Rainy Season

7/10/2019 (Permalink)

With all these recent rain storms it is important to protect your home from water damage. On www.hometips.com they suggest these tricks and tips to help you keep your home safe and sound this rainy season.

The best way to deal with water damage is to stop it before it starts. Here are measures that you can take to prevent water from entering your home from outside.

Waterproof Your House Exterior

The exterior of your house is its first line of defense against water damage. Protect your home from the outside in by maintaining the exterior.

Maintain Your Roof

Properly handling the water that flows down your roof is essential.

Your roof’s primary purpose is to keep water out of your house. Neglecting it could lead to a whole host of problems, the worst of which includes extensive water damage that could compromise the structure of your home. Most roofs have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, so it’s easy to think that if yours is still within its period of usability, it’s fine. But that’s not necessarily true.

Seal Windows and Doors

Windows and doors are common vulnerable sites for water leakage. Water can seep in through the space around window and door frames if they’re not properly sealed. Don’t wait for a leak. Ensure that the weatherstripping and seals around your windows and doors are in good shape.

Maintain Your Home’s Exterior Finish

Signs of water damage on your house’s interior walls that don’t seem to have a source, such as mold, peeling paint, or discoloration, could be due to water entering through holes in your exterior walls. If your siding and exterior paint aren’t well-maintained, water could be leaking through to the inside of your home.

Ensure Proper Drainage

You can take measures to keep water out of your home, but waterproofing alone isn’t enough to protect your home from water damage. If water isn’t properly diverted away from the base of your house, your foundation could be at risk. And even the best waterproofing measures are no match for standing water that collects on or around your house in areas of poor drainage. 

Clean Your Gutters

Depending on surrounding tree coverage, gutters need to be cleaned out two to six times a year to ensure proper flow of rainwater.

Making sure your gutters function properly is critical to protecting your home from water damage. If your gutters are full of leaves and pine needles, or not angled properly to funnel water to the downspout, then water will run down the side of your house and collect at the base, which could put your foundation at risk.

Check Your Downspouts

Downspouts should direct water at least three feet from the exterior walls of a home.

Functioning gutters send water out through the downspout, which should funnel the water away from your home. If necessary, repair gutters and downspouts.

Redirect Runoff

If your home sits on the bottom of a slope, water runoff from your yard should be channeled away from your home. If it isn’t, then you probably have problems with standing water near your foundation. Over time, this can cause the ground near your foundation to erode, making it vulnerable.