Water Worries

Gutter System.  Photo Courtesy of www.guttersmanchesternh.com

The past week or so has been unusually warm in Minnesota.  With temperatures reaching 40+ degrees, the massive accumulation of snow has begun rapidly thawing, and the streets are filled with water.

While we are all excited for the grand exit of this years particularly bad winter, all of the melted snow has to go somewhere.  And that "somewhere" is often, unfortunately, your basement. 

Water in your house can pose serious problems.  Moisture is a significant cause of mold growth.  Water stains walls and carpets and looks unappealing.  Frequent water problems might frighten buyers away from your house when it comes time to sell.  For all of these reasons, it is critical to tackle the problem early.

Most inspectors or contractors will tell you that most water problems stem from two main sources:

1)  Poor yard grading, and
2)  No gutter system

Fixing these two problems alone resolve probably 90-95% of all problems.  It won't solve everything, but you can seriously mitigate the risk of a damp basement by addressing these issues.

With regard to yard grading, most experts would advise a homeowner to have 1 inch of slope for every foot you move away from the house.  Thus, if you are 6 feet away from your house, you should be standing 6 inches below where the grading begins along the edge of the foundation.

With regard to the gutter system, make sure your downspouts are ejecting water in a safe area.  I know from personal experience that this is important - the previous owners of my house had a downspout pointed directly at the house and running under the porch.  Sure enough, we had a bad storm and all that water from the roof ended along the foundation under the porch, and subsequently in my basement.  Just by simply rerouting the downspout, I have been able to avoid any future issues.  There are hundreds (or thousands, who knows) of gutter companies around the Twin Cities and I would recommend calling them if you have more technical questions.

If you have a well graded yard and a properly installed gutter/downspout system and you still experience water in the basement, it is probably time to call an expert.  If you are experiencing this, please contact me and I can get you in touch with remediation experts. 

At the end of the day, homeowners can prevent many of their water-related issues by simply being a little bit proactive and investing a little bit of money.  For example, gutters are mostly inexpensive (expect maybe the labor) and go a long way towards preventing these potentially disastrous situations.  If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me -  I would be happy to educate!