The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and in South Florida the historical peak of activity falls in August through October. That timing is the whole argument for this checklist: the work below belongs in April and May, not in the week a cone appears on the news.
This is an exterior-envelope checklist. It does not replace your building's full emergency plan, your association's statutory obligations, or guidance from Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County emergency management. Check those sources for evacuation, life-safety and reporting requirements.
Before the season — April and May
The façade itself
Everything on this list is read from the outside of the building, at height. That is the part a ground-level walkthrough cannot cover.
- Sealant joints. Look for joints that have gone hard, cracked, pulled away from the substrate, or been repaired badly. A failed joint is a water path before the storm and a bigger one after it.
- Glazing. Cracked or chipped units, failed gaskets, and any pane that has moved in its frame. Wind pressure finds the weakest unit on the elevation.
- Loose or corroded fixings. Anything mechanically attached to the façade — signage, decorative panels, lighting, railings, brackets, trellises — is a projectile if it lets go at 120 mph.
- Balcony railings and glass. Fixings at the base, corrosion at the embed, and any glass panel that is cracked.
- Rooftop equipment restraint. Mechanical units, dishes, antennas and anything not through-bolted.
- Drainage. Scuppers, roof drains and balcony drains that are blocked. A building that cannot shed water fast enough during a storm floods from the top.
The paperwork
- Anchorage certification. If a storm damages your façade, you will want a rope access crew on the building within days. That is impossible if nobody can find written certification for the roof anchors. Sort this in the spring — it is the single most common reason emergency work is delayed. (More on this obligation in what IRATA and SPRAT certification actually mean.)
- Photograph the building now. Every elevation, dated. Pre-storm condition photography is what separates a clean insurance claim from an argument about pre-existing damage.
- Know who you will call. Get the contractor relationship in place before the season. After a major storm every rope access, glass and roofing contractor in South Florida is booked.
When a storm is named
At this point the window for repair work has closed. What is left is securing and documenting.
- Clear all balconies and terraces. Furniture, planters, umbrellas, grills, décor. Issue the notice early enough that residents leaving town can comply.
- Secure or remove rooftop and podium items that are not permanently fixed.
- Take a final photo pass of every elevation and the roof.
- Confirm your emergency contacts — contractor, glazier, insurer, engineer — and confirm they are reachable.
- Check that board-up material or a supplier is identified. After landfall, plywood is the first thing to disappear.
Immediately after — the first 48 hours
The order here matters, and the first item is not the building.
- Control the ground before inspecting anything. Broken glass on an upper floor may not have fallen yet. Close sidewalks, entrances, pool decks and parking beneath any suspect elevation before people start walking around assessing damage.
- Look up from a safe distance, with binoculars or a long lens. Note cracked or missing glass, displaced panels, hanging debris, and anything that has shifted.
- Do not send untrained staff to the roof or over the edge. Post-storm roofs have loose debris, damaged anchors and standing water, and the wind is often still gusting.
- Photograph everything before it is touched, with dates. This is the evidence for your claim.
- Get an assessment of the envelope from someone who can actually reach it. Damage that matters is frequently not visible from the ground: displaced flashing, opened joints, glass that has cracked but not fallen, anchors that have moved.
- Secure the openings. Emergency board-up closes the envelope against the next rain band, which in an active season is often days away, not weeks. What that looks like in practice is covered in the first four hours after a glass panel fails.
What rope access changes about all of this
After a major storm, lift and crane availability collapses and street access is often blocked by debris. Rope access needs neither. A two-person team working from certified roof anchors can assess a full elevation and secure openings while heavier equipment is still waiting for a road to be cleared.
That is only true, however, if the anchors on your roof are certified before the storm. This is the part of the checklist that is easy to skip in April and impossible to fix in September.
Frequently asked
When should pre-season façade work actually happen?
April and May. The season opens 1 June and historically peaks between August and October, so work scheduled for July is already competing with everyone else who left it late — and any repair identified in an inspection needs lead time for materials.
What is the most commonly missed item on a South Florida high-rise?
Loose mechanically-fixed items on the façade — signage, decorative panels, light fixtures and brackets. Sealant gets attention because leaks are visible indoors. A corroded signage bracket produces no symptom at all until it becomes a projectile.
Can we inspect the façade ourselves from the balconies?
You can see some things, and it is better than nothing. What you cannot do from a balcony is read the joints and fixings on the elevations between and above the balconies, which is where most of the vulnerability sits.
How fast can a crew get on the building after a storm?
It depends far more on your paperwork than on the contractor. A building with current anchorage certification, known roof access and a pre-existing contractor relationship can start almost immediately. A building starting from zero is waiting on certification before anyone can legally begin.
Sources
- National Hurricane Center / NOAA — season dates and forecasts: nhc.noaa.gov
- OSHA — walking-working surfaces, personal fall protection, and hurricane response and recovery guidance: osha.gov
- Your county emergency management office — Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach — for local requirements and orders
- IRATA International — International Code of Practice: irata.org
Skyhanger II Corp has worked South Florida high-rises since 1986, through more than one season. Pre-season façade inspections are best booked in the spring, and emergency response runs 24/7.
(954) 609-7870 · General@skyhanger2.com