Heavy rain can become bothersome no matter how accustomed you are to it.
Along with disrupting transport and wrecking gardens, it can also damage your home. Downpours can lead to your walls having wet pools or your ceiling dripping.
These are signs of water damage. Water damage does not occur immediately and is a problem that grows over time. By the time you detect the issue, it may be too late to resolve it, which is why you need waterproofing.
Waterproofing protects the foundation and other parts of your property from damage that may lead to costly repairs. Here is a guide explaining some situations that cause water damage and what waterproofing steps can prevent it.
Causes of Water Damage
By understanding the causes of water damage, you can take active measures to protect your house from the following occurrences:
1. Severe Weather Conditions
Heavy downpours can lead to rainwater damaging your roof and directly entering your building.
This water does not dry quickly and can foster mold. If you live in a flood-prone area, then severe weather like thunderstorms or hurricanes can cause flash flooding. This situation may lead to water entering your basements, causing power outages and harming your belongings.
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2. Clogged Gutters
Your house’s gutter system is supposed to lead rainwater away from it, but when debris clogs these drains, rainwater will not flow away from your property.
Instead, the water will spill over the edges of the gutter and come in direct contact with the roof and exterior walls.
3. Malfunctioning Sprinkler System
Indoor sprinkler systems are great for protection against fires, but as the sprinklers get old, they tend to turn on without the slightest smoke.
This incident can lead to considerable water damage in your house. It will harm the house’s structure and your furniture and electronics inside it.
Ways to Waterproof Your House
Water seeping into your walls can lead to paint discoloration and cracking, mold can grow in the walls, and it provides favorable conditions for a vermin infestation.
Here are some ways to protect your house from the above water damage conditions. These should ideally be implemented during construction, as it is challenging to make such changes afterward.
1. Protecting the Foundations
You may think that your foundations are rock solid and can not be penetrated by water, but over time, cracks can appear in the foundation, letting water through. You can avoid this by filling in those cracks.
Cracks less than half an inch can be filled with a concrete sealant but cracks larger than half an inch need to be filled with silicone or concrete caulk. You can use a putty knife or caulking gun to fill the crevices. Using the gun can save time and ensure no space is unfilled.
For the porous nature of concrete, you can consider adding a dimpled membrane. It acts as a barrier between the groundwater and the foundation. When the water does not come in contact with the foundation, it does not absorb it.
2. Windows and Doors
When wooden doors and windows get wet, the wood absorbs the moisture and swells. This moisture can then lead to mold growth. This situation mainly occurs because of improperly placed windows and doors that lack proper protection.
When initially adding doors and windows to your house, ensure that you adequately seal them with the required weather stripping. For windows, you will also have to fix the glass to the windows effectively by using a proper sealant between the glass and window frame.
These measures will ensure rainwater does not come in contact with timber, and you will also save energy as cold drafts won’t end the building. In poorly vented bathrooms, the floor tiles stay wet, giving the door plenty of time to absorb moisture and rot or rust. To combat this, ensure your bathroom is always vented and add plants that are good at absorbing moisture.
3. Gutters and Drains
Blocked gutters and drains can stop water from flowing away from your property and spilling over your roof and walls.
Sometimes the drains and gutters are not blocked, but simply not connected well. Consequently, instead of the drain water falling directly into the gutter, it ends up forming stagnant pools on the ground that can seep into your basement walls.
To avoid this problem, simply make sure to check your rain drains and gutters are not blocked. If branches and debris commonly fall into the ducts, you need to keep a continuous eye.
Ensure the drainage points are away from the exterior walls, so the pools of water do not seep into the walls. These small steps will keep you away from costly maintenance in the future.
4. Internal Waterproofing
Aside from outdoor waterproofing, you all need to take steps to ensure internal waterproofing as well. As mentioned before, interior water damage can occur because of a faulty sprinkler system, and it can also happen because of leaking pipes under kitchen sinks or a dripping shower head.
These minor problems can lead to stagnant pools in your kitchens and bathrooms. The water can enter the tile crevices and fester mold if not cleaned properly. You may often overlook these areas when cleaning, so there is a high chance mold will continue to grow.
This will cause a pungent smell to fill your home until you deal with the growing mold. You can deal with this by ensuring no leaks are present, and all your pipes are tightly fit. These small steps will help you avoid dealing with extensive repairs in the future.
5. Basement Waterproofing
According to estimates, 98% of basements in America will suffer from water damage in their lifetime. This may be because, when compared to the rest of the house, basements have the most exposure to moisture and poor ventilation.
They also suffer the most in flash flood situations. So this is why basement waterproofing should be a priority when you are constructing your building. You can ask your contractor to take care of the process, but should also consider a basement waterproofing service to ensure you take all the proper steps.
Endnote
By following the above guide, you can effectively protect your house against mold and mildew from growing on your floors and walls. Mold is a disaster for your home that will compromise its integrity and make it more susceptible to damage.
The repairs you will need to fix water damage are also very costly in general. Properties with these problems hold less value in the market. You need to invest in waterproofing on time to ensure that you live well and your property’s value doesn’t depreciate.
