Causes and Prevention of Roof Water Damage

One of the leading causes of water damage is a roof leak, and there are various types of roof leaks. When an inexperienced roofer improperly closes a gap or hole in your roof, it may only cause more damage instead of repairing your roof. This may only redirect water to a different location.

When you need roof repairs, make sure to work only with a roofing professional who can fix the root cause of the leak, and not only a quick fix, temporary solution to your problem.

Having said that, here are the most common causes of roof water damage, and how you can fix them:

• Valley Damage – The inside angle of your roof where 2 faces meet is called a valley. It is a weak area in the roof, and rainwater can be channeled through it. You can prevent issues with your roof valleys by having a professional roofer install an open valley or closed-cut style roof.

• Flashing Malfunction – Flashing is the thin sheet of metal installed at specific roof points such as the point where the roof and a vertical wall meet. Although it may be counter-intuitive, flashing can sometimes be overly secure.

Steel expands and shrinks, depending on the temperature. If the flashing is nailed to the wall and the roof, deformation may result. This will then leave some space for water to get in. When warped, your flashing must be replaced, and not merely repaired.

• Roof Feature – Anything that penetrates the roof decking is known as a roof feature. Examples are chimneys, vents, skylights, as well as anything that lets light or air to travel on the roof from side to side. These areas of the roof are vulnerable as they directly lead into the home. Water can get in through them. To keep water out, flashing must be installed properly in these areas.

• Damaged Shingles – In most cases, a roof leak arising from damaged shingles happen either right after installation or after the shingles have been installed on the roof for a very long time.
When they happen immediately, problems are often because of improper installation or manufacturing defects. The problem can be easily fixed by an experienced roofer.

On the other hand, if the shingles have long been on the roof, and they now look ripped, curled, thin, or are starting to fall off, the problem may be due to the effects of normal wear and tear. It may now be the right time to replace them. If you opt not to replace them, leaks may start to develop in different parts of your roof. Thus, complete replacement may be the better option.

Roof water damage can be messy and expensive to fix, especially if ignored and allowed to go on for a long time. A lot of problems can be avoided if the problems are addressed as soon as they are detected. Through regular roof maintenance, early signs of wear and tear that can lead to future problems can be spotted early.

Causes and Prevention of Roof Water Damage syndicated from https://restorationcrew.wordpress.com

Immediate Steps to Take After a Pipe Bursts in Your Home

When a pipe bursts in your home, you must take immediate action. This is because it can cause significant damage to your possessions, home, and health if you neglect to clean up the mess right away.

Having said that, here are the steps you can take to address a busted pipe.

1. Stop the flow of water – Upon suspicion of a broken pipe, turn off all faucets. Do this even if you don’t know the source of the unnecessary water yet. Locate the stop tap on your water’s main source. It is often found under the sink or the point that connects your house to the main service pipe. Make sure that each member of your household knows where it is for emergency purposes.
After switching the main water source off, you must drain the pipes. First, run cold water on all your faucets. Flush every toilet one or more times. Turn the water heater off, then return to the faucets and run hot water to drain. Once tap water has stopped running, the leak will also stop.

2. Find the broken pipe, then inspect the damage – Once you have drained the excess water, you need to find the busted pipe. Check the damage, and consider the location of the pipe. A major pipe, regardless of the breakage size or damage, will need more effort and time to replace. This is because it leads to other connections, and holds more water.
You may be able to save some money if the break is small. You can just use a chemical bonding agent or commercial tape to fix it. But, you need to make sure that you do a good repair job. Otherwise, it may later burst, and you may only have a bigger problem in your hands.

3. Repair the busted pipe – It is often easy to fix cracks in a non-major pipe. Your choice of mending material will determine the cost. One inexpensive and easy repair for a small crack that provides an excellent hold involves the use of a long regular garden hose and a few hose clamps or something similar that can give extreme constriction. Measure the crack, then cut a piece of garden hose that is around 10” longer than the damaged area.

Slice the hose in a way that you can slide it over the burst area of the pipe. Use the clamps to hold the hose over the damaged area. Compress it as tight as possible. Turn the water on to test your repair job.

If you have a bigger break, cut the busted portion of the pipe with a hacksaw. Cut at least one inch longer on both sides of the rupture. Use a sealant and pipe spacers when replacing the damaged pipe piece. A compression nut that is too tight will cause an ovaling effect. This causes further leaking.

