Is Your Home Ready for Spring?

Spring is around the corner – is your home ready?

Believe it or not, spring is almost here! The beautiful summer days are closer than ever, but before you can enjoy days spent outside in the sun, it’s important to make sure your home is prepared for the unpredictable weather that comes with spring – regardless of where you live!

Rainy weeks, melting snow and ice, and more storms with the potential to be severe can all derail an otherwise blissful spring season. But with the right preparations and plans in place, you don’t have to stress about spring weather potentially creating water damage in your home.

Everyone has heard the phrase “April showers bring May flowers”, but April shower can also bring flooding and excess water around your home or business. If you see pooling water around the foundation or your house or along your roofline, it may seep into your home and cause even more damage. Check your roof and attics for leaks on wetter than normal days, if you see any moisture, water stains, or standing water, you should call a professional to assess the extent of damage that this water has caused.

When you are looking at your roof, it is also a good idea to check your basement. Because, by nature, your basement sits before the surface of the ground, it makes it easier for water to wiggle its way through cracks in your foundation, window wells, or other unsealed parts of your home. Catching leaks right away, especially in a finished basement, can help you avoid costly water damage to your walls, electrical, plumbing, or flooring. In some cases, water damage left unchecked can lead to mold growth and structural issues in your home.

Melting snow and ice can also increase the likelihood of excess water being around your property. This can occur within a matter of hours and can cause water damage just as quickly. Keep an eye on the amount of snow and ice that is around your buildings. If possible, try to move some of it away from your home or down-slope from it. That way, when the material start melting, it has a lesser chance of ending up in your home.

With the change in temperature comes expansion and contraction of many commonly used building materials in homes. This small, big significant, change in size could lead to water sneaking through cracks that it creates. Two of the most common areas this can happen is in foundations or concrete structure or your windows. Examine your basement walls or the exposed area around the exterior of your home. Do you see any large cracks that weren’t there before the winter? If there are, it might be time to contact a professional. When looking at your windows, is there any staining or bubbling of your paint around the area? Another indicator is if the windows are harder to open or close than you remember them being. This is a sign that something drastic has shifted – which could lead to water finding its way into your home too.

The changing weather and pressure in the system in spring can often lead to extreme weather events. While heavy rain can be damaging on its own, high winds, tornados, and other storms can send trees into your home, damage to your siding, damage to your roof, or damage to your windows. When this damage happens during a storm, it creates an even bigger opportunity for water to get in a soak your home. Our team of professionals can not only repair the damage done to your home during the storm, but also restore the inside of your home to remove all tracing of water damage that may have occurred.

Spring is a beautiful time to enjoy the rising temperatures and get back outside, but the changing weather can also lead to water damage troubles around your home or business. Knowing what to look for and who to call if you suspect water damage in your home is an important step when being prepared. If you have a question about possible water damage in your home, call our team of professionals. We can help you repair and restore your home so it is comfortable and safe for your entire family.