Stocking Up Before And After The Storm
Do you manage a factory, warehouse, office building, or other commercial properties? Are you also in an area prone to storms? If you haven't been managing storm-area business properties for long--or if you're taking over a new property--there are a lot of differences in both scale and technique when dealing with commercial storm preparation versus most residential needs. Here are a few ways to make sure that your property is as efficiently protected and ready to recover before the storm season does anything.
Pre-Storm Supplies
Before a storm hits, you'll be working on an advanced version of boarding up windows and strapping down easily-movable, but hard to store materials.
Boarding up windows and doors are a last-ditch effort or an enhancement to other methods, but it shouldn't be the main technique. Although wood can stop a lot of storm-borne projectiles from damaging the windows, they're not as strong as purpose-built devices. You'll also have to worry about boarding up, removing, and cleaning throughout the storm process.
Storm shutters are a mainstay of storm protection, and storm-rated doors should be a part of your secondary entrances. Storm shutters can be installed just like any other set of shutters, and are available in designs that fit with corporate or industrial aesthetics. It's understandable that the standard, nondescript industrial buildings and innovative corporate headquarters alike would look odd with a residential-style set of shutters, and you thankfully have better options.
When dealing with storm doors, you may need a custom touch. Large main entrances and welcoming lobbies may need to use barricades made of temporary metal sheeting. A construction material delivery professional can send you a stock of these barricades, defensive barriers, storm shutters, and even some last ditch effort wooden boards.
Post-Storm Materials
Defending your property before a storm is just part of the process. It's good to be hopeful for little to no damage, but it's irresponsible to not have a recovery plan if you have the means.
Take an inventory of the major construction materials used for the exterior of your building. You may not need the nuts and bolts of interior infrastructure, since such damage may require a bigger rebuild than just a few replacements.
Purchase a stock of girders, rails, roofing materials, siding, brick, stone, and other materials used for the exterior using the inventory document, and keep an updated list of how the materials cost. You need to document where the materials come from, and if there were any changes to model name, serial number, color, and vendor if applicable.
Contact a construction material delivery professionals to get help with stocking and taking proper inventory to make preparation and recovery easier.