Montreal Gazette

Take pre-emptive steps to protect your home from snow and rain

Important to take pre-emptive steps

- MIKE HOLMES

Everybody thinks that we have to worry about flooding only in the spring and summer but a flood can happen any season. A water main can burst in the street, sewers can back up into your basement, a pipe can burst in your home — even your sump pump can give out.

But the weather can also take an unexpected turn.

Near the end of winter, when temperatur­es hover just above freezing, we can get a good rainfall when there’s still plenty of snow on the ground.

Sometimes, this snow covers street drains, and it doesn’t melt fast enough to let all the water drain. When that happens the risk of flooding doubles. Not only is there rainfall that potentiall­y can’t drain but also melting snow. So now we have all this extra water — an entire season’s worth — with nowhere to go.

The last place you want it ending up is in your home. So as we move from winter to spring, here are a few tips to help prepare for the extra precipitat­ion:

Watch your property. Monitor how water is draining on your front lawn, backyard and around your home.

The best way to stop problems is to prevent them and sometimes we’re lucky and get warnings. Big puddles are a warning. They tell you that you might have a grading or drainage issue — and the sooner you fix it the less likely you will have water in your basement.

If it’s a grading issue, you will need to have a profession­al landscaper re-grade your property — a project that will have to wait until at least the spring. Take some pictures for reference — the puddles will be long gone by the time the landscaper arrives. But a pro can help you protect your property in the meantime.

For example, they can strategica­lly place tarps around your home that can help minimize the amount of water reaching your foundation.

Remove snow away from your home’s foundation. Snow stacked up along the side of your house is another warning — shovel it away, especially around basement windows.

Think about it: All that snow is water just waiting to happen. And all it takes is the temperatur­e to rise and it isn’t long before it starts to seep into the ground and down the side of your home’s foundation. The first place it will melt is along the side of your home as heat escapes. One tiny crack and it’s in your basement.

Clean your eavestroug­hs. It might seem small but it makes a big difference when it comes to protecting your home from water damage. Removing debris from your eavestroug­hs long before winter is best.

This helps prevent ice damming and water from backing up underneath your shingles and getting into your roof ’s structure. But if it’s a real issue now a roofing contractor can check your eavestroug­hs, safely remove debris and use a de-icer, if necessary.

And make sure your downspouts are directing any water coming off your roof at least .9-to-1.2-metres away from your foundation.

All rise. If you know a big storm is headed your way and you’re expecting heavy rain, it’s a safe bet to move any valuables out of the basement to a higher level in your home. Having the furnace and hot water heater elevated off the basement floor is another good precaution.

Also, if you know your basement is susceptibl­e to flooding and your electrical panel seems too low call a licensed electricia­n to have it moved higher. Dealing with water and moisture damage is one thing — and it’s serious — but dealing with a damaged furnace and/or electrical panel is another can of worms, very serious, too.

Check the sump pump. Your sump pump pumps out any water that has made its way below your basement into the sump pit or basin. Once water reaches a certain level in the basin, the sump pump kicks into action and starts to pump it out, as long as it’s working properly. Most homeowners don’t know there’s a problem with the sump pump until there’s water coming up into the basement. But you can have a licensed plumber come in before a major storm and check it out to make sure it’s working properly.

You could also have them install a sump-pump alarm with battery back up.

So if water reaches a certain level in the sump pit and the pump doesn’t start working, the alarm goes off and you can immediatel­y call your plumber.

There are also some sumppump alarms that can send you a text message in case there’s a problem and you’re not home.

We can’t prevent storms but we can prevent some of the damage they cause. Think ahead, be smart and take the right steps to protect your home. Watch Mike Holmes on Holmes Makes It Right on HGTV. For more informatio­n visit makeitrigh­t.ca.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada