2026 Hurricane Season Prep: A Baldwin County Homeowner’s Handyman Checklist

Why Baldwin County Homeowners Need to Act Now

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1. That is 10 days from this publication date. For Gulf Coast homeowners in Baldwin County — one of the most hurricane-exposed counties in the continental United States — June 1 is not a distant deadline. It is the moment when your preparation window closes and storm watches open.

Baldwin County has been in the direct path of multiple named storms in the past decade. Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley, and Fairhope have each absorbed hurricane-force conditions that turned deferred maintenance into emergency repairs overnight. The homeowners who come through those events with minimal damage share a common trait: they prepared the property before June, not after a watch was posted.

The handyman booking problem is real. When a storm track targets the Gulf Coast, every contractor, handyman, and repair service in Baldwin County fills their calendar within 24–48 hours. Homeowners who call on June 28 when a Cat 2 is 72 hours out hear the same answer from every number they dial: not available until after the storm. The correct time to address pre-season deficiencies is May — which is right now.

Pre-Season Checklist: Exterior (By Urgency)

Start outside. The exterior of your Gulf Coast home is where storm damage originates, and where pre-season repairs have the highest return. Work through this in order of urgency — roof first, then each subsequent system.

🏠 Roof Inspection

A roof inspection is the single highest-priority pre-hurricane prep item for any Baldwin County homeowner. Missing, curling, or lifting shingles are the most common vector for hurricane water intrusion — and the most common source of insurance claims. A shingle that was marginal before a storm becomes a failure during 80+ mph wind gusts.

What to look for from grade: missing shingles, shingles that have lifted or curled at the edges, flashing that has pulled away from walls or chimney transitions, visible soft spots in the roof deck (sagging or waviness), and any areas where granule loss is visible as bare asphalt. If you have not had a professional inspection in the past 12 months, schedule one. Our home repair service includes storm damage assessment and can document roof condition for your insurance carrier.

🌧 Gutter Cleaning and Downspout Check

Clogged gutters become projectiles in hurricane-force wind. They also funnel hundreds of gallons of stormwater against your foundation during heavy rain events — the kind that accompany Gulf Coast storms even when they track north of your location. Clean gutters in May, verify all downspout extensions are intact and routing water at least 3–4 feet from the foundation, and check that gutter hangers are secure. Salt air corrodes the fasteners that hold gutters to fascia at three times the inland rate — a gutter that looks fine visually may be one gust away from pulling free.

🌀 Window and Door Sealing

Every window and exterior door on your Gulf Coast home is a potential storm water entry point. Before June, inspect and replace weatherstripping on all exterior doors — run your hand along the frame perimeter with the door closed and feel for gaps. Check window sills and the caulk seal where window frames meet siding — in coastal Alabama’s UV exposure and humidity, exterior caulk typically needs replacement every 2–3 years. Our door and window repair service covers full weatherstripping replacement, seal assessment, and caulking for all window and door penetrations.

🌳 Deck and Fence Reinforcement

A deck that hasn’t been inspected since last summer may have fastener corrosion, soft ledger board connections, or post base rot that isn’t visible without a probe. Before hurricane season, walk your deck with a flathead screwdriver and probe any wood that looks discolored — if the screwdriver sinks in without resistance, the wood is compromised and needs replacement before a storm loads it. Secure any loose fence panels that could become wind-driven debris. Our deck and fence repair service handles full pre-season reinforcement, from board replacements to post resets.

🌧 Pressure Washing: Debris Removal and Surface Diagnostic

A thorough pre-season pressure wash does two things: it removes the algae, pollen, and accumulated debris that can become airborne projectile material in high wind, and it exposes the true condition of your exterior surfaces. Paint failures, wood deterioration, concrete spalling, and siding damage that have been masked by a season of growth become clearly visible after pressure washing — giving you time to address them before June 1. Our pressure washing service covers the full exterior, concrete surfaces, and deck.

Pre-Season Checklist: Interior

Interior prep is less dramatic than exterior reinforcement, but the failures that result from skipping it are equally expensive. These items focus on preventing storm water that does get in from becoming a mold and structural disaster.

