USE YOUR HEAD WHILE SHOVELLING ALL THAT SNOW
When snowbanks melt, you don’t want the excess moisture near your foundation
I write this amid a freezing rainstorm in Ontario. This comes one week after a major snow fall, followed by a deep freeze and, to cap it off, some beautiful spring weather that melted most of the white stuff that had piled up. My point is this: there’s a LOT of water that’s now melting, flowing, draining, and falling near our homes.
Water is enemy No. 1 when it comes to home hazards. If water manages to sneak into your home, you could be looking at a flooded basement and ruined drywall, not to mention mould and rot.
During the aftermath of a big winter storm (and the ensuing melt), how do you protect your home against this threat?
WHERE DOES THE SNOW GO?
You’re a good neighbour, so that means you always shovel your driveway, sidewalk and walkways — but are you letting snow pile up around your house? Now, I’ve heard some people say you should let snow cocoon around your foundation as it adds some extra insulating power, but I don’t like that. Why? That snow is going to melt, and your porous foundation will want to absorb it (even if it’s crackfree). You want to do everything you can to prevent water from seeping into your home.
When you’re shovelling your walkways, definitely avoid tossing that excess snow toward your home and foundation. Also make sure to shovel out any exhaust lines, fresh air intakes, gas meters, dryer vents, and fire hydrants.
GRADING ON A CURVE
OK, so you’ve made sure to shovel away from your home, but when the snow melts on the rest of your property, where does it go? This is where your landscaping comes into play. The ground should slope away from your home so that water can’t flow back toward your foundation.
Grading is something you can easily mess up on your own if you’re not careful. Even something seemingly simple as adding a garden or some patio stones to your yard can have a bigger effect on your grading than you might think. These are jobs you can take on yourself if you feel able — but if you’re considering making landscaping changes near your foundation, it wouldn’t hurt to get the opinion of a professional landscaper before you start moving soil around.
All the grading in the world won’t make a difference if the melt from your roof gets dumped right next to your foundation by some poorly planned eavestroughs. Make sure the water from your roof is expelled a few feet from your home. You can pick up an extension for your downspouts at any hardware store for cheap — and you can easily attach it yourself. It’s worth it.
ARE YOU FLOODING?
If you do end up with a flooded basement, the most important thing to remember is not to panic, and not to rush your recovery. Call your insurance provider to file a claim. For serious flooding, you’ll probably need to open up your walls — at least one foot above the water line.
Remember that recovery is a process and takes time. You have to allow the wall cavity and studs to fully dry out, or else they can breed mould spores. Before you close those walls up, have an indoor air quality test performed. You want to ensure your space is dry, and free of mould. It will be a lot harder to correct those issues if you’ve prematurely added new drywall.
It’s also a good idea to call an electrical contractor at this time to check your home out, especially if water levels rose to reach an outlet or your electronics.
As a homeowner, your job is to protect your home against the elements no matter the season. Just because the water might be frozen during the winter, doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax. Stretch your shovel muscles, and make sure you properly divert water BEFORE you get a flood.
So, water you going to do to protect your home from snow and ice this season?