Are you planning a home improvement project on the outside of your home, or in your yard? Even if you’re not required to, it would be wise to incorporate best practices for “home hardening” in your plans.
What’s home hardening? It’s the practice of making changes to the exterior of your home and landscape, to reduce the risk of fire by creating a larger “defensible space.” You may have already had some experience in this area, if your home insurance carrier required that you do some maintenance or tree pruning/removal, in order to renew your policy. Some regions of California already have mandates in place, requiring homeowners to make significant modifications. The focus is on creating ember-resistant zones around structures, vegetation clearance, and using fire-resistant building materials. Some communities in the East Bay already have point of sale ordinances, that require fire inspections and completion of required improvements or maintenance, to be able to close a sale.
Since it’s probable that our neighborhoods may see future requirements, or point of sale ordinances regarding defensible space and home hardening, it makes sense to plan ahead. At the very least, your home (and by default, your neighborhood) will be a little bit safer, and you may have an easier time keeping your home insurance.
What can you do? Recommendations are to have a minimum of a 5 foot perimeter around your home, that does not have combustible material (some locations require a larger distance). What does this mean in real life? You may want to consider using hardscape (concrete/tile patio) adjacent to your house, pushing flower beds, trees & shrubs farther away from the structure. As a non-fire-related bonus, this is also much better for your home’s foundation, due to the expansive soils in our area. If you’re planning new landscape, consider using a non-combustible mulch or gravel, instead of a more traditional, organic mulch. Simply put, shredded tree mulch is basically kindling. A lot of research has shown that wooden fences and trellises put the attached home at much greater risk of burning. If it’s time for a new fence or patio cover, you should look into fire-resistant materials. Of course, roofing material, siding and decking all matter, too.
Want to learn more? There are lots of resources online and you can check with your local fire district to obtain the most relevant information.
Every home is unique. Please feel free to reach out to me at 925-964-5010 or via email at Lisa.Hopkins@Compass.com with questions or for a custom analysis. Even if you’re not planning to move, I’m happy to help by providing you with relevant data, enabling you to make a well informed decision. It’s never too early to start planning for success.
