The 20-Minute Check Before the First Nor'easter of the Season

Halloween weekend in Massachusetts is usually when the first real coastal storm shows up in the forecast. Here is the 20-minute walk-around that prevents most of the calls we get the morning after.

Outside, five minutes

• Downspouts connected and pointed away from the house. Put an extension on any that dump at the foundation.
• Window wells clear of leaves. A full window well is a basement flood waiting for rain.
• Patio furniture, grill covers, and trash barrels secured. A barrel through a basement window is a real call we have taken.

Basement, five minutes

• Sump pump test with a bucket of water. If it does not run, deal with it today.
• Anything on the floor near the walls goes up on a shelf. Boxes on a concrete floor are the first thing to wick water.
• Look at the bulkhead door for daylight at the edges. Weatherstrip it if you see any.

Attic and roof, five minutes

• From the ground, look for lifted or missing shingles and loose flashing at the chimney. A nor'easter drives rain sideways, and loose flashing lets it in.
• From inside the attic with a flashlight, look for daylight at the roof deck and for existing stains that could grow.

Inside, five minutes

• Find the main water shutoff and make sure it turns.
• Charge your phone and know where a flashlight is. Coastal storms take power out in Quincy and the South Shore more often than inland.
• Save our number. If water comes in, the sooner it is dried the smaller the repair.

If water does get in

Shut off power to the wet area if outlets are affected, get what you can off the floor, and call. We respond the same day across Greater Boston and start drying before the storm is over. The damage that costs the most is the water that sits for three days while people wait for the weather to clear.