Drainage Inspection 

Too much moisture can seriously damage your house. Moisture acts as an incubator for mold, bacteria, dust mites, and even cockroaches; four things you definitely don’t want in your home. In addition to that, any excess moisture causes wood to rot—weakening your home’s structure.

So, what causes moisture? Typically, we see inadequate—or even reversed—drainage and grading, which causes most water build-up. A lot of times, homeowners don’t even notice their home has moisture problems; this is why 1st Choice Inspection Services recommends performing a draining inspection on your home once a year.

The Inspection

When you hire 1st Choice Inspection Services for a draining inspection, we meticulously inspect inside—and around—your home. One of the first things our inspector will do is examine the soil levels to check the grading. He makes sure they aren’t too high; this promotes water penetration of the structure, creating the perfect home for wood-destroying insects—like termites.

Although we talked about not wanting moisture in the home, we do in fact want to make sure there is an appropriate amount of moisture in the soil surrounding the foundation. This makes sure the soil doesn’t dry and contract away from the foundation (which causes structural movement).

During this time, the inspector also observes the shrubbery surrounding the house to ensure trees or large shrubs don’t cause foundation problems. A lot of times, excess foliage close to the home can cause infestations of wood-destroying insects. We recommend you water your shrubbery outside of its current root zone to encourage the roots to grow outside the foundation area; additionally, trim your foliage at least one foot away from your home.

Our last step is checking out the gutters and downspouts. It’s absolutely essential that these items are functioning correctly; if they aren’t, it causes leaking water—which causes serious structural damage. The inspector will look for signs like:

• Cracks or splits
• Peeling paint
• Pools of water
• Water stains
• Sagging gutters
• Rust and mold

The Report

Once everything has been looked at, the inspector will discuss his findings with you (the homeowner), accompanied by photos and videos to fully explain what he observed. Moisture and water damage are things you don’t want to mess with, so call us at 1st Choice Inspection Services and let us perform a drainage inspection.