Are you ready for the Spring?…. If it ever comes

NO? Me Neither.

I know what your thinking…. what a beautiful picture of nothing. Well there is a lot more than meets the eye in this picture, read on to find out how it can ruin your savings, your life, your marriage, your kids future education, and your sanity.

I am hoping that this article will help some of you by reminding you that A. spring will eventually come so don’t give up hope yet, and B. if you have a basement in your home there are some things you should be doing to ensure you protect your home, pocketbook, and sanity. While attending more Buyer’s home inspections that I can count, I’ve noticed the same re-occurring theme rearing it’s ugly head and that is the issue of water around the house. This time of year it is especially imperative that we pay extra attention to the potential causes for concern regarding water around the foundation of your home. Over the last couple weeks we have seen some crazy weather and have had snow, sleet, hail, rain, and 12 degree weather (Celsius for any american friends that may stumble across this). With the snow melting, the rain, then more ice and snow, and now it starting to melt again it’s time to take a look around your home and observe any water at the base of your home.

There are several different ways that water can access your foundation and start to cause problems. The number one killer of foundations and leading cause of moisture and water seepage into the basement is the grading of the soil around the exterior of the home. Many homes have negative grading, leading the surrounding lawn to drain towards the home. Once the water reaches the base of the home it follows the foundation until it finds a weak spot and seeps in creating not only moisture and structural issues but potential mold issues as well.

The other major leading cause for water becoming an issue in the basement is the discharge from your eaves troughs. Many homes have eaves troughs that end beside the home which dumps the massive amount of displaced water from the roof into concentrated areas around your foundation.

The bad news is, this has probably been happening for years if this is the first time you have heard or thought about this. The good news is, if you haven’t been experiencing water in your basement there is probably still time to fix it.

For the grading issue, it is best to build up the soil layer around your foundation so that the water will naturally drain away from your home, this may take a bit of work because you could possibly have to grade several feet away from the home to make sure it doesn’t pool and come back to the house. This is a very important precaution to take and can save you a huge expense down the road.

For the downspouts, there is a pretty simple fix for this and it’s relatively inexpensive. While splash blocks can help move the water a foot or two away from the home, the best alternative is to use extended pieces of eaves to get the water at least 4 feet away from the base of the home. Alternatively, you can also use weeping tile attached to the bottom of the spout to drain the water to different areas of your yard away from the home.

Both of these solutions can be done without any technical experience and it is fairly simple to do. Some dirt and a couple hours re-grading or some $14 downspout and a hacksaw is all you requite to ensure your home’s basement will be protected from evil mother nature.

I hope by writing this I educate some people and save at least one home owner from future water damage, by doing these two simple things you can spend your hard earned money on that vacation you’ve been wanting to go on or that new kitchen, instead of digging up your foundation and having to go through the process of getting it fixed.

Your Welcome. You owe me a coffee, or a high five. Whichever you prefer.

OK by now you know that I was being incredibly dramatic in my opening statement. If you have made it this far, it must have worked