or other issues that the storm may have uncovered.
Asheville Fence - We Take Care Of Your Fencing Needs
Most importantly, finding the right fence contractor to repair or replace your summer weather-damaged fence is vital. There are plenty of OK fence contractors on the market, but not all of them are great.
At Asheville Fence, we offer a variety of options for both residential and commercial fencing applications. We also offer full service and repair to ensure that your fence is always in good shape. To learn more about how we can help you with your fence needs, contact us today! We are looking forward to hearing from you.