NJ Home Inspector

I’m Dreaming of a Dry April

We are so looking forward to the warmer weather! I love a good snow covered home inspection just as much as the next guy but with the temperatures rising I think we are all pretty excited to spend more time in the great outdoors. Since our number one goal is to make our clients happy, we have just the thing to get you outside enjoying (maybe) the sun shine! It’s Home Maintenance!!!! (Cue the cheers and fanfare). To keep with the theme of eagerly anticipating the summer days, let’s throw in a seashore scenario.   

How much is a home inspection in nj

Have you ever taken the kids to the beach and built a sandcastle down by the shoreline?  If your castles are anything like ours, we always end up building a wall around the sand castle to help protect it from the rising tide waters. The waves and water come up and erode the sand castle. In a way this sand castle is a lot like our home. Over time, water can erode the foundations of our home.

Enter the scene: April showers

Water and moisture can be one of the most damaging things to a home.  So let’s talk about how we can take a few simple steps to build a “wall” to protect your castle from moisture intrusion during this upcoming rainy season.

  1. Winter Damage – Carefully check to see if your gutters and downspouts have been damaged from snow and ice damming.  This is the time to fix any winter damage to your roof drainage system.
  2. Clean your gutters – Something we see on so many houses are gutters filled with dirt and debri. Gutters serve the vital purpose of collecting rain that falls on the roof and diverting it through downspouts away from the home’s foundation. With clogged gutters, the water overflows over the edge and falls near the foundation. This can lead to leaks around windows or in a basement or crawlspace. There are a few ways you can go about thoroughly cleaning your gutters.  If you don’t feel safe teetering on a tall ladder you can buy attachments for your garden hose or shop vac. As long as the gutters are not thoroughly clogged, these two methods should work just fine. If your gutters are a little too clogged for these methods or if you feel equipped to climb a ladder properly and safely, you can use a leaf blower, power washer or set your fitness watch to “gutter cleaning” and do it the old fashioned way – by hand. If none of these options seem like something you feel comfortable doing, call a handyman or a pro.

  3. Extend the Downspouts – Once the water is flowing properly through the gutters the idea is to make sure the downspouts are carrying that water away from the house. Downspouts that are dumping the water right next to your foundation, over time can cause major issues. Not to mention damp or even worse, flooded basements. Make sure you extend those gutters out at least 6 feet away from the house so that water stays far away from your basement and your foundation. Downspout extension attachments can be purchased at many major home improvement stores.

  4. Slope of Landscaping – Make sure the landscaping is sloping in such a way that moisture is not flowing into your foundation. If your landscaping is flat, or sloping toward the home this can cause the water to flow right up against your foundation.  Make sure that your landscape grading is sloping in such a way that the water flows away from your home. Again bringing moisture and water toward your foundation is not good.  Over time It can cause extensive damages if not taken care of. To read more about possible ways to fix this issue check out Upgraded Home or contact your local landscaper. 

For a list of other spring maintenance items please check our Spring Home Maintenance Check List.

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