April Showers Can Bring Floods Along With Flowers
It’s much easier to protect your home from flooding than it is to clean up after your home is flooded. Even a little water in a basement or ground floor of a home can be a huge mess that is expensive and time consuming to clean up.
This spring, take a few minutes to walk around the outside of your home to see if you are at risk for flooding. There are several things your home should have to draw water away from the foundation.
The first thing to look for is grading. This means the ground should slope away from your home and foundation. Stand back from your home about 15 to 20 feet and check to see if the land slopes slightly away from the foundation. The recommended pitch is about one inch over 10 feet although this varies depending on the type of soil and the quality of your gutters and downspouts. The pitch could need to be as high as one inch per foot.
If the ground does not appear to slope away from the house or if it appears to slope to the house, take the top soil away for at least six feet from the house. Tamp in clay to desired slope. Cover clay with two layers of plastic tarp then cover with top soil. Grading is the most important step you can take to controlling basement wetness.
Next, you need to inspect your gutters and downspouts. These work together to collect water and move it away from the foundation.
Gutters are the horizontal troughs that run along the edge of a roof. They collect water running off the roof and direct it to downspouts. If gutters become clogged or start to leak, the risk of flooding greatly increases.
Homeowners should inspect and clean all the gutters around a home twice a year -- usually in the spring and fall. To keep your gutters clean you might want to cover them with screen or mesh.
Downspouts are the vertical pipes that connect to gutters and carry water to the ground and away from the home. Downspouts might send the water onto the ground or directly into a storm drain or sewer system.
If your downspouts go to the surface, make sure the water is being directed several feet away from your home and that it is dispersed so that it doesn’t form a large puddle or pool.
You might want to consider using a concrete gutter or a splash block at the end of the downspout to disperse the water.
Downspouts should also be checked twice a year for clogs and leaks.
Be Patient!
In extreme circumstances, grounding and gutters are not enough to prevent flooding. It’s very important to know how to clean up a flooded home so that you don’t do any further damage.
Most people think the best thing to do with a flooded basement is to get the water out as soon as possible. While your first reaction might be to start cleaning right away, sometimes the best thing to do for your home at this point is nothing. Basements flooded with surface water often suffer little or no structural damage from the water because the water pressure inside your home tends to equal the pressure from outside.
Removing the water too early can cause the outside water to push basement walls in or cause floors to raise. Do not drain the water inside until the outside water has subsided or until the outside water is lower than the water inside.
If the electrical panel in your home is located in a flooded area, call the utility to pull the meter socket. Do not use an electrical pump to remove the water. Instead, use a pump that runs on batteries or a gasoline powered generator.
When electric is used in a wet location make sure a ground fault interrupter (GFI) receptacle is used.
After you have removed all of the water, rinse concrete walls and foundation walls with a high-pressure hose. Continue to pump excess water as you clean. Start drying the area as soon as possible with fans or a dehumidifier. Open the doors and allow as much fresh air and sunlight into the area to prevent mold.
A damp basement may seem like just an inconvenience, but minor waterproofing problems can sometime lead to expensive repairs. It’s much easier to prevent water damage or repair small problems than it is to fix major structural damage in the future. In addition, a dry basement increases the value of your home.
When a wet basement problem cannot be solved with proper landscaping, a baseboard conductor sealed to the wall and floor will allow water pressure to be tapped so the water can be channeled to a sump pump. The sump pump will remove the water from the basement level before there is damage.
To remove moisture from the air in the basement is more complicated. It is often done with an air exchanger – especially if radon is a problem. You may want to call a special moisture contractor because this is not the only method used to reduce moisture in the air.
To locate a builder in your area who can help with waterproofing your basement, contact the Pennsylvania Builders Association at 800-692-7339 or visit us online at www.pabuilders.org.
