Although it’s devastating to imagine your home as the victim of a fire, this uncommon scenario is not impossible. Cooking mistakes, faulty wiring, and unattended candles can all cause fires from within, and open flames, like campfires or barbecue grills, can cause a fire right in your backyard.
It’s unlikely that flames will destroy your home, but in the event of a fire, you deserve to have peace of mind your house is as safe as possible while you wait for the fire department to arrive. One key to this is having siding that is resistant to fire damage.
Take these simple steps to make your exterior fire resistant today, so you can protect your Dayton home from fire damage in the future.
Practical Tips for Preventing Fire Damage to Your Dayton Home’s Exterior
1. Install Noncombustible Home Exterior Materials
If you are considering replacing your home’s siding, windows, or roofing system, choose from the following fire-resistant solutions:
- Use roofing materials that aren’t flammable, like metal, clay, and tile.
- Cover your home’s eaves, vents, and soffits with noncombustible metal screening rather than fiberglass or plastic mesh that can melt.
- Install dual-pane, tempered-glass windows to minimize the likelihood of your windows breaking during a fire.
- Minimize the number and/or size of windows near dense vegetation.
- Replace your home’s meltable vinyl or flammable wood siding with a fire-resistant material, like stucco or Hardie siding (which can look like stucco).
- When you replace your siding, ensure your trim and other accessories are made from fire-resistant products.
- Install a noncombustible gutter cover to minimize the number of flammable debris, leaves, and twigs that will gather in your gutters.
- Cover your chimney with a nonflammable screen and keep your flue closed when your fireplace is not in use.
2. Create Defensible Space
The second step to creating a fire-resistant exterior is to relocate flammable objects far away from your home. To do this, you can:
- Remove dead trees, bushes, leaves, grass, weeds, and other types of combustible vegetation away from your siding.
- Relocate flammable objects, like stacks of wood, out from under your deck and away from your home.
- If you have a wooden fence, disconnect your fence from your house, or connect the last five feet with noncombustible materials.
3. Perform Regular Home Maintenance
Maintenance chores keep your home in great shape, but specific tasks can also help to prevent fires from spreading. Complete this checklist to prevent home fires:
- Trim tree branches that hang close to your siding or over your roof.
- Mow your lawn frequently and remove any leftover cuttings.
- Remove loose twigs, leaves, and other debris from your gutters and roof at least two times per year.
- Prune your shrubs and trees, so the branches are at least six feet from the ground.
4. Use Strategic Landscape Techniques
Before you add any plants to your yard, be mindful of the following ways to minimize fire hazards with your landscape design:
- When you plant trees, space them out at least ten feet apart to minimize the likelihood of fire spreading rapidly from tree to tree.
- Keep vegetation away from fire hydrants and water reservoirs.
5. Make Your Home Reachable
In the event of a house fire, it’s crucial to make your property accessible to the fire department so they can extinguish the flames quickly.
You can perform the following tasks to make your home accessible to firefighters:
- Ensure your home’s address is easily visible from the road.
- Verify your gates (if applicable) open inward, and your driveway is wide enough to accommodate fire trucks and bulky equipment.
- Provide multiple outdoor water sources, like garden hoses, that can reach all areas of your property.
Protect Your Home from Fires with America’s #1 Siding Brand — James Hardie
As we mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to protect your home from fire damage is by replacing your flammable exterior with a fire-resistant, low-maintenance siding material.
James Hardie siding is beloved by homeowners across the country for its durability, beauty, and moisture resistance. However, homeowners searching to add additional value to their neighborhood love this popular siding option for its fire-resistant qualities.
Unlike vinyl and wood siding, Hardie siding’s fiber cement makeup won’t melt or contribute fuel to a flame. Specifically, Hardie siding is recognized by fire departments nationwide for its Class A fire rating. You may even receive a discount on your insurance when you share with your provider that your home is protected with fiber cement siding!
Invest in Fire-Resistant Siding You Can Count on with American Way
If you’d like to take the first step in making your home fire-resistant by installing non-combustible fiber cement siding—our team can help.
American Way Exteriors is the only James Hardie Elite Preferred Contractor in the Dayton area. Our skilled installation team has completed thorough training from the James Hardie company, so you can be confident we’ll install your siding the right way to protect your warranties.
Learn more about the many benefits of James Hardie siding to decide if this fire-resistant material may be the perfect addition to your home’s exterior!
