Building through hurricane season on the Texas Gulf Coast

Every June we pull the schedules for the jobs that will still be open in August and September and ask one question about each: will the roof be on? A building that is dried in before the peak of hurricane season is a building we can protect. A building that is framed and open is a bet against the weather, and on the Texas coast that is not a bet we like to make with an owner's opening date.

Dry-in before the peak

Storm season runs June through November, and the busiest weeks fall from mid-August into October. When a project starts in winter or spring, we sequence structure, roofing and exterior glazing so the envelope closes before that window. Our own roofing, framing and glazing crews make that possible, because we are not waiting for three subcontractors to line up their calendars in July. When a project has to start in summer, we plan the open-structure phase in short, defensible stages and keep the tarps, straps and pumps on site from day one.

The storm that never comes still costs you

A hurricane that lands three hundred miles away still empties the lumber yard, pulls the crane crew to a recovery job and puts the inspector on a two-week backlog. Suppliers and trades serve the whole coast. After a big storm, roofing material and generators disappear, and the price of what is left goes up. We buy exterior material ahead of the season when the job allows, and we keep the critical path on trades we control, so a regional squeeze slows us less than it slows a contractor who is calling around for a crew.

The week a storm is named

Our storm plan is written before the job starts, and the principal on the site runs it. Loose material gets banded or moved inside. Dumpsters are emptied and pulled. Cranes are lowered or removed. Fuel and pumps are staged. Openings get covered, upper floors get cleared of anything that can fly, and the site is photographed room by room and lot by lot. Then the crew goes home to their own families. After the storm we walk the site with the same photo set, document any damage against it and get the crews back the day the roads are open.

Paper before the wind

Builder's risk coverage is where an owner should look before the season, not after. Know what the policy says about named storms, flood, wind-driven rain and material stored on site versus off site. Know the deductible. Our pre-storm photo record and the daily log are what an adjuster wants to see, and they are what turn a claim into a check instead of an argument. If your lender has its own requirements, we get them in writing during pre-construction.

Buffer that is real, not decorative

A Gulf Coast schedule that has no float in August and September is a wish. We put weather days in the plan for the peak weeks and show the owner where they sit. If the season is quiet, the job finishes early and everyone is happy. If it is not, the opening date holds because the buffer was already there. The same principal who set the schedule is the one standing on the site when the forecast changes, and the one who calls the owner with the plan before the owner has to ask.

We build hotels, apartments, stores and gas stations along the Gulf Coast with the season written into the schedule and the opening date as the target. Send the plans and your start date and we will show you where the roof lands on the calendar.