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Porter's Buyer's Advocate Articles Helping Home Buyers understand...
B u y e r A g e n c y i n
S i l i c o n V a l l e y
"Agents For The Homebuyer"
Water Under Your House?
Water collecting under homes is a serious problem
that is common in California and may get overlooked if you buy during the
dry season. The crawl space under the floor of your home may be a water
trap if it is lower than the ground outside. Once water gets under the
house, it evaporates slowly because of lack of air circulation.
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Inadequate drainage control is the primary
source of water under a house. Water that flows or puddles next to the
foundation often seeps under the house. Plumbing or sprinkler system leaks,
water from rain gutters, and heavy landscape watering all are likely to
cause problems. You can tell if you have this problem by looking under
the house with a flashlight. Also, a musty, moldy smell when the heat is
turned on may be a sign of a moisture problem.
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Common Water Caused Damage Minor amounts of water under your home may
seem to be just a nuisance. But, the damage it can cause can be expensive
to correct. Even a small amount of water under a house can cause wood rot,
mildew, insulation deterioration, electrical problems, warped wood floors
and raised humidity in the home. These conditions are an invitation for
termite infestation, as well. Concrete slab foundations can also be affected
by water drainage problems. For example; water can seep up through cracks
in the slab to ruin carpet, linoleum and furniture. Excessive moisture
can actually move the slab, causing cracks on interior walls and ceiling.
Water causes the clay in expansive soils to swell, and foundations can
be seriously damaged.
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Prevention Don't allow roof drains and gutter pipes
to spill out next to the foundation. If possible, direct roof water to
closed pipes that empty onto the street. Make sure soil and walkways next
to the foundation slope so that rainwater will flow away from the house.
These are the single most important steps you can take to minimize water
damage to your home. Plan your landscape watering to give just the amount
of water the plants need. Excess water may flow into crawl spaces through
vents in the foundation. A drip irrigation system may eliminate this problem.
Sometimes, due to swimming pools, patio decks and landscaping, it's impossible
to provide adequate drainage away from the house. In this case, it may
be necessary to install an automatic sump pump in a hole at the lowest
spot under the house.
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A Special Note about Expansive Soils Soils high in clay content that change in
volume as moisture conditions change are called expansive soils. Each year
in the United States, expansive soils cause more damage to buildings, roads,
etc. than floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes combined. Many
highly populated areas of Santa Clara County are underlain by expansive
soils. lf your home is built on expansive soils, water drainage is especially
critical to you. Your house will probably move if the foundation was not
designed to take the soil type into account. With changes in moisture,
the soil moves so forcefully, the foundation also moves. When different
parts of the house move at different rates and distances, the foundation
may crack. Cracks also often appear at the corners of windows and doors,
in walls, garage, walkways and driveways. Doors and windows may jam. There
are inexpensive ways to minimize expansive soil problems. These involve
keeping the soil from either expanding or shrinking too much around the
foundation of a house by maintaining a relatively constant moisture. You
should consult a soils engineer before taking steps to deal with this problem.
Each home site is unique.
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Some Steps You May Want to Consider 1. Follow all the recommended prevention
methods to keep water from getting under your house. 2. Remove large trees
and bushes growing within 10 feet of the house. Large plants tend to dry
out the soil. 3. Build a three foot wide concrete walkway out from the
foundation, or compact the soil around the foundation. Slope the soil or
concrete away from the house to aid runoff and prevent puddles. 4. In severe
cases, install a soil drainage system using field tile, or replace the
foundation with pier and bond-beam foundation. See a Soils Engineer first.
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