Home inspectors offer a range of services to solve the drainage issues of their customers. In the course of their job, they have encountered a lot of cases. One of the most common is poor handling of rainwater — from the moment it hits the roof to the time it splashes on the ground.
Obviously, it is every homeowner’s dream to have a good-looking property and a smooth drainage operation. The unfortunate thing here is that most people concentrate on what is visible and forget about other essential aspects. Issues with drainage, in particular, have the potential to harm the house and its occupants in many ways.
Once the repercussions have taken a direction, it might be difficult to diagnose them or do some drain repair in your Coventry home. Moreover, all the other remediation measures may become too expensive. What are these issues and how can you nip them in the bud?
Yard Water Pooling
You entered your new home and thought that everything is okay, but you discovered that there’s a drainage problem when it already started to rain. The sight of water pooling on the backyard can be quite disheartening. What more if children and pets go there and start tracking mud into the house.
Design is one of the two main causes of water pooling, the other one is user habits. On design, some of the issues that come up a lot are poor grading and thatch problems.
Gutter Flooding
A good session of rain will put the drainage system to a test. If the drainage is in bad shape for any reason, the downspouts may start the chain of issues. Waterlogging at the bottom of the gutters will cause water to build up on the roof within a short time, but this depends on the intensity and duration of the rain. Once the roof structure is weakened, the next things that could happen are leakages, rotting, and eventual roof collapse.
Foundation Damage
The foundation endures most of the poor home drainage design. Foundation drainage is a sensitive area because anything can affect the entire structure. Most issues of water damage can be prevented through the professional design of the foundation’s drainage. Similarly, it is easy to tell the quality of the foundation design during the rainy season.
If you are unsure about what kind of foundation system you need, it is good to consult an expert. Often, it is a choice between surface drains and French drains. Whichever system you go with, remember to slope the yard away from the home so that you can avert drainage issues.
Health Issues
Your health and drainage issues could meet when poor drainage starts to affect the (indoor) environment negatively. The purpose of drainage systems is to move sewage and wastewater away from the house.
Poor design results in poor management. Stagnant water is a haven for waterborne diseases such as malaria. Home occupants and neighbours could be exposed to the many water and airborne infections just because of poor drainage design.
If your compound is always soaked in water even on days after the rain has subsided, you need to take a serious look at your drainage design. Delays may see your home crumble due to the damage suffered by its components, whether the roof or the ground.