There are plenty of lists for things you should keep stockpiled in case of an emergency situation. We have a few of them right here on this web site. Most of them focus on food and other supplies needed for basic survival. But you also need to keep some basic emergency home repair supplies on hand.
Most of the likely emergency situations we prepare for will be natural disasters. Natural
disasters can cause minimal to severe damage to our homes. The same place that we’ve chosen to keep the stockpiles of all of our other emergency supplies and the place where we expect to stay safe and survive. But if your home is even moderately damaged it can be impossible to use as a shelter.
If your home is moderately damaged, or even if it is severely damaged in one area, it doesn’t necessarily become uninhabitable. Even if the government declares a home too damaged to repair, you may still be able to use it as an emergency survival shelter, at least until you can find a better alternative. But staying in a damaged home will no doubt require at least some repairs, like covering a broken window or a hole in the roof.
By keeping the right basic supplies on hand you can handle a lot of basic repairs yourself. The repairs may not be perfect but they can be adequate enough to protect you, and your family, from the outside elements.
12 Emergency Home Repair Supplies
- Duct Tape.
Everyone knows how versatile duct tape is. You can use duct tape to create a temporary fix for so many things when you don’t have the proper materials on hand. If you don’t already have a good supply of duct tape be sure to stock up. In an emergency home repair situation, you’ll no doubt have plenty of ways you can use it. - Tarps. Tarps can be used for so many things. From covering a leak in your roof to a hole in a wall or a broken window. Tarps are easily the most flexible emergency home repair item you can keep on hand.
- Plastic Sheeting. Like a tarp, plastic sheeting can be used to cover a broken window. But plastic sheeting adds the advantages of letting light in while allowing you to keep an eye on the outside.
- Furring Strips. You can just staple or nail a tarp or sheet of plastic in place. But if the wind comes up it will most likely tear them loose. But if you nail them in down using furring strip or a piece of lath you will spread out the tension and help prevent tearing.
- Plywood. Using plywood is another quick and easy way to make a temporary repair for a hole in your roof or a wall. It’s stronger than a tarp and will work better if you have a larger, more significant repair to make.
- 2“ x 4“s. If you have enough 2X4s and some plywood you can build almost anything. Even a house. Think about this; you can even build yourself a smokehouse to cure any fish or meat you catch or shoot.
- Zip Ties. Plastic zip ties are almost as versatile as duct tape. They come in many different sizes and were originally used to bundle wires but they work well for tying almost anything together. Police even use them as temporary handcuffs.
- Caulk. In an emergency, home repair situation caulk is useful for repairing all kinds of small leaks. It can be useful can even be used, along with some of your other emergency supplies, to help create a leak-proof roof repair.
- Wire Nuts. Wire nuts are used to safely connect electrical wires together. If your home’s wiring is damaged you may have to disconnect part of your electrical system. In that case, wire nuts will be necessary to connect the sections that are working and to cap off unused hot wires.
- Plumbing Fittings. In an emergency situation if the area of your home that the pipes run through is the area that is damaged you’ll need to splice or even cap off some pipes to be able to use the plumbing in other areas of the house. So, in addition to plumbing fittings, be sure you also keep some plumbing adhesive and primer on hand.
- Hardware. You never know what type of hardware you may need in an emergency. Especially screws and nails. I keep an area in my garage organized with all types of hardware. From nuts to bolts to old hinges and, of course, screws and nails.
- Extension Cords. If you’re fortunate enough to have a generator available to provide you with electricity then you’re going to want enough extension cords to deliver that power to the whatever electrical devices or appliances you choose.
You can never have too many extension cords!
Keeping just these few emergency home repair supplies in stock can make a huge difference to you, and your family when disaster strikes. You may not be able to make your house good as new, at least not for a while, but these items can go a long way toward making your house safe, warm, dry and protected from the elements.
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But also keep in mind that you will have a variety of tools, manual tools, on hand to make repairs. If you don’t have an electrical generator and the power goes out, which it most likely will, power tools will be of no use even if you’ve stocked up on the materials you need for emergency home repair.