Protecting Your Coastal Home from the Elements

Rust never sleeps. – Neil Young

Owning a coastal home beside the sea is a cherished dream for many Americans. For those who have transitioned from dreaming about owning a coastal home to making that dream a reality, it’s essential to know how to protect your prized property beyond the vital need of NJ Coastal Home Insurance.  

Whether you plan to use your home for a year-round vacation experience, part-time rental, or full-time living, there are advisable actions to take and potential situations to know about that will help you maintain and enjoy the property. That’s because owning a coastal home beside the sea presents a unique set of challenges that, if left unmet, can cause significant damage. 

Informed Choices Lead to Lasting Value

Professionally written homeowner insurance helps protect against natural disasters such as flooding and hurricanes. But there is another line of defense necessary to give your coastal home lasting value. It is in the choices you make regarding your home’s exterior and interior components, finishes, and furnishings. 

Saltwater and mists laden with airborne salt are corrosive elements that shorten the life of everything they contact. Additionally, the combination of sunlight, humidity, pollution, mildew, fungi, and pests add to the factors that attack the structural integrity of your coastal home inside and out. 

Create Your First Line of Coastal Home Defense Outdoors

Start your defense outdoors. Your gutters and landscaping design must move water away from your home. Then consider your roofing and exterior paint and finishes for your home, outbuildings, decks, and dock should you have one. 

Conventional roofing materials present problems for coastal homes. Asphalt shingles absorb the sun’s heat, and the radiant energy emits warmth into the house, causing extra pressure on your HVAC equipment. Clay tiles are durable but heavy. In inclement weather, they absorb moisture that increases their weight by as much as 15 percent. Over time, the extra weight stresses the entire structure, particularly the roof. Alternating cycles from wet to dry are a leading cause of cedar shakes and shingles to cup and warp. Modern metal roofing components can replicate the look and feel of cedar shakes.

The paints and finishes you use on your property’s exterior must be weatherproof at a minimum. Research to learn if a ceramic base or other high-performance masonry paint formulated for oceanside homes is an option. This coating type has low-VOC and non-toxic qualities that can reflect as much as 90% of the sun’s rays. In high-humidity zones, stains, paints, and treatments for decks, docks, and other structures with exposed wood require chemical algaecides to avoid fungus, mold, and rot and reduce stress on all wood products from wood’s natural expansion and contraction capacities.  

Outdoor furniture built with quality artificial materials will usually outlast wood products. It is a good idea to treat outdoor wood furniture to combat the elements. Well-fitting covers will further protect your outdoor furniture. Using pressure-treated wood on decks, docks, outbuildings, and furniture helps beat back the attack of corrosive elements found in coastal locations. 

Be Warned: Salt Eats Metal

Microscopic bits of salt deposited on untreated metal components leads to corrosive damage. Choosing fiberglass products wherever possible for doors and windows is prudent. Fiberglass is superior to vinyl and aluminum, making it a top option to those less resilient products. Using stainless steel materials is more expensive initially but will pay you back multiple times in product longevity because they rust at a much slower rate than other metals.

Weather-stripping your doors and windows slow their degeneration and reduce heating and cooling costs. Treating all exposed metal surfaces from the array of available products will slow the pace of rusting on metals in your home.

Protecting the Interior of Your Coastal Home 

Wood flooring adds warmth and style but deteriorates from constant exposure to moisture. Stone, porcelain, and human-made products are better choices in most cases. Installing stainless steel fixtures and hardware on the inside and outside of your coastal home will lengthen their use. Using high-quality fade-resistant fabrics and paints on the inside of your home helps retain its original look and retard its ultimate replacement.

At the Dickstein Agency, we recognize protecting your coastal home from human actions and natural causes is critical to financial wellbeing and peace of mind. There is no point in having a place to get away from it all if you can’t relax and not worry about it. We’re here to help. 

Whether you own a home on the Jersey Shore or South Hampton, we’ve got markets to provide you with Property and Liability NJ Coastal Home Insurance. Policies are designed to cover losses affecting the dwelling, its contents, loss of use, loss of rental income and loss of personal possessions (for those renting out their homes), and personal liability.

About Dickstein Associates Agency

Dickstein Associates Agency has distinguished itself as a leading provider of personal and business insurance in the tri-state area for over 55 years. We pride ourselves on being advocates for our clients and providing them with quality and affordable coverages. As Trusted Choice™ independent insurance agency, we partner with various national and regional carriers, allowing for flexible and unbiased coverage for each client’s unique circumstances. For more information on how you can leverage all of your insurance to work best for you, and how we can secure the best insurance in the marketplace based on your specific needs and business objectives, contact us today at (800) 862-6662.