Hurricane Prep Contractor Florida: 72-Hour Jobsite Checklist

Hurricane season runs June through November in Florida, and every contractor working outdoors needs a tested playbook. I learned this the hard way on pool builds in Tampa Bay. A named storm 72 hours out means you shift from normal ops to lockdown mode: secure open structures, photograph everything, move tools off-site, update customers, and plan crew availability for post-storm cleanup. This checklist covers the jobsite prep, the insurance angle, and the crew communication piece so you don't lose a week of revenue or eat a claim.

The 72-Hour Timeline: When to Start Locking Down

Most Florida contractors wait too long. By the time the cone of uncertainty puts your county in the 5-day forecast, lumber yards are sold out of plywood and your subs are already committed to three other GCs. I start the clock at 72 hours before landfall, not 24.

At 72 hours out, you're still in the window where you can rent a storage unit, pull permits for temporary bracing if needed, and communicate with customers before they panic-call you six times in one afternoon. I built a tool called Workhand that handles the crew communication piece with per-job team chat in Spanish and English, which matters when half your field crew speaks Spanish as their first language and you need confirmation that the rebar got staked down.

What kills small crews is The Field-Office Latency Gap, the time between a jobsite event and when the office sees it. On a normal Tuesday that's annoying. During storm prep it's expensive. If your site super secures the structure but doesn't tell you, and you drive out there at midnight to do it yourself, you just burned four billable hours on duplicate work. Real-time visibility closes that gap.

Secure Open Structures and Exposed Materials

Anything that can become a projectile will become a projectile. I've seen unsecured 2x4s go through a neighbor's window three lots over. Here's the lockdown list for Florida hurricane construction sites:

• Stake down or remove all temporary fencing, scaffolding, and job trailers if they're not rated for sustained winds above 74 mph. - Tarp and sandbag any open foundations, trenches, or pool shells so you're not pumping out 10,000 gallons of rainwater on day one after the storm. - Move all loose tools, power equipment, and materials into a locked container or off-site storage. Generators, compressors, and laser levels walk away during evacuations. - Brace any partially framed walls or roof trusses that aren't sheathed yet. Unfinished framing is a liability, not an asset, in 80 mph gusts. - Photograph the entire site from multiple angles with timestamp metadata on. Your phone camera already does this. You'll need those photos for the insurance adjuster if something goes wrong.

On my last Tampa pool job before a named storm, I spent three hours sandbagging the shell and moving the tile pallets into a climate-controlled warehouse two miles inland. The storm shifted north, we got nothing but rain, and I still billed the customer for the prep time as a line item on the next invoice. They paid it without complaint because I sent them timestamped photos of the work via the customer portal before the storm even hit.

Photograph Current Job Condition and Document Progress

Insurance adjusters assume you're lying until you prove otherwise. Timestamped photos are the only proof that works. Walk every active jobsite with your phone and shoot wide-angle photos of the overall condition, plus close-ups of any completed work that could get damaged.

Specifically document these items before the storm hits: finished hardscape or pool decking, installed tile or custom finishes, any materials staged on-site that you're not moving, electrical or plumbing rough-ins that are exposed, and the condition of neighboring properties so you can prove their tree fell on your site, not the other way around.

Workhand lets you attach photos to per-job chat threads and daily logs, and those images sync even when you're offline. I use that feature during storm prep because cell towers go down and I want the photo record saved to the cloud before the power cuts out. Once the storm passes, you have a timestamped visual chain of custody that shows what the site looked like before and after.

Customer Communication: Set Expectations Before the Panic Calls Start

Your customers will call you six times during the storm if you don't call them first. Send a short message 48 hours out explaining what you did to secure their jobsite, what they should expect in terms of delays, and when you'll be back on-site for an assessment. I send this via text and email so there's a written record.

The message I use: "We've secured your site, moved all tools off-site, and tarped the open foundation. If the storm shifts and we take a direct hit, expect a 3-5 day delay while we assess damage and get materials restocked. I'll send you photos of the site condition within 24 hours after the all-clear. No need to call unless you have an emergency."

That one message cuts panic calls by 80 percent. Customers just want to know you thought about their project. I track all customer communication inside Workhand's job chat threads so I can pull up the exact timestamp if a customer later claims I never told them about a delay.

Plan Crew Availability and Post-Storm Cleanup

Half your crew will evacuate or lose power for a week. You need to know who's available before the storm hits, not after. I text every crew member 48 hours out and ask three questions: are you evacuating, do you have a generator at home, and can you work the day after landfall if roads are clear?

The answers tell you whether you'll have a crew for post-storm cleanup or if you're working solo for three days. On the Tampa pool jobs I ran, I kept a list of which subs had trucks with toolboxes versus which ones stored everything in a job trailer. The guys with trucks could start work immediately after the storm because they didn't need to access a flooded storage unit.

Post-storm work is time-and-materials, not fixed-bid. Make that clear with your customers before the storm. Debris removal, water extraction, and re-securing damaged framing are all billable at your standard hourly rate plus materials. If you eat those costs out of politeness, you just turned a weather event into a cash flow crisis.

Insurance: What's Covered and What You're Eating

General liability covers damage you cause to someone else's property during the storm. It does not cover your tools, your materials, or your revenue loss from job delays. Read your policy. If you're a sole proprietor or small LLC, you probably don't have business interruption coverage unless you specifically bought it.

Inland marine coverage is the policy that covers your tools and equipment when they're off your business premises. If you move a $4,000 laser level into your truck and a tree falls on the truck during the storm, inland marine pays the claim. If you don't have inland marine and the same tree falls, you eat the $4,000.

Customer-supplied materials staged on-site are the customer's insurance problem, not yours. I learned this on a Tampa remodel where the homeowner bought $12,000 worth of custom tile, had it delivered to the jobsite two weeks early, and then a storm blew through and soaked the pallets. Their homeowner's policy covered it. My GL policy would not have. Make sure your contract is clear about who owns materials before installation.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should I start hurricane prep for a Florida jobsite?

Start lockdown procedures 72 hours before projected landfall. That gives you time to rent storage, move materials, and communicate with customers before the panic run on plywood starts.

Do I bill customers for storm prep time and materials?

Yes. Tarping, sandbagging, bracing, and moving materials off-site are all billable line items. Send timestamped photos of the work and include it on your next invoice as storm preparation.

What if my crew evacuates and I can't finish a job on time?

Notify the customer in writing 48 hours before the storm and document the delay. Most contracts include force majeure clauses that cover weather delays, but you still need to communicate proactively.

Does my general liability insurance cover tools stolen during an evacuation?

No. General liability covers damage you cause to others. Inland marine insurance covers your tools and equipment when they're off your business premises or in a vehicle.

Should I move all materials off-site or just the expensive stuff?

Move anything that can become a projectile, anything worth more than $500, and anything custom or non-replaceable. Sandbag and tarp the rest if it's too heavy to move.

How do I prove jobsite condition to an insurance adjuster after a storm?

Timestamped photos from multiple angles before and after the storm. Your phone camera already includes GPS and time metadata. Walk the site, shoot wide-angle overviews and close-ups of finished work, and upload them to cloud storage before you lose power.

Can I require a deposit increase if a storm delays material delivery?

Only if your contract includes a price escalation clause for material delays beyond your control. Otherwise you eat the cost difference or renegotiate the scope in writing before you order.

What's the first thing I should do when I get back to a jobsite after a hurricane?

Photograph the entire site again before you touch anything, then assess structural damage and standing water. Don't start cleanup until you document the damage for insurance and customer records.