Home Defect #1 – Roof Drainage

This article is part of the 10-week series on “Top 10 Home Defects”.  These defects are tabulated by one of the largest home inspection companies in our area.  Each week, this series will spotlight one of the defects to help alert homeowners of potential issues they can prevent or repair and help keep their largest investment free of damage and in great shape!

One of the top 10 home defects that are encountered by many owners is improper roof drainage.  This may or may not come as a surprise to homeowners. 

If you see a leak in the inside of your basement, any interior ceiling or any interior wall, chances are it may be because of improper or lack of roof drainage.  Water needs space to travel, and it will find the easiest route.  So, with improper roof drainage it can end up anywhere inside your home.  Wow!

That’s why you need to have proper or correctly installed roof drainage to drive the water away from your interior and away from your house.  Many homeowners are not aware of this issue.  During home inspections, the inspector will make the prospective buyer aware of any potential roof drainage issues he can visually see so as a homeowner you can do the proper maintenance and repairs to make sure the water from your roof goes away from your house. 

To avoid damage, water must be properly routed off the roof surfaces.  All components must capture ALL the water, be free flowing, and distribute the water away from the foundations.  Improper roof drainage can lead to water infiltration, insect intrusion, rot, mold, and structural failure.  In time, it can also lead to deteriorating health if not taken care of.    To give you an idea of what roof drainage defects can look like, here are some pictures to show you.   

Some examples of roof drainage defects

These are examples of defective gutters and downspouts. These shows how water can get backed up or find their way into the house if not repaired right away.

Roof drainage solutions

Solutions to have proper roof drainage can be very simple.  You can just run to local home maintenance store and get a few pieces to install yourself.  Or you can always hire a local handyman or contractor and have them do the work for you.  Here are some simple solutions that can be done to have water move away from your house.   

Clearing gutters can be a simple solution to get the water to flow down and out away from the house.

Pieces on gutters to divert to move the water away from the house; splash blocks can be installed at the end of downspouts leading water away from the home.

Some downspouts are “tied” into a drainage piping underground, taking the water away from the house.

There you have it!  There are some roof drainage defects and solutions that you can do to help protect your home from water damage.  Hope this has given you some insight and provided you with some information so you can at least do a basic visual inspection of your home and be alerted of some potential issues you can have down the road.

Stay tuned for Week #2 of the 10-week series: “Defect #2 – Roof Flashing”

If you have any questions or need contractor referrals or know someone looking to buy or sell, feel free to email me anytime at ccr@ccrsellsrealestate.com.

The information provided for this series is from home inspection company RE Inspect – Real Estate Inspections.  You can check out their website:  www.re-inspect.com.