With all of the rain during the month of May in KC (only 3 completely dry days thus far), more and more homeowners are calling Heinen regarding property drainage issues. From pooling water literally drowning plants to leaky basement walls and floors, it’s clear that poor drainage and standing water can cause a lot of problems and can lead to expensive repairs.
Here are Six Signs courtesy of HouseLogic.com that can mean it’s time to call an expert for drainage help.
Downspouts that dump
Each inch of rain that falls on 1,000 square feet of a roof produces more than 600 gallons of runoff—enough to fill 10 bathtubs to the brim. Dumping that much water too close to the foundation can send it right into the basement, where it can ruin furnishings, flooring, and all the stuff you swore you’d put on shelves one day.
Water stains in the basement
Depending on where a stain shows up, you can tell if the problem is caused by surface water, which can be easy to deal with, or water traveling underground, a potentially bigger headache.
Cracks in the foundation
Foundations often have small cracks that appear as houses settle over time. Most are harmless, but bigger cracks bear watching. Keep an eagle eye on cracks larger than 1/8-inch wide by marking the ends with an erasable pencil line. Measure the width and jot it down. If you notice the cracks are growing, you’ve got potential problems.
Flaking and deposits on walls
If you see areas of white or gray crust on the basement walls, that’s efflorescence—mineral deposits left behind by evaporating water. Or the wall may be flaking off in big patches, a condition called spalling.
Mildew in the Attic
Sure, the attic might be a strange place to look for drainage problems, but mildew on the underside of the roof can be a tipoff to serious trouble at the ground level.
Migrating mulch
When soil doesn’t drain properly, rain runs off in sheets, carving gulleys in the landscape, dumping silt on pathways, and carrying piles of mulch or wood chips where they don’t belong.
(Excerpts courtesy of houselogic.com)
The team at Heinen Landscape wants to help you avoid severe landscape and other property damage by designing and implementing dependable drainage systems that will protect your property for a lifetime. If you have yard and property issues caused by all of the recent rain, call Heinen – we’ve got 20+ years of experience in turning water nightmares into drainage solutions.
