The roof runoff from a heavy rain can drop enormous quantities of water on your house. If it is not carried away appropriately, it will collect around your foundation and cause problems.
If your home is not equipped with gutters, install them. If you have gutters, then the most obvious cause is clogged gutters. This is common when a tree or large plant sheds its leaves on your roof. They can wash into the down pipe, or collect at the opening at the top and block the water. Either situation will result in water washing over the side and straight down your wall where it will saturate the ground and seep into your blocks. The solution is to clean your gutters so they won’t overflow, install strainers or gutter guards, either at the down pipe, or all along the gutters to keep them clog free.
When the gutters are installed too close to the roof, the water in a heavy rain shoots right past them as it comes down the roof. The solution is to move the gutters out from the roof. They should stick out at least three inches. Install gutters along all the eaves of your house.
Make sure all the soil around the house slopes away at ¼ inch per foot. Use corrugated pipe or downspout extensions to conduct water away from the foundation at least 4 feet onto stone or cement splash blocks if downspout flow is heavy.
As always, I wish you good fortune and success solving your waterproofing problems. Take a deep breath and try not to get discouraged if things don’t go quickly and easily, as is often the case. Don’t take it personally. Remember, nearly every solution which now exist was acquired by trial and error by someone who was frustrated before you. If you need help cleaning out your gutters contact us today.
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