Solving Exterior Water Damage Caused by Poor Drainage: How a Missing $5 Gutter Component led to Massive Damage
Being a homeowner is a big responsibility, and it can be a headache when something goes wrong, especially when it is through no fault of your own. Around Oregon, exterior water damage tends to be extreme and extensive. The slightest of home drainage issues will often cause significant dry rot and ruin the structural integrity of your home. One customer of ours faced this particular issue. I felt terrible, it is awful when a home is in distress. It is expensive, difficult, and something that will continue to worry you long after the repairs are finished. When the structural integrity of your home is at stake, you want someone you can rely on to fix it and fix it well! Pristine Projects LLC is a general contractor who is proud to serve Dallas and the rest of Polk County. When we are given a task like fixing your home’s structural integrity due to exterior water damage we take it very seriously, and we are committed to restoring your home. We set out to serve and the following is an example of that service.
Before we get into the repair, let’s talk about the warning signs of potential rot as a result of poor drainage. There are many things to look for in this situation: Discolored paint, peeling paint, bubbling in the siding or paint, soft siding, water pooling on walkways by the home, soft spots in the window trim or in the door frames, and loose windows and doors. Any of these could be a sign, so if you see one or more of these you need to act ASAP. In this particular case the windows by the worrisome spot were loose and the siding was soft and spongey. That was a huge red flag, and I knew the water damage was going to be severe.
Once we have found that rot is present, we need to diagnose WHY it happened. The best repairs inthe world do not matter one bit if we can not diagnose the drainage issue that caused the problem in the first place! There are many distinct possibilities here as well. Negative grading, improper gutter installation, hydrostatic pressure, split or failed caulking, failed roofing, improper flashing and so on. In this particular case, it was improper gutter installation and improper flashing that cause the exterior water damage. If you look at the picture below you can see that the gutter is missing a vital component that the home builder missed which is the kickout flashing. A gutter kickout is an angled piece of flashing that finishes out the roofline’s step flashing, and diverts water into the gutter (There is a picture of one towards the bottom of the page). These MUST be installed where any roofline meets the wall. Without it, water is free to run down the roofline and behind the siding which is what caused massive amounts of damage to the home. To compound this issue, the gutter system on the roof above was draining out onto the portico roof. This one roof line was essentially taking most of the drainage from the above roof as well.
As you can see some repair attempts were made by someone before me to try and mitigate the issue, I knew these were not going to cut it though.
As a contractor, my goals were to do the following: Investigate the extent/cause of the damage, and then game plan a repair for framing and sheathing, and then replace the siding and trim so it feels like home again.
After I knew why the water damage happened, I could finish my demo knowing full well I could conduct a permanent repair. The idea was to be as careful as possible, we do not want to remove more than we need to and we want to preserve what can be preserved. You can see photos below where we found just how bad the water damage had become.
Wow, that’s a lot of water damage! After determining, the extent of the damage and rot I had to call the City of Dallas. A building repair this extensive would require an inspection once completed. So I filed for a building permit, and had one by the following day. I’ve got to say, I have had excellent experiences with the Dallas Building Department and its inspectors.
Once all of the rotten sheathing had been removed I could replace the framing. This part is tricky. My goal was to maintain the livibility of the home while also providing a professional repair. Problem is, the interior drywall is secured to the exterior framing. What I did was I used my multi-tool (oscillating saw) and fit it between the drywall and studs to cut the screws and nails releasing the drywall from the framing. Once the job was over I drove new screws into the drywall so that it was secure once more. That way my clients only had to worry about me doing a quick spackle job rather than patching and refinishing an entire section of wall which could have added several days and a lot of extra costs to the job. This way I kept costs down and kept my clients happy!
While removing exterior framing I was extremely careful about relieving pressure on the side of the home I was working on. To do this, I set several strong bottle jacks to push a makeshift post up to a makeshift stringer which was screwed to the good framing using Simpson SDS Screws for a tight hold. This was a great way to relieve that unsupported weight while I replaced the 2x6 framing on this wall. Once the new studs were fit into place, I released my jacks and the home was sturdy once again.
Once I was happy with the framing, and had fixed the gutter kickout, and the city had cleared my repair job, I could put the siding back on. At this time, I was a solo operator and this was a big job to do on my own. Especially considering the fact that I had to carry 2 sheets of 4x8 hardee siding by myself, that was no easy task at all! However, the trickiest part of all was replacing the stone veneer. The house had been built about 10 years ago so finding an exact match of the stone was incredibly difficult. Here is where I want to give a quick shoutout to Landscape Shoppe off of Highway 22 between Dallas and Salem. I brought them samples and pictures, and they were extremely helpful and worked very hard to help me find as close of a match as possible to the existing stone veneer, and I’ve got to say it blended pretty nicely! See the final product and the gutter kickout in the next two pictures below.
As the title of this page says, funny how such a small piece could cause such catastrophic damage!
Now that we have talked about the problem and how it was fixed, lets talk about preventative measures. Here are a few quick tips to prevent this from happening in your home. Understand that these can sometimes result from poor building practices rather than simple maintenance issues. That being said here are a few good tips and things to look for on your property!
It is always go to clean your gutters at least twice a year, especially if you have trees on or near your property.
During heavy rain look for spillways on your home. If you see an excessive amount of water running down a particular wall or near the gutter ends, this could be a sign of poor drainage and long term will result in water damage from that area being overexposed to the water.
Finally, make sure your home’s exterior paint and caulking is still in good condition. Paint does more than make your house look good, it is also crucial for ensuring your home is protected from rainfall and moisture. So if you see peeling paint or gaps and splits in the caulking between siding boards, trim, windows, and doors, those should be addressed as soon as possible! A few tubes of caulking is a lot cheaper than rot repair!
If you suspect water damage and you are in Polk, Yamhill, Marion County or the surrounding area, give Pristine Projects LLC a call at 503-877-3169. We will give your home a no obligation inspection and give you a rundown of the potential risks or troubled areas. For all your general contracting needs, Pristine Projects LLC is here to serve, let us know how we can serve you!
