How to storm-proof your home, from roof tiles to garden fences

With an extremely wet and windy winter forecast, take steps to keep you and your home safe and dry

With the Met Office warning that this year’s supersized El Niño could mean a wet and stormy winter lies ahead, it’s never been more important to maintain your home.

Payouts for storm damage to UK homes surged 32% to £244m in 2025 amid the destruction caused by the heavy rain and strong winds that accompanied the likes of Storm Éowyn and Storm Floris.

But that is just part of the picture, with total claims for weather damage to homes and possessions hitting £758m last year, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). It says this figure points to “the toll that increasingly severe weather is taking on homes”.

However, experts say regular maintenance can help prevent damage to your property. With that in mind, here are practical steps you can take to make sure your home is best-placed to ride out the storms.

Inspect your roof

Alex Peters, a cost guide expert at Checkatrade, says: “The primary line of defence begins at roof level, where high winds will dislodge weak structures and create hazardous flying debris that could damage your home.”

Tiles often become broken or loose, or slip. Ideally you would get up there to have a look, but only do so if you have the proper safety equipment – otherwise, call a professional.

Peters says: “It is important to undertake regular roof and chimney inspections to make sure they’re structurally sound. A standard professional roof inspection averages about £250 per visit to check for loose tiles or mortar decay.”

Most roof repairs cost between £110 and £160 a sq metre, depending on roof type and materials, according to Checkatrade.

A buildup of moss can cause moisture damage to tiles and the wood underneath them, so remove it if you can. The best time is after a dry spell, when you can brush it off with a stiff broom (but don’t attempt this without the proper safety equipment).

Roof “furniture” such as chimneys, skylights and vents is sealed with metal strips called flashing, which should sit flush, with no gaps where water can seep in. If yours does not, you can buy flashing strips, roof sealant and caulk in most DIY stores but, again, this repair job might be better-suited to a professional.

Maintain your gutters

Peters says: “Gutters channel heavy rain safely away from your roofline down to external drains, but if they’re blocked, water can pool and lead to a range of issues.”

These include water seeping into brickwork and causing internal damp, or uncontrolled drainage which erodes the soil around your home’s foundations and, over time, can destabilise them.

Now is a good time to clean them out and make any repairs. The cost depends on the size of your home but sits at about £20-30 an hour for a skilled tradesperson, according to Checkatrade.

Andy Simms, of home service marketplace MyBuilder, says that any trees near your house should be checked now, adding: “Overhanging or unhealthy trees can cause all sorts of property damage, alongside clogging drains.”

Pruning can usually be completed for about £100, but for bigger jobs, a tree surgeon typically costs £240-£400 a day depending on where you live.

… and don’t forget the brickwork

Inspect walls for obvious weak spots, including cracked render, staining or places where rainwater collects.

Michael Davie, from specialist home improvement firm PureBuilt, says one of the biggest issues homeowners underestimate is damp caused by small external defects. “A cracked or damaged section of render might not look serious at first, but if water is able to get behind it, the problem can spread quickly,” he says.

“We regularly see cases where what could have been a relatively straightforward repair becomes a much bigger job because the source of the moisture has been left untreated. A repair of about £500 can turn into thousands of pounds once damp has affected plaster, internal finishes or larger areas of the property.”

Seal your windows and doors

Repair any cracks or seals around your doors and windows. Peters says: “If there are any gaps or cracks, apply draught excluder tape or caulk to help prevent drafts and water from getting in.”

Window sealant costs about £10 for a 300ml tube, while draught-proofing tape works out at £5-£15 a roll. Another low-cost fix is a door seal – typically a piece of rubber, vinyl or silicone fitted around the frame or on the door edge. You can use basic self-adhesive foam strips or spend more on brush seals and compression strips (and don’t forget letterbox and keyhole covers).

Hiring a professional to weatherstrip drafty openings runs at about £50 a window or £100 for each external door, according to Checkatrade.

