Should You Rebuild Your Home After a Disaster?

Natural disasters and other destructive events can be over relatively fast. The earth stops shaking. The flood waters recede. The fire is extinguished. 

But for those whose homes are damaged or destroyed, the end of the disaster marks only the beginning of the recovery. For many, the big decision of whether to rebuild their home looms large, with stress, fear and often trauma, still fresh. This adds an intense emotional element to the decision-making process. 

“You’re trying to make a very emotional decision while you’re dealing with what’s happening to you and your family,” says Kim Hibbs, owner of Hibbs Homes, a custom new-home builder in Chesterfield, Mo. “Many times, you’re living out of a hotel. You have no clothes. You could be depending on the Red Cross for a while. Sooner or later, you must make a difficult decision: Are we going to move or are we going to rebuild?” 

There is a lot that will influence your decision to rebuild your home after a natural disaster, or move on, including insurance coverage, likelihood of a disaster reoccurring, as well as reconciling your emotional attachment. 

Grieve the Loss 

Your house isn’t just your shelter, it is your home, where you have established your roots and created memories. Even though you may have to make a decision relatively quickly as to whether you rebuild your home or move elsewhere, give yourself time, space and grace to acknowledge and grieve the loss of your home, and all that it represents. 

Let yourself feel all the feelings, and in the process establish a plan to rebuild your life post-disaster, whether that means rebuilding your home or not.  

Determine the Level of Damage 

When it is safe to return to your home post-disaster, assess the damage. Determine what structural and other damage has been done, which will help inform the scope of the job ahead, if you choose to rebuild. 

When you are in the planning stages, it is advisable to bring in a structural engineer or inspector to properly and accurately assess the damage. 

If you’ve sustained flood damage, mold growth is a concern, which could happen later on, if the affected areas are not remediated properly, which can not only affect your home’s structure, but the indoor air quality in your home as well. 

Learn About Climate Risk and Other Threats in Your Area Before You Rebuild 

Another consideration should be whether the risk of repeated disasters can be mitigated during the rebuilding process, says Richard Frazao, president of Quaketek, a company in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that manufactures seismic friction dampeners.

Some homes suffer disasters rarely. Others are flooded every year, are built on active earthquake fault lines or prone to hurricanes or other seasonal disasters.

“If the risk is recurring and significant enough, then before you rebuild or repair, you need to take measures to reduce the risk,” Frazao says.

This study found that over half of the structures in the U.S. are in natural disaster hotspots. What’s more is that many structures are built in areas where they are vulnerable to multiple types of disasters. 

Before you rebuild, do a risk assessment, gathering information from multiple sources to help determine the likelihood of a disaster reoccurring. Is this a risk that you are comfortable with, or will it be a source of worry?  

Frazao advises homeowners to put all their options down on paper and compare the costs, as well as the probability factors of the risks in each scenario.

“With this information you can at the very least make an informed decision, but you can’t ignore the risk of recurrence,” he says.

What Does Your Insurance Cover? How Does This Affect Your Budget? 

Inform your insurance company as soon as you can post-disaster. Find out the details of your policy and what is covered and what is not. Expect that your insurer may want to do an onsite inspection of damage, depending on what the claim is. 

Much of the decision to rebuild or not may be driven by the homeowner’s insurance company and coverage, Hibbs says. A policy that includes replacement cost, building code upgrades and temporary living expenses can make rebuilding easier. 

Depending on the nature of the disaster that destroyed your home, your premiums may increase, in some cases substantially, or you may have a hard time even getting insurance coverage, if you are intending to rebuild in the same spot. Is this within your budget going forward? 

Post-disaster rebuilds often turn into remodeling jobs because homeowners want to upgrade rather than just replace. Sometimes, upgrades can be shoehorned into the budget by making tradeoffs. Other times, homeowners spend more out of pocket to enhance their new home. 

Remember, there may be a gap between what you are offered through insurance compensation for your old home, and the cost of upgrades.  

The cost of building materials can come as a surprise. 

“Prices fluctuate constantly,” says Regan Youngs, director of business operations at BMR Homes, especially if upgrades are on the wish-list post disaster. 

For example, “A custom-cabinet kitchen is going to cost a lot more than what your pre-existing cabinets were worth,” says Youngs 

What Amenities Will Return to Your Neighborhood? 

When disaster strikes a whole neighborhood or region, chances are your neighborhood amenities may have been destroyed or damaged in the process as well. Are there plans for shops, restaurants, parks, schools and churches to be rebuilt? What’s the expected timeline? This may influence whether you stay or go. 

How would you feel about living in your neighborhood without all of your necessary amenities nearby, even in the short term, if necessary?  

Plan to Build Back Better 

If you are rebuilding your home, take steps to build your home to be more resilient to disasters, especially if you learned your home was vulnerable in hindsight. 

While location is going to factor heavily into the likelihood that your home might suffer disaster damage, you can mitigate the risk with the right materials and tech. 

Determine what the scope of the project is. Are you doing a ground-up rebuild, or are you repairing and restoring your home after damage? 

As with any home building or renovation project, shop around and get quotes and feedback from multiple sources (at least three). Ask for references and seek out reviews online.  

With the help of your contractor or builder, become familiar with local building codes, and make sure they are adhered to as a minimum, and consider additional safety measures. Be sure to follow the proper permitting process. 

When building a home, attention is often first directed towards interior design inspiration, layouts and other features, but in the wake of a disaster, you should focus on features and materials that are disaster resilient as a first step. 

Start With a Strong Foundation 

Ensure that your foundation is strong to withstand storms and other events. Reinforced concrete and anchoring systems are your best bet during a hurricane or flood. Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)  foundations are a must-have if your priority is protecting against fire damage.  

If you are at risk of flooding, consider raising the foundation. 

Storm-Proof the Roof 

Some of the most durable roof materials include slate, metal and asphalt. The shape and design of the roof can either help or hurt when disaster strikes to protect your home.  

Go for a hip roof or flat roof to protect from wind events. However, if your priority is to protect against fire, a sloped roof is better than a flat one, as the shape provides a more protective path from embers. 

Reinforce Windows 

Windows are a point of weakness in a building envelope. Reinforce them with extra glazing to withstand heat, or choose impact-resistant windows to hold up against wind events. Also install storm shutters over windows for extra protection. 

Install Tech for Peace of Mind 

Whatever your home design, update your tech to protect your family. From monitoring systems that detect water damage, fire or other structural issues, to sprinkler and alarm systems, to back-up generators, having systems in place can help you be proactive to protect your new home against another disaster.