Hurricane Response

An interview excerpt with Joe Rothwell, CEO

Interviewer: How often should you inspect your building for threats to water damage?

Joe: Recently, we worked on a couple of losses down in Austin Texas where they had some bad rains. The rains caused some fairly severe damage to one of our hotel clients’ properties. Some of it was from wind driven rain getting in around those units which aren’t properly sealed such as the air-conditioning units, the through wall units and around windows. And if those aren’t properly sealed or caulked, wind driven rain can enter into the building around those units. I think every hotel should be inspected every few years. I know that’s difficult to do because you have to get up on ladders, or on lifts, to actually survey the building and see if you need sealants or not, because they’re installed when the building was built. But, if the building’s five to seven years old, they probably need to be inspected. It can help prevent water intrusion getting in the building with wind driven rain that you do experience with hurricanes. Imagine experiencing water intrusion with a 70-mile an hour wind storm with a lot of rain.