Hey Everyone, it is Pierre with Overview Property Inspection, we are doing an inspection and unfortunately, this homeowner is experiencing water in their basement. Now, this is a common concern I see and can be avoided with proper downspout placement. Now when I talk about downspouts people will automatically assume that they are getting water in their basement because of #1 downspout isn’t discharging 6 ft away from the foundation #2 cracks in the foundation or # 3 improper grading towards the property. Those are often the case but not with this particular situation, you will notice that the downspout is discharging far away from the foundation. Unfortunately where the homeowners went wrong is they have the downspout discharging directly underneath the snow. Now what happens is as everything melts you are going to start to get ice accumulation at the base of the downspout and since it is unable to drain anywhere it will continue back up the downspout and start to leak at the joint. As you can see the water is leaking and there is also a crack in the foundation. This could have been avoided if the downspout was discharging 2 feet off the ground, by having the downspout at that elevation it minimizes the chance of water going back up the downspout. What is happening for this homeowner is they are not only having water draining at that joint but the ice is also going back up the downspout and water is starting to freeze along the perimeter and is starting to infiltrate underneath the shingles all because of improper downspout placement. Now they have the right principle they are far away from the foundation but they are not elevated. When you go home tonight or if you are a real estate investor take a look at your portfolio to see where your downspouts are discharging.
See you on your next inspection!
Right Tools! Right Training! The Right Choice!
Pierre Papineau
CPI
Overview Property Inspection

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