16 upgrades to make your home more climate-resistant

Flood waters can cause serious damage to your home and its foundation. A sump pump can remove excess water that starts to pool around your house. It’s important to note that a sump pump can only work if it has power, so you may need to also invest in a standby generator if you live in an area that is prone to storms/power outages. In addition, flood vents prevent damage to your walls and foundations by preventing hydrostatic pressure buildup. The vents release the pressure avoiding damage.

Think of your home as a ship at sea; you want no cracks for water to get through. Close any foundation cracks with mortar, masonry caulk or hydraulic cement. If you have a basement, you know that’s the first thing to flood. It’s a good idea to seal the walls of the basement with waterproofing compounds every few years. This makes it less likely that water from the ground around your house will seep through the walls during a flood.

You don’t necessarily need to overhaul your home, but as you do renovations over time, consider materials that will be more resistant to water. For example, replace wooden flooring with ceramic tile, vinyl or rubber. Use moveable rugs instead of carpets. Internal walls can be replaced with cement board, concrete or pressure-treated wood. Wooden doors and window frames can be replaced with metal.

You want the height of your electric service panel and all outlets, switches and wiring to be at least one foot above the potential flood elevation. Additionally, if you’re making changes to your heating, ventilation or HVAC systems, consider moving them to a higher floor or the attic. Or if relocation isn’t happening any time soon, you can buy temporary flood barriers to put around them in the event of a flood.

Not all the improvements are inside the home. You can also help prevent flooding by improving the grading of your lot. Pay attention to where water pools and build up sunken areas, especially around the foundation. Maintain proper water runoff and drainage, making sure water is running away from the house. Reduce impervious surfaces (cement, concrete, asphalt) around your house so that water has a place to go. Install a rain barrel to collect runoff from the roof.

Good insulation is incredibly important for keeping the cool air inside your home and not making your AC work as hard. Spray-foam insulation is your best bet for efficiency because it fills every crack and crevice to prevent cold air from escaping. On the other side of the insulation, the outside walls of your house also play their part in preventing cool air from escaping. Fiber cement is a good option, especially as vinyl siding can sometimes melt when exposed to high temperatures.

After your walls, the next line of defense for keeping cool air in and extreme heat out is your windows. If you have old, single-pane windows, consider replacing them with new, energy-efficient windows. The tight seal will help keep cool air from escaping, and also windows designed to block heat transfer and solar radiation will stop heat from entering in the first place. If replacing your windows isn’t in the cards right now, you can try applying a UV-blocking film to your current windows which can still help a bit.

If your current air conditioning system isn’t up to the challenge of extreme heat waves, you may need to eventually upgrade. However, knowing that’s a major expense, there are some things you can do to help in the meantime. Duct booster fans are a relatively inexpensive way to add a little muscle to your AC unit and help push cool air through your ducts. Or if ventilation is an issue, consider adding an energy recovery ventilator or fresh air exchange system to your home to improve airflow.

One of the biggest things to help keep your home cool is shade. Consider planting some faster-growing trees and shrubs to provide shade to your home. Choose native plants where possible so they are more likely to survive in extreme heat. Also, if you have existing trees providing shade, make sure to take care of them during heat waves. Water in a drip line around the edges of the canopy, as that’s where the roots extend.

If you’re planning to get a new roof and you live in a hurricane-prone area, metal roofing (usually aluminum, zinc or copper) is a great option. They’re designed to withstand winds up to 160 mph and they are impact resistant. Many asphalt shingles are not approved for hurricane protection.

Storm shutters can close over windows and glass doors to prevent damage from flying objects in the event of a hurricane. There are a number of different options to choose from. Storm panel shutters can be attached to your home only when you need them and stored elsewhere when not in use. You can also opt for automatic roll-down shutters or accordion shutters which are permanently attached to your home and can quickly be rolled down when needed.

If you don’t have a basement, your best choice for a safe room during a storm is usually a windowless interior room, which is often a bathroom. However, depending on your family size, holing up in a bathroom for the duration of a hurricane isn’t ideal. Consider converting an interior bedroom into a safe room. You can do this by replacing the walls with concrete and replacing the door with a steel one.

The first step to protecting your home is creating a safe zone around your property. That means eliminating things that could be fuel for a fire. Remove wood piles, dead or dying trees or shrubs and anything flammable for a safe distance from your home. Aim for at least a 50-foot safe zone (or 100 feet in California). Additionally, don’t let any wooden fencing touch your house. Consider using a fireproof fencing option. Keep your gutters clean.

Okay, you might not want to install a swimming pool unless you actually want to swim in one, but installing a cistern or rain barrel can have the same effect. It provides you with a water source on your property. Firefighters using a gas-powered hose can use that water to help fight a fire burning your house.

Upgrading your roof to use fire-resistant shingles, choosing non-wood siding options (or fire-resistant hardwoods like Ipe) and installing heavy-duty windows to reduce radiant exposure are all ways you can help your house from going up in flames. The more non-combustible materials you can leverage both inside and outside the home, the less property damage you will likely incur in the event of a fire.