Rain Day Stress Test | Gibsons

A Gibsons home inspection in the rain. Very useful for the inspector to be thoroughly drenched. It all benefits our client because nature does a stress test not only on us but also for the benefit of the inspection.

Just completed a home inspection in Gibsons. Rain so thick you’d think it was hail. But rain is also a dynamic test situation and presents a spectacular opportunity to view the house as a system under stress. Let me explain.

Landscaping – Look for water ponding. It’s an indicator that the lot slope is insufficient to move the water away. If it’s around the perimeter of the house then there will be tremendous hydraulic pressure on the basement footings and foundations and needs to be corrected with slope away from the house.

Gutters – If the discharge is on the surface then review the comments above. If the gutters go into the ground, then they are discharging either to the storm water system (hopefully yes) or sanitary sewer. If it’s into the sanitary sewer then check for a back-flow preventer and look at the basement floor drain for overflow (hopefully not).

Gutters Overflow – Do you have a continuous horizontal rain curtain? Then your gutters and or drains are plugged! Get them cleaned out. Note if you look directly below the gutters on the ground and have a shadow indentation on the ground, then the gutters have been overflowing for quite some time.

Septic System – When the rain has been continuous for days the drain field may be waterlogged. Walk the field location and look for water ponding or worst case scenario, upward percolation or odours in the area. This may be expensive to fix. Again look for odours back at the floor drain in the house, in case of back-flow.

Exterior Doors & Windows – Check for wet surfaces. If they are soaked, then look for rot of the wooden frames and trim. This indicates that first and foremost the overhang is ineffective (insufficient overhang) and or the drip flashing at the top is missing or just overwhelmed by the rain. Not much can be done about the overhang but at least you can maintain the surface weather treatment (paint, stain, caulking) on wooden surfaces and joints to minimize the rate of deterioration.

Exterior Walls – Exterior walls are not watertight and some rain will penetrate into the siding, brick or stucco. Behind the exterior surface, good construction technique allows for drain channels, a moisture resistant skin to shed the water and sufficient top and bottom wall openings for natural wind ventilation for the purpose of drying this interior cavity. When this ‘behind the wall feature is missing, you will see on the exterior – wood rot, stucco blisters, deteriorating mortar or crumbling bricks.

Electrical Overhead Service – Yes on rainy days I have felt a ‘tingling’ sensation with overhead power masts because of frayed insulation or the cable touching the building structure. I now always check this first before approaching the mast location on a roof. Get an electrician to address this issue immediately.

Roofs – I will limit these comments to sloped roofs only. Flat roofs have different issues and I will discuss these at a later date. Look how water is being shed and directed in the valleys. Look at how the metal flashing is pushing away the water from vertical surfaces. The flow should be well directed and showing no dams or back-ups. In particular, look to see if and water appears to be pushing up or behind valley flashing, or the rubber or metal flashing around the plumbing vents, roofing vents, chimney and chimney caps, skylights, bathroom and kitchen vents. Look for poorly made penetrations through the roof membrane for aftermarket add-ons such as solar panel anchors or cabling or security cameras mounted on the roof. The real extent of water penetration through the roof and subsequent damage can be seen in the attic, by examining the underside of the sheathing, which will be discussed in Part 2 of the post.

For an inspector, rain days may be uncomfortable and he is more at risk from slips, trips and falls,  but for the buyer it represents a unique opportunity to view the building performance under stress.