10 Mistakes to Avoid After a Hurricane Damages Your Pool Enclosure or Patio Cover
The days after a hurricane are a blur of cleanup, phone calls, and decisions. When Isaias came ashore on October 9, it left a lot of homes across Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay counties with bent pool cages, torn screen rooms, and damaged patio covers.
Most of the costly mistakes we see after a storm come from moving too fast, trusting the wrong person, or not knowing what to look for. We put this guide together to help you avoid them. Each mistake below links to a full post with the details.
Safety first
1. Walking under, climbing on, or trying to fix damaged framing yourself.
A bent enclosure can hold stored tension and shift or drop without warning. Stay clear and leave the cutting to a professional.
2. Leaving the pool unguarded after its enclosure is gone.
If your enclosure was your pool's safety barrier, the barrier went with it. Put up a temporary fence and lock the doors to the pool.
The first few days
3. Hauling your damaged enclosure to the curb before documenting it.
Once it's gone, so is the best record of what happened. Photograph everything first.
4. Assuming it's just a rescreen and missing structural damage.
New screen on a damaged frame looks finished until the next storm. Have the frame checked first.
Hiring the right contractor
5. Hiring an unlicensed or out-of-area contractor.
Unlicensed contracting during a state of emergency is a felony, and the risks land on you too. Check the license in five minutes.
6. Paying a large deposit or paying in full upfront.
A big upfront payment leaves you with little leverage if the job stalls.
7. Hiring a contractor who wants to handle your insurance claim for you.
That's a red flag. Walk away.
Rebuilding it right
8. Skipping the permit on structural work, or rebuilding to outdated specs.
Structural repairs need a permit and have to meet today's code. Skipping that step can come back to cost you.
9. Rebuilding before getting HOA or ARB approval.
Many neighborhoods require approval before an enclosure goes back up, and the rules can vary from one section of a community to the next.
10. Treating a patio cover, screen room, or carport like a pool cage.
Structures attached to your house can hide damage at the connection and let water into the home.
"Almost every mistake on this list comes down to hurrying. Take a breath, take your pictures, and check who you're hiring. The rest gets easier." — Eric Vanheteren, Aluminum Building Systems
Helpful resources
Check a contractor's license: myfloridalicense.com or the free DBPR mobile app
Find licensed contractors by county: Florida's Disaster Contractors Network at DCNOnline.org
Report unlicensed activity: DBPR's Unlicensed Activity Hotline, (866) 532-1440
Permits: your city or county building department. Fort Walton Beach's post-storm permitting guide is a good example of what to look for.
