In the past hundred (or so) years, the advancements in homebuilding technology have been truly astounding. Not only have homes become “greener” in their materials, but also more energy efficient in their operation. However, no matter what advancements are made in building materials quality and technique, there is one truth that remains … the water—if given enough time—will always win.
It might be possible to beat water by keeping it out of a structure, even for a long period of time. But in order to do that, you would have to build a home with no windows, no doors, and no penetrations. Just like the mighty walls of ancient cities and civilizations, the access points for water (doors and windows for homes, gates for city walls) are the weakness.
If you don’t believe me, then you can stop reading right now and go about your day believing you will never experience a flood. Since knowing what to do does not impact you, this is a waste of your time, right? But for those of us who live in reality, this is meant to help you minimize the damage when the inevitable flood occurs.
Let’s Talk About All the Ways a Home Can Flood
The most common way water can enter a home is through groundwater. If your home has a basement, especially if you live in an environment where it rains a lot (such as the Pacific Northwest) or it rains really hard (the southwest, the south, or Eastern Seaboard), then you are at an increased risk. Think of your basement as a sort of reverse swimming pool in which the concrete walls are trying to keep the water out.
The concrete that you would find in a basement is an interesting material. Even though it is an extremely hard material, it still absorbs moisture, just like a sponge. The amazing thing is that the water travels through the concrete through a process called capillary action. If your basement wall comes into contact with water for an extended period of time, that water will soak through and transfer to whatever is touching the inside wall where your living space is. Oftentimes, these are wood furring strips and drywall. Don’t believe me? Put a cinder block or other concrete material in two inches of water and come back the next day. That waterline will have crept up several inches as the water seeks equilibrium.
What About Building Defects?
There can be a number of building defects in a house, but the ones most likely to lead to water intrusion are flashing that is installed incorrectly or a nail that has been driven into a copper pipe. The nail will seal in the pipe, blocking any water from coming out. But it’s only a matter of time before that situation changes.
Do you know why they use copper for plumbing? Because it doesn’t rust. What does rust is steel. Framing and finish nails are found within structures and are often made of steel. At some point, the nail will rust, and water will flow out of the punctured pipe. I actually experienced this scenario firsthand when this happened at my parents’ house after an addition was completed, and they were gone for several days, leaving me a 16-year-old by myself to watch the house. I wish I knew at 16 what I do now about many things but especially about water. It would have saved a lot of stress and heartache!
What About Faulty Materials?
At some point in the late ’80s or early ’90s, the price of copper had gone up enough that someone thought it was a good idea to invent a plastic alternative for plumbing piping. While I think their idea was stellar, their execution was anything but. The product is called CPVC.
The problem with CPVC is twofold: First, it expands and contracts with hot and cold. Which, by itself might not be the worst thing in the world, but when combined with the second problem, it becomes catastrophic. The second problem is that it’s brittle.
My first advice to anyone buying a home is don’t buy one with CPVC. For homes with CPVC, floods are not a matter of if, but when. We recently restored a home for a client whose home had CPVC, and during a recent ice storm, his pipes froze. While this can happen to PEX (WIRSBO) or copper, usually, we see one or two breaks with these types of material. But with CPVC, this client had to fix 19—yes, 19—pipe breaks!
If you do end up buying a home with CPVC, I’d recommend asking the seller for a credit to re-pipe. At minimum, at least know that you should re-pipe as soon as possible after buying the home. Look for a future blog on this awful product.
Deferred Maintenance Is Another Large Culprit of Home Floods
What does deferred maintenance mean? It means that you should have had your roof serviced or replaced, or that broken siding fixed, or those gutters cleaned. But like many of us, you’re busy or don’t have the money, or you just forgot. The maintenance was deferred to “the future.” These and numerous other maintenance items cause all sorts of opportunities for water to do damage, such as ice dams, plugged weep holes, and other fun ways for water to enter your home.
Occupant Error
Finally, there is my personal favorite … occupant error. If you have children under the age of 67 or older than 71, you are at an increased risk of this phenomenon. My nine- and seven-year-olds were having a bath recently. They thought it would be hilarious to fill the tub, plug the overflow valve, and watch the water run all over the bathroom floor. Luckily, my wife happened to be in the basement doing some chores and noticed the waterfall coming from one of the HVAC registers.
While my children get to learn about deferred college tuition in the form of paying a deductible, we also learned how quickly mom can run and scream at the top of her lungs. This is something every child should fear.
