ORLANDO, Fla. – Homeowners are being urged to stay ahead of the game this hurricane season and don’t wait until it’s too late when it comes to preparing roofs.
Brian Farr, owner of BFARR Contracting, roofing and building contractors, has lived in Central Florida since he was 2 years old. The company offers residential roofing, commercial roofing, residential electric service and some commercial products.
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He said the easiest thing to do is having your roof inspected and documenting what your home looks like before a storm hits.
“They definitely want to get photos of the roof and the property before the storm hits,” Brian Walton with BFARR Contracting said. “So could be something like going around the house and taking photos of the window screens, of the pool cage, of the gutters. And actually someone on the roof taking photos of the roof and getting the details of the vents and things like that.”
It’s important to document these conditions because of time limits on policies for coverage and it could help speed up the process. Walton said BFARR offers services to go out to houses, take photos and upload them to a cloud-based server for homeowners to access and reference after a storm.
While homeowners could get their roofs updated during hurricane season, Farr said it’s best not to procrastinate.
“When it comes to storm season and one is coming, everybody starts picking up the phone and making the phone calls when now’s the time to actually get us out and take a peek when we’re not too busy. You wait till the last minute and it’s hard to get to everybody,” he said.
After a storm, it’s important to look for professionals to take care of any damages caused by storms.
“I’ve lived in Florida my whole life and seen a lot of people after the storm do things they shouldn’t and getting up on the roof or cutting trees are two things probably, especially elderly, should call a professional,” Farr said.
And even more, be sure to hire local. Walton said companies or contractors from out of state “see dollar signs” and come to do work in the area before taking off back to their home state.
“So we’re kind of left with no warranties or no guarantees. So also a lot of solicitation going on, too. So you’ve got a lot of people going around knocking doors and things like that. So what I would say is after the storm, research the roofer and reach out to the roofer or the contractor, don’t have them reach out to you,” he said.
“You should be contacting the guy you want working for you, they shouldn’t be knocking on your door,” Farr added.
Here are the biggest takeaways Farr and Walton want you to know before and during hurricane season:
- Hire professional
- Hire local
- Do your research
- Document
- Prepare to stay and prepare to evacuate
And even during hurricane season, BFARR is working to put roofs over the heads of Central Floridians.
“Yeah, we don’t stop,” Farr laughed. “Pretty busy right now. Pretty busy.”
To learn more about BFARR contracting, click here.
View the full interview at the top of this story.