4. Call in a professional – If water leaks from a busted pipe on your ceiling, floor, or wall, it is best to let a professional handle the job for you. If your idea of a quick remedy is opening the windows and using fans to dry a wet area, you are only inviting mold to thrive.

Final Word

Fixing a broken pipe may or may not be an easy task, depending on the nature and location of the damage. The important thing is to fix the problem as soon as you spot one.

Immediate Steps to Take After a Pipe Bursts in Your Home syndicated from https://restorationcrew.wordpress.com

What Is The Difference Between Flood Damage And Water Damage?

Has your home been damaged by flood or water? Perhaps you are surprised that there is a difference between flood and water-damaged property. While technically flood is caused by water, most homeowners’ insurance companies don’t consider it as a form of water damage. As far as they are concerned, there is a clear distinction between the two.

Flood Damage

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) defines flood as a general and impermanent situation of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of 2 or more properties (at least one of which is the policyholder’s property) from:

• The overflow of inland or tidal waters

Inland waters are permanent water bodies located inland from the coastal zone. These include rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, and inland saline systems.

Tidal waters are legally defined as bodies of water that are subject to the ebb and flow of ordinary tides. Seas are an example.

• Atypical and fast build up or runoff of surface waters from any source 
• Mudflow  
• Cave in or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water due to erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water above predicted cyclical levels.

Water Damage

Generally, “water damage” as alluded to in insurance policies involves only the homeowner’s house and it is caused by unexpected events such as:

• Sewer backup and overflow
• Accidental or sudden pipe bursts 
• Severe rainstorms that soak through the roof

Water Damage does not usually include those that occurred over time due to things like:

• Plumbing or faucets that have been leaking for a long time that have damaged the ceilings, walls, or floors 
• Leaking water due to cracks in the foundation of the house
• Deteriorating parts of the roof that causes water to enter the house 

Homeowners have the responsibility of keeping their homes in great condition through cleanliness and regular maintenance.  The insurance companies would not pay for damages that happened due to their willful negligence.

To sum everything up, flood water comes from a natural source and affects two or more properties if affecting a residential area, or at least two acres if it floods a rural place. On the other hand, water damage involves only your own home and is caused by sudden problems with pipes and other house structures.

If you and your neighbors are troubled by rising waters because of torrential rains, then you are most likely dealing with a flood insurance claim. If the floor of your house is damaged due to an unexpected sewage backflow, then you are looking at a water damage claim.

Lastly, be sure that before you purchase a plan from an insurance company, you have reviewed and understood precisely what it covers and what it excludes. If it doesn’t include flood waters, consider getting one that does or get separate flood insurance coverage. Consider the pros and cons of every insurance policy that you consider and carefully make informed decisions. This will save you from undesirable problems in the future.

What Is The Difference Between Flood Damage And Water Damage? syndicated from https://restorationcrew.wordpress.com

18 Beginner Plumbing Tips That Everyone Should Know

Here are few tips and tricks that every do-it-yourselfer needs to know.

Our guys at Hillcrest Plumbing want you to know some things that they don’t teach in high school but they can save you hours of time, hundreds of dollars, and certainly insurmountable amounts of frustration as you go about your plumbing projects as a beginner.

1. PVC and CPVC pipes are two entirely different things. If you go to the store and do not know which one to ask for, you risk buying a pipe that will not be able to do the job that you need. Even the way we measure these pipes are different, so not only will the pipe likely not fit, they both do different things.

2. CPVC pipe is much more preferable for hot water.Typically professional plumbers will use PVC pipe for cold water and regular water lines and CPVC pipe for hot water lines or things like a dishwasher or a washing machine that often have hot water running through them.

3. They are measured differently. For PVC pipe, one would measure the diameter of the inside of the pipe.  Whereas with CPVC pipe the measurement is taken based on the diameter of the outside of the pipe.  A simple solution to make sure that you get exactly what you are looking for without having to go the store over and over again purchasing the wrong product, is to take a small piece of the pipe that you are looking to fit and replace.  The people at the hardware store will be able to tell you what type of pipe it is and the correct measurement.

 

Read More: https://hillcrestplumbing.com/beginner-plumbing-tips-that-everyone-should-know 

Related Article: Simple Ways to Save Water