30 January 2022 - Categories: Water Damage

House winter water damage and how to prevent it

How to prevent house winter water damage?

Winter Water Damage: It has been a mild December so far in Ontario but every homeowner knows that eventually snow and winter weather is bound to arrive within the next month or so. This is a good time to check your home for potential water damage risks and avoid future costly repairs. Before a flooded basement or a roof leak occurs you can survey your home’s exterior for problem areas and weak spots that could potentially create a water damage issue.

CHECK YOUR GUTTERS

Cleaning your gutters of debris and dead leaves should be your first priority when it comes to preventing interior winter water damage. It is a tedious task and there are many products on the market that claim to accomplish the work with less effort but as water damage restoration experts we have seen quite a few cases of these products failing to clean all sediment build up properly and resulting in rain or snow water accumulating and finding its way into the house structure.

Hiring a professional or doing the job yourself, make sure you use enough water pressure to remove all debris from your gutters and test them for blockages. The main downspout to the ground should also lead away from the foundation by going directly into a rain leader or drainpipe that leads to the sewer. If the downspout leads to close to your foundation water can find its way into your basement, or even create foundation issues through time. If your downspout is diverted into a rain barrel, then make sure you clean the screen and open the tap so that it doesn’t fill up and freeze in the winter.

CHECK FOR POOLING WATER

An easy way to test if water pools close to the edge of your house and foundation is to use your garden hose and wet the surrounding of your house. If pools of water areas appear at the edge of your house walls then these are problem areas and you should address them by making sure the grading at the perimeter slopes away from the house.

CHECK YOUR ATTIC INSULATION

Besides gutters and ground grading another potential issue is inadequate insulation below your roof. Attic insulation prevents heat to escape under the roof shingles which can melt snow that will drip into your shingles and crack them when it freezes again.

In the case that you do experience an emergency roof leak or winter water damage call our 24/7 Emergency number: GTA Restoration – Serving Toronto & the GTA