Home improvement projects for those at risk for wildfire

For the last few weeks we have taken the "cheap and easy" route on some of the tips we've offered for you to ready your home for wildfire season.  So hopefully you've gotten out and started clearing that defensible space, and removed those pesky limbs hanging low in your driveway.  If you are still sitting there on your couch, having a glass of iced tea and dreaming of what sort of projects you can do next to prepare your home for fire season, or if you are considering a major home renovation soon we suggest that you involve some of these larger projects for your wildfire preparedness efforts.

• Change your roofing and/or siding materials.  There is perhaps nothing more attractive than the look of  natural cedar shakes on the roof or side of your home.  Unfortunately, though it's beautiful, cedar is one of the worst things you can have on the exterior of your home.  Sparks and embers from far away wildfires can easily blow miles ahead of the flames, and once these red hots find contact in the nooks and crannies of your shake siding or roofing it's only a matter of time before your house is burning.  We suggest non combustible siding and roofing materials, like cement based products, metal roofing, or even composition roofing material is better than cedar. 
  
• Enclose your eaves, and underneath decks or porches.  These open areas are like candy to the sparks and embers of a wildfire and are another hidden area where a wildfire can easily spread to your home.  If you don't want to completely enclose these places, using 1/8" metal screen is another alternative that can prevent burning embers from entering the hidden areas of your home.
  
• Replace old single pane windows with new, more efficient, heat resistant, tempered glass windows.  Sometimes even the radiant heat from a nearby wildfire can ignite items inside your home without the direct contact of a flame, heat resistant windows can prevent that from happening.
  
• Consider improvements for firefighting water supplies on your home.  This is more than just having a swimming pool or a creek nearby.  We need to be able to get to within 20 feet of the water on an all weather surface such as asphalt or gravel.  Water tanks must have the appropriate connections to be effective, contact your local fire department if you have a water source that they can use, and have it evaluated. 
  
• Install residential fire sprinkler systems in your home.  These are the single most important fire safety tool out there to protect your home, and though they may not prevent a wildfire from damaging your home, they will likely prevent your home fire from becoming a wildfire.  Residential fire sprinklers are literally like having an entire fire department in your home 24/7.  The damage created by their flow of water is nothing compared to the damage of a fire and the water damage associated with our firefighting operations.  

So, if money isn't an option, you're planning a major home remodel, or you want to go the extra mile to make your home as safe as possible we hope that you consider these "big ticket" options for improving your home for fire season.