Water Woes: The Case for Installing Gutters

This year has been unusually wet.  Being such, homes have been put under stress as extraordinary amounts of water have threatened basement spaces and roof systems.  When it comes to basements, there are some simple things that people can do to manage problems with wetness.

Water that runs off a roofline drips along the edge of the home. That large amount of water doesn't just magically disappear into the ground never to be seen again.  In some cases, it festers along the foundation and seeps into walls.

Here is a case of a basement space that had seen slow moisture intrusion over the past 50 years.  The walls are rough because wood paneling had been laid over top.  When we removed the paneling, we discovered the water damage underneath.  In this case, the walls fell apart in our hands.  We had to tear out the walls 3 feet up from the floors.  

Here you can see how consistent the damage was across this wall.  This wall happens to be along the drip edge of the roof.  Water had been intruding for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, sheetrock can be replaced and walls painted.

To prevent problems like this in the future, we ordered gutters to be installed with downspouts guiding water away from the building.