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Checking Those Critical Wet Spots!
Water, in its various forms, does more damage to houses than all other problems, combined. If the building remains dry, it will last a long time, but the moment it.s wet it starts to deteriorate. As an inspector you must learn to seek out water damage and recognize its source. Some signs like leaking roofs and plumbing may be obvious but other signs may be subtle and harder to discern. A moisture meter is a necessary tool for deciphering moisture problems.
The following conditions may cause high moisture content in wood:
- Leaky gutters and downspouts
- Leaky pipes or condensation on cold water lines in the attic or hollow walls.
- Check flashings around windows and doors and where porch and dormer roofs meet the siding. Flashing must drain the water away from the siding.
- End grain wood rapidly absorbs moisture.
Seal ends of siding with paint at all joints around windows,
at corners, and butt joints.
- Porch columns should have good drainage and ventilation
where they rest on porch floors.
- Siding or any other wood should not be placed in contact with the ground, from because it will absorb water.
- Siding and shingles must leave sufficient lap so water which may be passing over the surface is not forced up through cracks by wind pressure.
- Ice dams. During cold weather, snow will melt on that portion of the roof that receives heat from the building, but some of the water freezes again when it reaches the overhanging eaves, forming an ice dam. Water then backs up behind the dam and runs through the lap on the shingles into the hollow walls.
- Condensation of water within the hollow walls. During cold weather, moisture condenses on the back of the sheathing in the same way that steam and frost collect on a window pane. The wood gradually absorbs water until it becomes saturated.
- With the advent of warm weather in the spring, the moisture leaves the wood so rapidly it forces the paint film from the wood, causing blisters. This moisture comes from water in the basement, water from drying plaster, excessive indoor humidity arising from the kitchen, laundry or bathroom. Condensation occurs during the heating season and is most severe in cold climates. Moisture barriers could be installed so as to prevent the moisture from getting into the hollow walls, where it condenses on the sheathing.]
Source: Delmhorst Instruments
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