If your home has a history of faulty plumbing, or you live in a risky area, flooding might be one of your major concerns. If a flood takes place, having trusted flood damage restoration services by your side to fix your San Diego home can be invaluable.
Additionally, you should find a way to prevent flooding from causing considerable damage to your house in the first place. Luckily, there are many preemptive measures you can take. Keep reading and you’ll find out how to avoid a potentially nerve-racking flood scenario.
How do you stop water flooding in your house?
Even if you react quickly when flooding happens, you might not be able to completely minimize flood damage due to a number of factors. Therefore, taking precautions is your best defense against floods. Here’s what you should do to make sure that water drains away from your house:
Clean and repair your gutters
Clean and repair your gutters, downspouts, and extenders. Your house needs at least a one-sixteenth inch slope for every 10 feet of the length of your gutters to carry water to downspouts. Once the water reaches a downspout, the extenders should empty it well away from the foundation or to about 6 to 10 feet away from it. If gutters overflow, consider larger ones or installing more downspouts to get rid of the water.
Address your foundation
Your foundation also plays an important role in preventing water damage. Thus, you should fill in any low spots around the foundation and make sure the soil is compacted. In addition, use a hose on the foundation exterior to find water entry locations. Finally, repair any foundation cracks and holes you come across.
Check your window wells
Your window wells should have drains linked to the foundation drains. Typically, these drains are created by means of filling a drainpipe with gravel.
If there is no drainage system in your window well, make sure water flows well away from the well. Consider making a modified roof over the window well to reduce the amount of water that seeps in. Moreover, your windows should be carefully caulked and weatherstripped.
How do you flood-proof a house?
To make certain that your house can successfully withstand a flood in the future, here’s what you can do construction-wise:
Replace carpets and wooden flooring
Having waterproof house materials for your floors is much more preferable to wooden ones. Accordingly, invest in ceramic tiles and concrete with a damp-proof membrane. Just be careful when you’re sealing it around the point where your walls and floors join.
Additionally, replace fitted carpets with rugs. They are much easier to move in case of a flood emergency.
Install foundation vents
Foundation vents enable water to flow through your house, instead of pooling around it. This both provides an outlet for the water and significantly reduces the pressure it can put on your basement windows and walls.
Add check valves to your pipes
Fit all your pipes with valves to avoid flood water from your sewage system entering your house. If possible, go for gate valves rather than flap valves because they ensure a better seal against flooding pressure.
Apply sealants and coatings
Apply coatings and sealants to walls, foundation, doorways, and windows. This won’t allow flood water to seep in through cracks.
The leading flood damage restoration services in San Diego are here to help you out
Flooding can be a persistent problem and lose you a lot of money that could be better spent during Flagship Cruises & Events. But with KIC Restoration available 24/7, you’ll no longer think it’s the end of the world. Simply give us a call, and our highly-qualified and dependable plumbers will employ all their efforts and cutting-edge equipment to restore your home to its original condition.
Hire KIC Restoration and your home will be in great hands.