Tag Archives: drainage

Gutter downspout extensions

Gutter downspouts should be extended to discharge water away from the home’s building envelope.  In this picture, while it’s great that there’s a downspout extension, it discharges directly adjacent the home which is, frankly, pointless.  Direct water away from your home.  Failure to do so can lead to crawl space water intrusion, wood destroying insect activity and structural issues, so it’s an important simple step you can take to protect your home.  This was discovered at a recent home inspection in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island.

VIDEO: Slope Walks AWAY from Home! Orcas Island Home Inspection

It’s important to keep the area within 4-6 feet of the home sloped away from the home to shed water away from the exterior envelope. In this video, taken at a recent Orcas Island home inspection, I document a concrete walkway that has settled and is sloping towards the home. After I went into the crawl space at the conclusion of the inspection, I did indeed note water intrusion and the sloped concrete walkways are a likely contributing factor. Water is the enemy! Do everything you can to keep water away from your home.

Video: Extend gutter downspouts!

It’s important to properly route storm (rain) water away from the building envelope as water can lead to structural settling, damage and insect activity. In this video, taken at a recent home inspection in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, the gutter downspout needs to be extended into the subterranean rain leader (pipe that goes underground to the city storm drain). If rain leader pipes in the ground are kept open, like that videoed here, debris and rocks, etc. can clog the drainage system and repairs can be somewhat costly.   Continue reading →