Had Enough Yet?
The picture to the left is a roof I was recently on. It was quite hairy to navigate and frankly, I've aged a lot this winter due to climbing these snowy death traps! No wonder I now possess a permanent facial twitch and shaky handshake! (only kidding!) I've had enough, how 'bout you?
Well, what can I say about the weather in general, and the snow and cold in particular? I'll say one thing for sure, I think they'll be a lot more people migrating south from the area before next winter arrives! This has been a brutal winter, both in terms of temperatures and in snow / ice storms. We can't seem to catch a break of more than a couple of days before the next cold wave or blizzard strikes!
If you want to bet on a sure thing, you know that when the temperature begins to climb and the snow stops coming someday (!!#$?%^&*), many, many people are going to have problems with their basements and crawlspaces because of the meltdown. There is sure to be problems everywhere, and there will certainly be a run on sump pumps at all the big box stores. In addition to this, many people will find that their gutters, downspouts and sump pump discharge pipes have been broken or altered in some way due to the snow, ice and cold. And to add insult to injury, improper grading tends to be a problem at the majority of the homes I inspect and poor grading will aid in the flooding problems to come, in fact, almost every home has grading problems that need to be rectified. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until spring to address any serious grading issues.
So what do you do to protect your home from flooding problems? There are a few things that you can easily do and a one that will take a little more effort. First, the easy things.
Double check that if you have a sump pump, it is in fact operating (manually lift the float to be sure!). In addition, make sure that the discharge piping from the pump (if visible or readily accessible), is intact and discharging far enough away from your home. Also, make sure that all downspout extensions are attached and terminate as far away from the house as possible. A note on pumps. It might be wise to invest the money to have a back up pump, in case the one you have fails before or during the coming thaw. Its always a great idea to plan ahead for worst case scenarios!
Now, something that is far more difficult, but quite important nonetheless, is to go outside in the cold (yes, I know how cold it is!) and shovel (yes, I'm for real!) and clear away all those snow drifts that have made the perimeter of your home look like one of those scientific observations outposts at the North-pole! If you can get the majority of the snow away from your home, you will have accomplished a great feat that will go a long way towards keeping your home's lower level dry.
One more thing. Although this is a topic for another day, I just spoke about the need to plan ahead for worst case scenarios. Well, you know what might happen when the temperature starts to climb, especially if its accompanied by some type of crazy spring storm? The power might go out! Then what?
Well, then unless you have a generator and either a transfer switch or some other type of alternative wiring set up in your home that will run your sump pump, you're in trouble! So in addition to buying a back up pump, you'll want to seriously consider buying a generator because sooner or later, you'll need it and truly wish that you had one, not only for this type of issue, but also to help you through any number of natural disasters.
Thanks for your time!
Marc
The picture to the left is a roof I was recently on. It was quite hairy to navigate and frankly, I've aged a lot this winter due to climbing these snowy death traps! No wonder I now possess a permanent facial twitch and shaky handshake! (only kidding!) I've had enough, how 'bout you?
Well, what can I say about the weather in general, and the snow and cold in particular? I'll say one thing for sure, I think they'll be a lot more people migrating south from the area before next winter arrives! This has been a brutal winter, both in terms of temperatures and in snow / ice storms. We can't seem to catch a break of more than a couple of days before the next cold wave or blizzard strikes!
If you want to bet on a sure thing, you know that when the temperature begins to climb and the snow stops coming someday (!!#$?%^&*), many, many people are going to have problems with their basements and crawlspaces because of the meltdown. There is sure to be problems everywhere, and there will certainly be a run on sump pumps at all the big box stores. In addition to this, many people will find that their gutters, downspouts and sump pump discharge pipes have been broken or altered in some way due to the snow, ice and cold. And to add insult to injury, improper grading tends to be a problem at the majority of the homes I inspect and poor grading will aid in the flooding problems to come, in fact, almost every home has grading problems that need to be rectified. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until spring to address any serious grading issues.
So what do you do to protect your home from flooding problems? There are a few things that you can easily do and a one that will take a little more effort. First, the easy things.
Double check that if you have a sump pump, it is in fact operating (manually lift the float to be sure!). In addition, make sure that the discharge piping from the pump (if visible or readily accessible), is intact and discharging far enough away from your home. Also, make sure that all downspout extensions are attached and terminate as far away from the house as possible. A note on pumps. It might be wise to invest the money to have a back up pump, in case the one you have fails before or during the coming thaw. Its always a great idea to plan ahead for worst case scenarios!
Now, something that is far more difficult, but quite important nonetheless, is to go outside in the cold (yes, I know how cold it is!) and shovel (yes, I'm for real!) and clear away all those snow drifts that have made the perimeter of your home look like one of those scientific observations outposts at the North-pole! If you can get the majority of the snow away from your home, you will have accomplished a great feat that will go a long way towards keeping your home's lower level dry.
One more thing. Although this is a topic for another day, I just spoke about the need to plan ahead for worst case scenarios. Well, you know what might happen when the temperature starts to climb, especially if its accompanied by some type of crazy spring storm? The power might go out! Then what?
Well, then unless you have a generator and either a transfer switch or some other type of alternative wiring set up in your home that will run your sump pump, you're in trouble! So in addition to buying a back up pump, you'll want to seriously consider buying a generator because sooner or later, you'll need it and truly wish that you had one, not only for this type of issue, but also to help you through any number of natural disasters.
Thanks for your time!
Marc
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