🏠 Drywall Inspection: Moisture Damage Prevention

Walk every interior wall and ceiling slowly before storm season. Look for: brown or yellow water stain rings from past roof or window leaks, areas where paint looks newer or has a different sheen (patch jobs over staining), and any drywall that feels soft or sounds hollow when tapped. These are early indicators of moisture intrusion that will worsen dramatically if a storm brings additional water through the same pathways. Address the source — typically a roof penetration or failed window seal — and repair the interior damage before June. Our drywall repair service handles moisture-damaged panel replacement and mold-resistant priming.

🚪 Door and Window Interior Check

After checking exterior seals, check interior function: any door or window that doesn’t close and latch securely is a storm vulnerability. Salt air-corroded hardware, swollen frames from summer humidity, and hardware that has never been lubricated can all prevent doors and windows from seating properly during a storm. A door that rattles in its frame at normal conditions will leak significantly in 70 mph wind-driven rain. Our door and window repair service covers hardware replacement, frame adjustment, and full seal inspection.

🏴 Bathroom Caulking

Storm water that finds its way into a home during a hurricane moves through every available path — including failed bathroom caulk seals around tubs, showers, and sinks. Pre-season is the right time to remove and replace any caulk showing cracking, separation, or mold. Fresh mold-resistant caulk around all wet areas also prevents the secondary moisture issues that develop in the weeks after a storm when humidity inside the house spikes. Our bathroom repair service covers full caulk removal and replacement as a standalone service call.

🏠 Painting: Exterior Sealing and Waterproofing

Exterior paint is not cosmetic on the Gulf Coast — it is the primary moisture barrier on wood and fiber cement siding. Any exterior surface with peeling, blistering, or bare spots is actively absorbing water with every rain event, well before hurricane season begins. A pre-season exterior repaint or touch-up that addresses these areas adds a critical waterproofing layer before storms arrive. Our exterior painting service uses 100% acrylic latex products rated for coastal Alabama conditions.

Emergency Readiness: Board-Up, Generator, and Drainage

Beyond repair and maintenance, there are three emergency readiness items that every Baldwin County homeowner should address before June 1.

• ✓Board-up service availability. Know your contractor before you need one. When a storm track is confirmed, local board-up capacity fills within hours. Have a confirmed contact — and ideally pre-measured plywood dimensions for your windows — before the season opens. We provide board-up assessment and can document your window dimensions in advance as part of a pre-season inspection.
• ✓Generator hookup prep. If you have or plan to acquire a portable generator, have a licensed electrician install a proper transfer switch before storm season — running a generator directly into a dryer outlet or extension cord is a fire and electrocution hazard. If you have a standby generator, test it now and verify the auto-transfer switch function. A generator that hasn’t run since last year may not start when you need it.
• ✓Drainage assessment. Walk the perimeter of your property after a heavy rain to observe where water pools and where it flows. Areas where water drains toward the foundation are a storm-surge and heavy rain vulnerability. Pre-season grading corrections — adding topsoil to redirect flow, extending downspouts, or clearing blocked drainage swales — are the least expensive drainage fixes available. They become expensive after a storm proves the problem. Our home repair service includes drainage assessment as part of pre-season inspections.

City-Specific Storm Exposure: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fairhope, Foley

Baldwin County is not a monolith when it comes to hurricane risk. The four primary markets we serve have meaningfully different storm exposure profiles, which changes the priority order of your pre-season prep.

Homeowners in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach face the highest combination of wind speed and storm surge risk in the county. Fairhope and Daphne properties on bluff or waterfront exposures should treat their prep as coastal-equivalent. Inland communities like Foley, Robertsdale, and Loxley still experience significant wind and rain events from Gulf storms that track northeast after landfall. The prep steps above apply county-wide; the urgency level scales with proximity to the coast.

Pre-Season Service Booking: Timing and What to Expect

A pre-hurricane handyman inspection from Coastal Craft Handyman covers the full exterior walkthrough (roof visual, gutters, siding, windows, doors, deck, fence, drainage), interior check (drywall, door and window function, weatherstripping, caulk condition), and a prioritized findings list with same-day repair options for anything we can address immediately.

We serve all of Baldwin County from our base in Lillian, Alabama: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fairhope, Daphne, Spanish Fort, Foley, Robertsdale, Loxley, and Bay Minette. Pre-season inspection and repair scheduling is available now. See our Complete Gulf Coast Home Maintenance Guide for the full year-round context on Gulf Coast property care.

Frequently Asked Questions