Tips to Protect Your Home from Water Damage to the Foundation

Water damage is probably the most common and costly insurance claim from homeowners. As such, if you own a home, water damage, especially to the foundation, should be the last thing to dread for. Unfortunately, such can happen following floods, storms, or simple plumbing errors. Water damage to the foundation not only undermines the foundation but also potentially predisposes your home to electrical hazards, the growth of dangerous molds, and other costly repairs. That said, consider the following tips to keep your home safe.

1. Keep Water Away from Your Foundation

Ensuring that there is no water accumulation around your foundation is probably the best way to protect your foundation from water damage. You can achieve this through;

a. Ensuring Proper Drainage

A good way of keeping water away from your foundation and eliminating the need for water damage restoration service is ensuring proper drainage. Homeowners can create proper drainage through the following ways;

  • Grade the ground around your foundation: with proper landscaping, you should grade the ground around your home to slope gently to avoid pooling of water around walkways and patio. As a rule of the thumb, the ground should slope approximately 6 inches within the first 10ft. Since the landscape can shift or resettle over time, you should regularly check for sunken spots around your foundation and refill as needed.
  • Install French drain systems around the foundation: installing French drains is another excellent way of keeping water away from your foundation. This involves digging a trench lined with gravel around the foundation. Similarly, the trench should slope between 3 to 5 percent for a perfect water flow.
  • Install a functional exterior drain: installing an exterior drain on the basement also ensures maximum water drainage. This could be a weeping tile or foster drain to eliminate excess water around your home.

b. Regularly Clean Rain Gutters

Blocked or damaged rain gutters won’t be able to channel water through downspouts away from your home effectively. Rainwater will accumulate and eventually pour over the gutters, landing around your homes’ foundation. If such water accumulates around your foundation, moisture begins seeping through the foundation, making it weaker over time.

Therefore, ensure that you clean your gutters regularly to ensure proper drainage of rainwater. You should also inspect and undertake any necessary repairs to minimize leakages.

c. Check the Stretch of Downspouts

Even with clean and properly functional gutters, water damage to the foundation may occur if the downspouts can’t move water far from your house. Properly installed downspouts should move water not less than 10ft away from the foundation. This prevents water from pooling around your home even after major rains and storms.

Therefore, if downspouts installed in your home are short of 10ft, you can simply extend to ensure that it carries water far from your house. If you don’t like the unsightly and seemingly inconvenient nature of downspouts extensions, opt for recessed extensions that lie under the ground to keep water away from your foundation without affecting the beauty and accessibility of your outdoors.

2. Water the Area around Your Foundation

During the summer and other dry seasons, the soil covering your foundation and outdoor gardens dry out and overly shrink. As the next rainy season begins, rainwater soaks and expands the soil, which puts a lot of pressure on the foundation. Therefore, to prevent such from happening, it is prudent to water the area around your foundation periodically. This keeps the soil moist and prevents shrinking. You should also avoid growing plants close to your foundation, as they can cause foundation cracks by absorbing all the moisture from the soil.

3. Install a Quality Sump Pump

Regardless of how hard you work to prevent water accumulation around your foundation, some impossible situations may arise. In such situations, investing in a quality sump pump can help protect your foundation from water damage by preventing basement floods. For better functioning, build a sump basin in your basement that gathers ground and rainwater.

Once the water accumulates to certain levels, the sump pump automatically turns on, draining water away through storm drains, sewage lines, and other disposal routes. Like gutters and downspouts, it is best to regularly test your sump pump’s functioning. A properly functional sump pump is enough to prevent your foundation from water damage.

Consult Water Damage Restoration Service Experts

Responding defensively to water damage is a prudent option for homeowners looking to avoid costly repairs and restorations. Knowing how to protect your foundation from water damage saves you from the challenges of dealing with the aftermath. Apart from the tips mentioned above, always inspect your foundation critically, keeping an eye for any signs of water damage. If you have experienced a water disaster and need help, don’t hesitate to contact professional water damage restoration services.