Water is an essential element of our lives. We need it to live, but we also use it for various other functions at home and work, such as washing clothing or equipment, washing, and even carrying off waste from the toilet.
However, as useful as water can be, it may also harm a home or business. Water damage is often costly and requires comprehensive repairs to address when it happens. Here are the most common causes of water damage occurring on a residential or commercial property.
Leaky Roof
The roof is often one part of a building people frequently forget to inspect and maintain. It’s easy to see why since it’s hard to get to regularly and has no moving parts. Because it just “sits there,” many people expect it to take care of itself, but that’s far from the truth. The job of the roof is to protect a building and the people inside it from the elements, especially storms.
High winds, the constant blowing of branches on shingles, or even just poor craftsmanship can all contribute to a roof getting damaged and allowing leaks. If the issue with the roof isn’t addressed, any rain or snowstorm can contribute to growing water damage that starts in the attic or other crawlspace and eventually spreads to ceilings and other parts of a building.
Foundation Damage
Water doesn’t have to penetrate straight through the roof into a building; it can take the indirect route, either dripping from the roof to the ground, hitting the ground directly, or coming down as snow and eventually melting in spring. If the foundation isn’t adequately prepared against this, it can lead to water penetrating a building through its basement, cellar, or another sublevel.
Foundation damage can occur for several reasons. Movement in the soil may cause the foundation itself to shift, except that such a large structure typically doesn’t move all in the same direction. This may lead to cracks as different parts of the foundation move in different directions. A cracked foundation will admit water from snowmelt, rainfall, and other sources. Over time, this can lead to further foundation damage and water damage to the building’s basement, cellar, or sublevel.
Floods
Of course, flooding is a prevalent and often leading cause of water damage. Flooding is unpredictable as it’s dependent entirely on weather conditions in any given year, though some areas are more prone to flooding than others. This, however, does not mean that any area is immune from floods.
Depending on the severity of the flood, water damage can come from backed-up sewage. Sewer tunnels, unable to cope with the excess amounts of floodwater, will send water up drainage pipes and into basements or even back up into toilets. However, the most severe floods will raise water above ground levels and come into a home directly through doors, windows, or any hole not sealed to be airtight.
If the water damage to a building is extensive, the best solution is to get professional help. A flood, for example, will require a team of professionals to handle different aspects of structural water damage.
Call a Professional For Water Damage Cleanup in Columbus
If you need water damage cleanup in the Columbus area you can call Dry Patrol. We’re available 24/7 and can have a trained team of restoration professionals out to your commercial or residential property within a short time after your call.
