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Water, Water Everywhere

At times inspections can be like following a trail, only in reverse. We normally see the end of the trail and have to follow it to the origin. Most of the time it doesn't matter what we're tracking. It could be insects, leak in the plumbing system, or water intrusion from the outside, they all leave a trail.
Here is the end of one trail or the beginning of the track.

water trail This is the end of the trail, water in the garage that had been standing. The black marks on the baseboard are indicative of mold.

Now lets follow this water to its' origin.

front left corner As we can see here, the water coming out of the downspout is running right back to the foundation. The concrete is sloped toward the house so that's where the water goes. It isn't glaringly evident here but the water in the garage is coming under the door and through the foundation. If the water from the downspout was carried away from the house there would probably be no algae, mold or water stains. Really seems too simple doesn't it.

Now the damage is done and it is going to cost a bit to repair. Then the owner still has to carry the water away from the house.

Jack Gilleland

Home Inspection Services

Clayton, Ohio

Posted by Jack Gilleland on 02/03/2009 12:12 AM

Comments (16)

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16 Comments on Water, Water Everywhere

FEB

Thanks for consistently sharing information, explanations and tips with us here on Active Rain. It pays to be informed!

Sometimes it really is that simple. Here in San Diego, where we average 10 inches of rain each year, with 90% of it coming between Thanksgiving and Christmas, builders don't even like to use gutters and downspouts, so I quite often find damage to the exterior siding from water splashing on the ground, coating the siding with mud. It can be quite lovely in a demented sort of way.

Mr Jack and Izzy,

It takes more water than that but I, periodically, do inspections of flooding in basements or crawl spaces. My team can get in places that you two could not go.

Your friend,

Nutsy

great post, keep an eye out for water as it can , very quickly, lead to mold, and dangerous toxic black mold - thanks

Besides the obvious mold factor to this problem, there is another. As we head towards the end of winter, we will run into more melt days. This water will run into the garage again. It will seep into tiny cracks and what not in the concrete, where it may possibly freeze once the temperature drops later in the day. This can be very costly to a homeowner. Great post Jack.

Vickie - Your welcome.

RR - I like tracking the problems unless it is through the cold, water, ice, snow, heat, damp, insulation, rodents, spiders, boxes of storage, and nails 2" long comming through the roof.

Nutsy - Maybe I'll give you a call next crawl space in the spring.

James - Yep. It always seems too.

Ian - It will keep doing it until someone actually fixes it.

Jack,

I had a similar situation except that the water was entering during the thaw cycle out here. Client lived on top of a mountain and didn't know to clear his snow plus the roof was dropping tons along the perimeter.

Back tracked it with an infrared camera and some persistence.

I assume it wasn't grated that way when built. Any idea how long the problem has been happening and the cause?

Paul - Didn't need IR for this it kind of jumps out at you.

Mike - No it wasn't built that way, the concrete around the house had settled. This house was 45+ years old.

If they connected that downspout to a springkler system inside the garage, they could have a spray park on rainy days.

Myrl - And think of the money they would save.

Water issues like this drive me crazy. We had a rental house once that kept getting water in the basement every time it rained. It turned out that since the gutters were full of leaves the water was overflowing and settling up against the side of the house.

But at least some of them are simple fixes Justin. Just remove the leaves.

FEB

It ALL flows downhill, huh Jack?

FEB

Jack, Looks like doing it right would have taken more thought and effort ($). Now it's going to take more $$$.

Jay, Yep. I usually end up on the bottom of the incline holding the bucket.

James, did you ever notice the "but what could I have done looks" that they all give you. Kind of like a puppy getting caught chewing on your favorite shoes.

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