If you own property in a wet climate or a location that has wet seasons you need to be aware of water damage. Every homeowner needs to manage their property, drains and the flow of water around and away from the house to ensure no home water damage occurs, especially around the property foundations. Read on to learn our four top tips on how to do this.

How To Prevent Home Water Damage To Your Property’s Foundation

A solid foundation forms the pillar of your property’s structure. So without a doubt this makes it essential that you prioritize the maintenance and care for your home’s foundations. Regular maintenance can help you avoid home water damage to your property.

Damage can be caused by excess water collecting

Indeed, If excess water collects around this area it can be seriously detrimental to your property. Your foundations may be damaged. Look out for any cracks, efflorescence, and mould growth. These are tell tale signs of issues likely occurring.

Other signs include basement floor cracks, wall staining, excess dust accumulation, and so on.

If you ignore any signs of home water damage, you may find yourself dealing with significant repairs to fix the problem. Fortunately, certain strategies can guard your foundation against water damage threats. Take a look at the list below.

1. Build proper drainage systems

One proven way to divert water from your foundation is to design good drainage systems around the building. For instance, a French drainage system can be beneficial depending on the nature of your environment. This underground drainage system uses an embedded perforated pipe to divert water. To build one, dig a trench around your home, place some gravel to line it, and install a perforated drain.

What should you do

Ensure your trench has a downslope of 3 to 5% to allow water to easily flow away from the structure. Consider adding denser soil, like clay, around the foundation area to limit water accumulation.

2. Get a sump pump

Heavy rains and floods may cause extensive home water damage to your property’s foundations. Fortunately, Installing a battery-powered sump pump can help to prevent such disasters. However, it’s important to maintain your sump pump and keep it functional throughout the local rainy or wet seasons.

What happens

The soil around your building may expand and oversaturate during heavy downpours, causing flooding. This in turn can cause severe home water damage which will likely affect your building  foundations.

A sump pump helps control the water level around your home to avert this. This device can be set up at the lowest point of your home to stop groundwater from rising to dangerous levels, so feel free to consider this.

3. Maintain your gutters and downspouts

Due to debris, your gutters may not be draining properly. The drains should take water away from your foundations.

What should you do

Fortunately, you can avoid this by cleaning your gutters periodically. This way, you can prevent water from gathering, and then overflowing and tampering with your foundations. Experts recommend cleaning your gutters at least twice yearly. While you can certainly do it yourself, working with gutter cleaning experts will provide the best results.

You can also install downspout extenders should your current gutters and downspouts don’t divert water away safely from your house. This strategy can help you avoid any home water damage. If you have faulty downspouts, installing underground metal diverters could be a good idea to overcome the problem. 

4. Inspect and upgrade your plumbing systems

Old pipes are prone to leaks and can cause home water damage to your home. These problems can cause many homes susceptible to water damage problems. Your home’s exterior pipe leaks can create hydrostatic pressure, allowing excess water to impact your walls and foundation. Therefore, you should inspect your plumbing systems and upgrade them when necessary.

However, you should avoid handling this project if you aren’t a professional, as you risk causing more damage. Instead, work with professional plumbers to get the job done. 

Final thoughts on how to prevent home water damage to your foundations

Home water damage to your foundation could well compromise the integrity of your property. Also this is likely to cause you to lose money in costly repairs and reparations. Hopefully, these tips will help you prevent this and keep your foundation pristine. 

FURTHER READING ON HOME MAINTENANCE AND HOME CARE

Top tips for managing home maintenance

Home maintenance – Signs of home water damage

Home maintenance – How to fix hidden problems

Roof maintenance – Essential for every homeowner’s peace of mind

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