How runoff finds the lowest opening
Runoff takes the lowest path to the building, so the entry is usually at the lowest door or well.
Water on a city street follows the slope of the road and the gutter, and it spreads over the ground beside the house until it finds the lowest opening. In Milwaukee that opening is often a door, a garage opening or a window well, because those are at or below ground level.
The crew checks the grade around the house and the path the water took. The path is recorded in the scope, so the homeowner can see why the water reached the room it did.
Recording each entry point
Each entry is photographed, measured and labelled, because each is a separate repair.
A building with runoff damage often has more than one entry point, and each needs its own record. The crew photographs the threshold, the window well and the garage seal, measures the depth at each and notes the condition of the seal. The record is kept with the scope.
A homeowner who records the entries before cleaning gives the insurer and any contractor a clear picture of the cause.
- Photograph each entry point with a time
- Measure the water depth at each entry
- Note the condition of each seal and threshold
- Label each entry on a simple sketch of the house
- Keep the sketch with the scope
Clean-up and drying of the entry room
The entry room is cleaned of silt and debris, and the wet material is removed and dried to readings.
Runoff carries silt, leaves and debris. The crew removes the silt from the floor, cleans the threshold and removes any carpet or pad that the water reached. The wall base is read, and any drywall with a wet line is cut back.
Drying follows the usual sequence. The target is set from readings and written in the scope. A room that dries slowly is checked for a hidden wet area, such as a wall cavity behind the door frame.
- Remove silt and debris from the floor
- Remove carpet and pad that the water reached
- Cut back drywall with a wet line at the base
- Read the wall base and the door frame
- Dry to the target in the scope
Repairs that follow runoff damage
Seals, thresholds and window wells are repaired by a trade, and the crew hands over a list.
The crew does not repair seals, thresholds, window wells or grading. It records what it found and hands a list to the homeowner, who can take it to a contractor. The list names the entry points, the condition of each and any cut-back drywall that needs a trade.
A repair that stops the next runoff is worth more than a fast clean-up. The list is written with that in mind.
- Garage seal or threshold replacement
- Window well cover, drain or sealing
- Grading that slopes water toward the door
- Drywall and trim replacement by a trade
- A written list kept with the scope
Keeping the record for a future storm
A dated record of the entry points makes the next storm easier to prepare for.
A homeowner who has had runoff damage once can keep a simple record of the entry points, the photographs and the readings. Before the next storm season, the record shows which entry needs attention first.
The record also helps an insurer decide what a loss was caused by, because it shows the same entry points in more than one event.
- Keep the entry points on a dated sketch
- Check each seal and cover before storm season
- Keep the photographs with the scope
- Note any new entry point after each storm
- Review the record each year
Photographing the path before the cleanup
The path the water took is photographed and sketched before anything is moved, because it shows the cause.
Runoff leaves a path on the ground, the threshold and the floor, and that path is the best evidence of cause. The crew photographs the path from the street side and from the house side, and it sketches the route the water took. The sketch is kept in the scope.
A homeowner can help by taking photographs of the street and the grade on the day, with the date. Those photographs show how the water reached the house and are useful to an insurer.
- Photograph the path from the street
- Photograph the grade beside the house
- Sketch the route the water took
- Keep the sketch with the scope
- Add the homeowner's dated photographs to the file
