Improper Roof Drainage Leads to Wet Basements

Waking up to a Wet Basement?: Improper Roof Drainage

Wet basements can be a cause of improper roof drainage. All too often the source of your wet basement is above the ground, on the outside of the home, and easily solved.

downspout with water spitting out
When water accumulates around the base of your home it will inevitably lead to problems like mold and mildew and even result in a wet basement.
Joe Smith putting up a LeafGuard downspout
Our extra-large downspouts and extensions can effectively channel rainwater away from your property.

Cause Of Improper Roof Drainage

A 1000-square-foot roof will shed about 623 gallons of water in a 1-inch rainstorm. Assuming that rainwater flows out of an average of four downspouts, you may have over 150 gallons of water pouring out of one downspout! Of the many homes, we inspect in Central Iowa, downspouts and extensions are not long enough and dump water right at the base of the foundation. The vast amounts of water flowing off a roof can easily overwhelm gutter systems.

Solution

The best solution is to equip downspouts with long horizontal extensions that channel roof water well away from the foundation into an area of the yard where the water is absorbed or directed away from the house. Also, make sure the gutters are clean and free-flowing.

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2022-01-26T21:34:41+00:00