4 Things to do to Secure your Home in Heavy Rain
We’ve had several flash flood warnings the past week in Central Alabama. With the increase of rain (and fast rain with flash flooding!) seemingly safe situations can turn dangerous in mere minutes. While it’s important to monitor road conditions with heavy rain, we must also make sure our home is secure and can with stand all the extra water. Today we are sharing 4 things to do to secure your home during heavy rain.
Check your gutters and downspouts
If you find yourself at home in the middle of a three day downpour, throw on your big yellow rain coat with the matching hat and your black rubber rain boots with the red bottoms and walk your property. Take note if your gutters are working properly or if water spilling over in places it shouldn’t. Look at each down spout and see where it’s emptying out. Is it straight down against the foundation? Downspouts should have some sort of extender on them to ensure all water is running away from your foundation.
Check where the water is flowing
Just like the water from your downspouts – when we have rain as heavy as its been the past few weeks your yard can become a big watershed for all the falling rain water on your property (and from those around you). Take note of where water is running. If there is an easy quick fix to get the water flowing away from your house – work on that immediately. If more extensive landscaping is required, call a professional out and get that evaluated. New drains might be required to prevent this water from coming inside.
Check if water is getting inside your basement
Much of our communities were built when foundation walls were built out of CMU (concrete masonry unit) block instead of the now used formed concrete walls. Concrete is porous and with inadequate waterproofing moisture can come through where there is a high level of ground water. If there is active water flowing you may need to call a foundation and water proofing company for a professional waterproofing system. If the block is just damp one of these expensive systems may not be necessary. Many times this water comes from a lack of down spout extenders or a negative grade of the yard that allows water to run towards the house.
Check your attic for leaks
Take a look into your pull down or walk in attic and look for active water leaks on your roof decking. Have a sharpie or spray paint and note where that water is coming from so you can show a licensed contractor once it’s safe to get on the roof and check. If you see a water spot on your ceiling, lightly circle it with a pencil and see if the spot grows during a heavy rain. This will also indicate an active leak.
Are you looking to make a move? Contact an ARC agent today to help!