But it’s not just kids. Occupant error can happen for all sorts of reasons when we are talking about water damage. Floods happen because a sink is filled with water to clean dishes and it’s left unattended, or the phone rings with bad news, or a toothbrush accidentally gets knocked off the counter and into the toilet and no one sees it. Murphy’s law rears his ugly head frequently … that’s what we simply call life.
So much gloom and doom! Why would I ever buy a home with this many things that can go wrong? Take a breath and know that this is only the first half of the story. Because, while we can’t always prevent these things from happening, we can do a number of things to minimize the damage and maybe, just maybe, avoid disaster altogether. How do we do this? By being prepared.
Be Prepared
Locate Your Water Meter
Whenever my team does any work on a property, the first thing we do is locate the water shutoff valve. When a pipe breaks and water is rushing in at 15 to 20 gallons per minute, the cost of the damage can literally be measured with each second. Your water meter is probably in your front yard or between your sidewalk and street. In one of those locations, it’s often inside a little conduit box with a semi-rusted metal lid. It’s where the meter reader stops by once a month to see how much water you’ve used so that they can bill you.
In addition to a meter, the other thing in this box is a shutoff valve, just in case you decide to not pay your bill. However, this can also be used to shut off the water in the event of an emergency. But they don’t make it easy to shut off. It’s not like a regular turn handle in your house. You’ll need to purchase a water key from Home Depot, which will make it much easier. You could also use a big crescent wrench or a set of channel locks.
Install Water Alarms
Now that you know where the shutoff valve is and how to operate it, another smart thing to do is purchase some water alarms. A water alarm is a relatively cheap plastic box that contains a few sensors. When the sensors get wet, they emit a noise kind of like your smoke detector does when it’s low on batteries. However, with a water alarm, the noise is very loud and doesn’t stop until the issue has been addressed. It might just be the most annoying noise on the planet, but then again, it’s designed that way. It’s so annoying that if it goes off and you’re not home, your teenager can’t help but put down their video game or cell phone and investigate! Getting the Xbox controller out of a teen’s hand is akin to an act of congress, so you know these water alarms are designed well!
These alarms won’t prevent a flood, but for a few bucks, you can know the instant one happens, rather than waiting for it to completely fill the underside of your cabinets before creeping into the kitchen.
Where should you put a water alarm? Under each sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator, as well as behind the washing machine. Put one anywhere water is likely to leak.
Invest in a Ball Valve for the Main Water Supply Line
If you want to take it a step further, there are a few modifications you can make to your home if you’re willing to spend the money. When I was adding a bathroom to a home we were about to sell, we had to have some plumbing work done. While the plumber was there, I asked him if he could install a 1/4-turn ball valve on the main supply line coming into the home. He looked at me like I had a third ear growing out of my forehead.
But the total additional cost of labor and materials was just $57, and it took him less than 6 minutes to install. Now, any future homeowner has easy access to shut off the water to the house without running around in the snow, or pouring down rain, or in the pitch-black of night trying to find the water meter and the water key to shut it off.
Don’t Delay Home Maintenance
Remember that “deferred” maintenance we mentioned? I get that you’re busy. I get that tradesmen are expensive and that there are a million other reasonable reasons not to take care of your home. But your deductible is only the start of the cost of a flood. Not only will it lead to higher premiums, but more importantly, a complete and utter disruption in your life.
To reduce the chances of such a catastrophic event like this happening, do the following:
- Have your roof inspected and serviced by a roof maintenance company.
- Install an expansion tank on your hot water heater (or better yet, have them put in a water circulator while they’re at it—everyone loves instant hot water!
- Have your chimney flashing inspected and replaced. It’s only supposed to last a couple of years, and I bet you thought it would last for 30!
- Replace the caulking around your tub or shower, or have a handyman do it.
- Inspect your property and fix any grading (slope) that goes toward your home. Water flows downhill, and if your home is at the bottom of that hill, you’re asking for trouble.
- Clean your gutters. No one likes getting up on a ladder and “wasting” a Saturday morning, but this will save you time and money in the long run. If you’re not comfortable getting on a ladder, pay the neighbor or find a young entrepreneur. You know that millennial you always complain about who “just doesn’t get it” but who has their own landscaping business?
Water will always win. Hopefully, after reading this, you realize you are not powerless in the fight. There are plenty of easy and/or inexpensive things you can do to keep the water at bay for as long as possible, as well as mitigate the damage in the unfortunate event that it does happen.