Secure your garden

Plant pots, garden furniture and trampolines should be stored inside or secured before a storm. Gates and fences are particularly susceptible to wind damage and for this reason most standard buildings insurance policies will not let you claim for the cost of repairing them.

You could reinforce your fence with concrete posts and look at replacing the panels with ones that are 50% wind-permeable (these have gaps that let the wind through without toppling over). For repairs, the price varies depending on the material, but for fence panels it typically costs £45 while fence posts cost about £25. The big cost is labour, and this varies depending on where you live and the amount of work involved, but £950 is a ballpark figure.

Insulate your pipes

Damage caused by frozen and burst pipes can be significant. Household insurers settled roughly 8,000 claims for weather-related pipe damage in 2024, paying out £250m in total, according to the ABI. The average claim was almost £33,000.

Insulating exposed hot water pipes is an easy DIY job. Inexpensive pipe insulation (often called pipe lagging) is available from most DIY stores, and fitting it could also shave about £6 off your annual energy bill, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Most modern hot water tanks have plenty of insulation, but an older tank might only have a small amount. Adding an 80mm jacket to a tank with 25mm foam built in can save homeowners in Great Britain £45 a year, says the Trust. The jackets cost about £20 and are widely available from DIY retailers.

Also locate your stopcock – it is usually under the kitchen sink. This valve allows you to turn off the incoming water supply. That’s vital if a pipe bursts, and you might also want to use it if you are leaving your property unoccupied. It is a good idea to clear remaining water from the pipes after turning the supply off.

Get emergency supplies

The government is urging people to “get prepared” for emergencies by stocking up on essentials such as bottled water and tinned food. Your emergency kit should include a portable mobile phone charger, torches and batteries, blankets and warm clothing. Also keep a list of emergency numbers to hand. These should include 105 for a power cut or 0800 111999 for a gas leak.

Think about getting your boiler serviced. “Freezing storm conditions can cause indoor temperatures to drop rapidly, forcing boilers to work harder,” Peters says. “Servicing catches pressure drops, sediment buildup or worn components that could trigger a system lockout under heavy load.” A service typically costs about £100, but prices vary depending on the type of boiler.

Prevent flooding

Flood resilience champion Mary Long-Dhonau, who is behind the Flood Mary campaign, has a directory of builders who specialise in flood-related work on her website.

Long-Dhonau warns that an “awful lot of water can enter your home via the airbricks – in fact, it is often the first place flood water can enter into a home”. She recommends replacing them with Kitemarked self-closing airbricks. Alternatively, you can buy temporary covers. In an emergency she suggests creating a temporary seal using wide aluminium tape – one large roll can cover multiple airbricks and can be bought online or in DIY shops. (Once the danger of flooding has passed, you should remove any temporary coverings to allow for proper air circulation and temperature regulation.)

People often assume that flood protection means spending many thousands of pounds – and it can, says FPS Group founder Simon Crowther, who is also known as “The Flood Guy”. But some individual measures are more accessible.

“A basic domestic flood pump setup can be in the low hundreds of pounds, and a door barrier may be a few hundred pounds,” he says. “Current examples on the market put small complete pump kits at about £150 upwards, and some domestic door barriers at about £400-£600.”

If you already own flood-protection equipment, now is the time to test it.

“Check flood barrier seals and fixings, make sure all the parts are actually there, and practise fitting it,” he says. “If you have a pump, run it and check the hose, connections, float switch or sensor.”

Will my home insurance cover me?

Buildings and contents insurance typically provides some cover for weather or storm damage, says Amy Rootham, an insurance expert at price comparison website Compare the Market. It may also fund alternative accommodation if your home is uninhabitable.

But insurers have specific criteria for what constitutes a storm, which may include wind speed or rainfall intensity. Also, this sort of insurance is designed to cover sudden and unforeseen damage, so they will assess whether the storm was the direct cause of the problem, or if it exposed an issue already in need of repair.

Rootham says home insurance premiums have been falling over the past two years but warns not to “focus on price alone” when comparing policies. “Check the cover limits, excesses and exclusions carefully,”she says.