No homeowner wants to have their home affected by a natural disaster. Natural disasters and storms can come unexpectedly and shake up your whole routine, but there are some ways to help prepare your home to avoid some damage. 

If you have experienced a natural disaster and need restoration to your home, Sawyer Restoration can help. We have worked with flooding, fire, tornado or wind, mold, and other damage to a home and know how to clean and repair to get the home back to looking its best. 

1- Update Your Emergency Kit

While this tip will not help protect your home, this will prepare your family for when something might occur. Good emergency kits can help you experience less panic in an unknown situation and can help keep your family safe and healthy if you do need to evacuate or stay locked in your home during an emergency. 

Some good ideas to have in an emergency kit are bandaids, first aid items, clean clothes, layers, warm socks and shoes, non-perishable snacks, and toiletries. 

2- Reinforce Doors And Windows

If you live in an area with hurricanes or tornadoes, reinforcing doors and windows will help keep them from flying off and causing more damage or injury. There are also wind-resistant doors and stormproof shutters that can help your home stay intact. If you are expecting a storm, you can board up windows and doors with plywood for a temporary solution. 

3- Secure Heavy Furniture To Walls

In the event of an earthquake, large furniture pieces can move or fall over on top of other furniture or even members of your family. Large entertainment centers, TVs, artwork, dressers, and other overhead and oversized furniture should be secured to the wall to help prevent them from falling over as easily. 

4- Create An Evacuation Plan

In the event of an emergency, people can get discombobulated and struggle to know what to do. If your family has a clear emergency plan and evacuation plan, then everyone will know what to do. If your home is on multiple levels, it may be best to create a few evacuation plans to account for multiple circumstances. 

Creating a plan for what to do with household items, pets, and how to find each other if you are separated, is also a smart idea. Emergencies are unpredictable, so having a plan can help prevent panic. 

5- Install A Sump Pump and Generator

Installing a sump pump can be a great prep tip if you live where hurricanes or flooding are common. Sump pumps can help pump water back outside and keep your basement and other electrical components like your water heater and washer and dryer, dry and undamaged. 

Generators can help you have limited power for cooking, heat, and overall safety if you lose power in your home. Generators are good to have for any sort of emergency and can help you stay safe and warm. 

6- Locate Gas, Water, And Electricity Shut Offs

Locating these valves and shut-offs can help prevent more unnecessary damage to your home. Turning off gas and water lines can help prevent fire or flooding if the pipes are damaged in a storm. This can also can make your home more of a safe haven during the storm because you will not need to worry about a storm outside while dealing with a disaster inside.

During a natural disaster, officials will often tell you when to turn off these items. Wait to turn off electricity until told to do so, so that your family can have light for as long as possible. 

Work With Sawyer Restoration

Sawyer Restoration wants to ensure that your home comes back looking better than before after a natural disaster. We are dedicated to providing multiple services to best serve every area of your home. Our services are a one-stop shop for restoration and construction needs. With years of experience, our team knows how to handle damage from flooding, fire, wind, earthquakes, and more.

Serving Southwestern Wyoming is a joy in our local company. We treat your home like it is our own. Not only do we have the utmost respect for your home, we listen to all your needs and concerns and put them into practice. Contact us today for your disaster relief and construction needs.

Construction spending was up for 2021 and construction companies still had a lot to deal with in supply shortages and rising material prices because of COVID-19. In 2022, unfortunately some of these problems will continue. But commercial construction trends will continue as long as people are building homes and businesses. Read on to learn more about commercial construction and how 2022 will affect the industry as a whole. 

Employment and Labor 

Through the pandemic many labor shortages were happening around the world. Construction was no exception, shedding 1.1 million jobs in just two months (March and April 2020). In 2021 the construction industry added only 160,000 jobs after an up and down year. The skilled labor shortage has posed real challenges and these jobs are often looked down on as being dirty and low paying. For 2022, companies are going to need some aggressive recruitment tactics to help the younger workforce to continue or begin in the industry. 

Material Costs

Another pandemic problem is material shortages and the rising costs of wood, iron and asphalt. In 2022 the prices for building materials are what to watch. 

The delivery time has also been double or triple than what it was pre-pandemic and will unfortunately continue into 2022. This trend will affect contractors the most because they will need to stay on top of their suppliers and up to date on rapid changes in material costs. The pandemic will have a lasting impact on shipping rates and availability of materials for the significant future.

This means that in 2022 materials may still cost two to three times more than pre-pandemic and may be hard for supplier to have on hand. Construction companies will need to keep an eye on projects and how construction trends are affecting materials

Construction Technology Adoption

One positive aspect from the pandemic is the adoption of the construction trends of more technology. This industry has been historically slow to accept more beneficial technologies. While many individuals may think that robots are taking the jobs of humans, it is helpful to keep workers out of dangerous conditions. Other construction trends, such as drones, are able to conduct site searches and inspect tall or complicated structures. 

New software is being integrated and will continue into 2022. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and VR simulators are also being used to train on new equipment. 

Public Work

Local, state and federal spending is going to be a driving force in 2022. An act passed in 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act contains $10 billion for capital projects that will provide communities with modern and quality infrastructure. Many of these projects will be taking place in 2022. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was also passed in 2021 to improve water, power and transportation infrastructure. Many of these projects won’t begin popping up until later in 2022 and will be ones to watch for. This renewed public investment will infuse millions of dollars into the construction industry. 

What Does This Mean For The Construction Industry?

Despite some of the setbacks in 2020 and 2021, the construction industry is expected to grow by 8.8% percent this year. Construction trends and continuing to add laborers will help the industry even though there are supply shortages. Projects are starting to reach the planning stage and residential construction has helped the economy and the construction industry as a whole to rebound. 

Government spending is also hoped to improve the construction industry in the U.S. This includes the upgraded infrastructure mentioned earlier as well as the upgrading of roads and highways. How do you feel about these construction trends? Do you think these will pan out?

Sawyer Restoration

Here at Sawyer, we know all that goes into a big project like commercial construction. For certain commercial buildings, there are standards and regulations that need to be met. An experienced commercial construction team will help to ensure that your building meets all of the requirements. The appropriate services will create a building that will meet all of your expectations and is up to code. This can go a long way toward preventing substantial issues from arising over time. 

Contact us today for emergency restoration projects or construction projects.