Basements, crawl spaces, and anywhere near the foundation of your Bakersfield home are common places that suffer from water damage. If the foundation of your home becomes compromised from water damage, it puts the entire house at risk. Since moisture is one of the main culprits that can weaken the structural integrity of your foundation, it is important to do all you can to reduce the risk of water damage from occurring. We suggest the following steps to help prevent you from needing water damage restoration around the foundation of your home.

• In order to catch water damage and prevent water damage restoration to your home before it becomes a serious problem, you have to be able to identify it. By performing regular inspections along the foundation of your home, in your crawl space, or in your basement (whichever applies to your house), you can find susceptible areas around your home and address them before water damage occurs. Be on the lookout for areas where water is pooling and look for any cracks in your foundation. Since foundations settle over time, it is normal for some cracks to form. However, cracks larger than 1/8 of an inch need to be addressed and filled so water cannot work its way through, and so that the crack can become stabilized and not spread or open any further. 
• Rain gutters and downspouts make up the water draining system for your home by collecting and directing water from your roof and routing it safely away from your foundation. That being said, if gutters are clogged and water cannot flow through them, or if downspouts are missing, damaged, or not long enough, rain water will run down the sides of your home where it can pool and collect next to your foundation. Be sure to clean your gutters out at least twice a year to insure there are no obstructions to the water flow, and make sure your downspouts are channeling water at least 10 feet away from your home. Promptly fix any missing or damaged gutters, and even consider installing extensions to your downspouts if they are not sending water far enough away from your home. 
• One common reason water will pool up around your foundation is inadequate grading of the ground around your home. You need a slope of at least 6 inches around the entire perimeter of your home so that water can run away from your foundation. If the grading around your home is less than 6 inches, you can add dense soil to build it up. This seems like a small thing, but it can have a major impact on reducing the need for water damage restoration from your foundation.