Water – The enemy of your home

Water is an important ingredient of life, right? Right! Without it you will die in a few days. So why is he an enemy of your house? Water is one of nature’s most powerful solvents. Given enough time, it will dissolve almost anything. It is also the life-sustaining ingredient for many species of flora and fauna that attack your home. Things like mold, mildew, termites, and other critters need it or are enabled by its presence to destroy your home, either quickly or slowly.

In your home, it erodes paint, stains siding, dissolves the mortar that holds bricks and stone together, corrodes metal flashing to prevent water intrusion, softens the soil that supports the foundation, washes away the soil that supports the foundations and retaining walls and other structures, drag or saturate the slopes causing landslides. The list is long and none of its effects is good.

In my home inspection business and my infrared thermography business, water intrusion is the enemy. It’s what I’m looking for.

The number one “problem” or defect I find during inspections is inadequate drainage or ambient water control around the structure. These defects cause millions of dollars in damage each year. The sad thing is that it is usually easily managed. Because that is not it? For most people, it’s a lack of understanding of the whole problem.

Drain Overview

The ideal condition for drainage is to have the structure on top of a hill. While not always possible, the same condition can be created artificially. This is accomplished through a process known as “qualification.” Grading is simply moving the soil around the structure to create an area that slopes away from the structure. Current grading standards call for a 2% grade (1/4 inch per foot) leading away from the building for a distance of 10 feet. Depending on field conditions, this can be easy or more difficult. On some lots, it requires the aggressive use of subsurface drains (called “French drains”) or the construction of a “swale” or artificial ditch, often lined with concrete, to direct water around and away from the footings. While more aggressive measures like French drains and gutters can be costly, the payoff is the fact that your home doesn’t sink into the softened soil that uncontrolled drainage problems will cause.

Gutters and Downspouts

No gutters in the house? So what’s the problem? The big problem is that every 1000 square feet of roof area captures 625 gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls on it. Where do you think this rainwater ends up? From ceiling to floor about 12 inches from the foundation! Are you wondering why your foundation is settling and the doors to your house no longer work freely or you have water in your basement? The lack of proper gutters is probably the problem.

One mistake I often see is that there are actually gutters in the house, but the downspouts pour all the collected water right into the very nice planter next to the foundation and concentrate it there. Duhhh! Single solution; Install a “rain leader” or extension on the downspout to direct water away from the pot to an area where it drains away from the foundation. In many new construction homes I look at, they actually install an underground pipe/drain system to catch the outflow from the pipes and direct it to the curb. This is called “daylighting to the curb.” Very good idea but not always possible. In extreme conditions, such as a back-sloping lot, away from the street, the drainage system can be directed to a “sump pump” collection system that will pump the water back to the street for disposal in the drainage system. storm drain.

How about just directing the drain off the property somewhere? Maybe, but usually not a good solution. Most jurisdictions do not allow you to turn your problem into someone else’s problem simply by allowing your sewer to flow onto their property. If the natural lay of the land causes some water to flow from your property onto someone else’s property, that is generally allowed. She is “Mother Nature” at work and she didn’t read the rule book. Artificially creating this condition with a built in drainage system is a No No!

Shiny

What the heck is “blink”? (No, it’s not running across the soccer field with no clothes on!)

According to the RS Means© Illustrated Construction Dictionary:

Shiny; A thin, impermeable sheet of material placed in the building to prevent water penetration or direct flow of water. Flashing is especially used in roof valleys and valleys, roof penetrations, joints between a roof and a vertical wall, around windows and doors, and in masonry walls to direct the flow of water and moisture.

As you can see, this is a very important part of the protection system of any structure. Improperly installed, rusted, or damaged flashing can cause hidden damage within walls and may not become visible until extensive damage has been done. Damaged or missing flashings create very conducive conditions for mold and termites.

Roofing

As obvious as it may be as the first line of defense in keeping you and your home dry, roofs fall short when it comes to proper maintenance.

Let me say here ROOFS REQUIRE REGULAR MAINTENANCE!

Surprised? It is a fact. In order for you to get the longest, most trouble-free life out of your roof, there are several things you need to do.

• Check your roof every year and make sure there are no areas of concern, such as damaged or corroded flashing.
• Check for missing, misplaced (slipped) shingles, wind damage, snow/ice damage, cracked clay or concrete tiles.
• Aged composition shingles showing loss of granule coating, deteriorated “summit” caps. (these go first)
• Missing caps or chimney terminations. (wind fairies steal them)
• Missing chimney cap or spark arrestor with proper waterproof cover.
• Debris Buildup – This buildup traps moisture that will deteriorate roof decking and flashing much faster.

In conclusion, water can be your friend or your enemy. As with most things, if you don’t control it, it can cause problems.

inspector dana