Ready for April Showers!

Some tips to prevent Water Penetration

Did you know that 1 1/2 inches of rainfall drops about 650 gallons of water on the average roof top?
Roots Home inspection suggests you make the following checks to help keep water away from the house and from penetrating the foundation:

1. Check sealing around the exterior of the house. This includes the bed joint, and all windows, doors, and the siding materials.
2. Check that gutters are functioning correctly. Make sure all gutters elbows and down spouts are connected properly. Check that all gutters are free of leaves and other debris.
3. Add splash plates & extensions to the gutters and downspouts. Suggest adding 6 ft long downspout extensions. Downspouts concentrate all that water from in only a few spots and lead to water penetration.
4. Correct negative sloping of exterior ground. If the ground slopes towards the home's foundation water can flow toward the house & causing a damp/wet basement or crawl space
5. Test your sump pump before the beginning of the rainy season. The most common time for a sump pump to fail is the first heavy rain; since it has not been used for months. Pour a bucket or two of water into the pit to test it.
6. Add waterproof coating to basement foundation walls if needed.

If these steps do not eliminate the water penetration concerns, additional repairs/steps will be needed.