After the Storm: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

After 39 years of working storm seasons in Mobile and Baldwin County, we can tell you the homeowners who come through best are rarely the fastest, they are the ones who do things in the right order. Here is that order.

1. People first, roof second

Stay off the roof. Wet shingles, hidden soft spots and hanging limbs hurt people every storm season, and nothing up there is worth it. If a tree is on the house or you smell gas, get out and call the professionals. Downed lines anywhere near the house mean you treat the whole area as energized.

2. Stop the water where you can reach it safely

Inside the house: move furniture, put buckets under active drips, and if water is pooling in a ceiling, a small hole from below to drain it beats a collapsed ceiling later. Photograph everything before you clean anything up.

3. Document like it matters, because it does

• Photograph and video the damage from the ground and from inside: every room with a stain, every piece of debris in the yard, shingles on the lawn.
• Note the date and time of the storm. Save any weather alerts from your phone.
• Keep receipts for everything: tarps, fans, a night in a hotel. Keep damaged materials until your insurer has seen them.

4. Get it tarped properly

An emergency tarp is a real skill: done right, it protects the house for weeks; done wrong, it channels water into the decking or blows off in the next squall. This is what our 24/7 emergency line exists for, a proper temporary cover, photographed and documented, buys you time to make every other decision calmly.

5. Slow down before you sign anything

Every serious storm brings a wave of out-of-town trucks and door-knockers. Some are legitimate. Enough are not that Alabama homeowners lose real money to them every single season. Before you sign:

• Verify they are local and licensed. Ask for the license number, the physical address, and references you can drive past. (Ours: License #31486, 39 years in Mobile, and 40 five-star reviews on our reviews page.)
• Be wary of anyone pressuring you to sign on the spot, offering to "waive your deductible," or asking you to sign over your entire insurance claim before any work is scoped.
• Get the scope in writing and understand it before your insurer's adjuster visits.

What we do when you call

We inspect, photograph, and give you a written scope, whether that is a $400 repair or a full replacement. If the damage does not justify a claim, we will tell you that too; a claim that barely clears your deductible is often not worth filing. That honesty is how a family company gets to 39 years.

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