Welcome to my blog, my name is Daisy. A few years ago, my husband and I purchased an old house which required a lot of work. We spent many weeks gutting the place and installing new flooring, painting the walls and clearing the garage space of junk. However, my favourite part of renovating the house was the roof. I loved climbing onto the roof to inspect the tiles, removing and recycling the broken ones and replacing the gaps with new tiles. I also learnt how to waterproof and maintain our roof so that we can avoid problems in the future. I started this blog to help others who are interested in carrying out restoration or repair work on the roof of their home.
Sky High: Repairing and Restoring Your Roof
Possible Downpipe Problems and Building Damage
Hunter Prescott
The downpipes on a home work in combination with the gutters to capture and channel rainwater safely away from the building. Gutters are the horizontal channels that edge the roof cladding. Downpipes are the vertical tubes on the walls. These pipes transfer the water to the ground safely so that it flows to a drain or to the earth where it won't cause harm. Consider the following downpipe problems and how they can result in building damage.
Foundation Issues
Your house rests on a foundation, which could be a concrete slab in the earth underneath. For the building to remain secure, the soil around the foundation needs to be stable. One problem that can occur is pooling rainwater that soaks into the ground, which can cause the foundation to shift and destabilize the house.
Downpipes that function well help to avoid this problem. The downpipes consist of several tube sections that connect via screws and attachments. If the screws become loose and drop off, the pipe sections don't connect seamlessly, in which case they could dump rainwater around the building. You can check for this issue by looking for screws on the ground and noting whether or not the downpipe sections join securely. Also, look out for puddles around the building.
External Wall Problems
If everything is working correctly, rain doesn't flow down the external walls. Water running down walls can cause dampness to permeate the cladding and can prompt mould infestations. Mildew can spread through the walls indoors and create an unhealthy atmosphere in the home. Rampant rainwater can also damage the building's timber elements, whether that is the weatherboard cladding or timber beams in the walls.
If the downpipes become clogged with leaves and debris, the rain can't flow through the pipes. It may then back up and overflow the gutters and down the side of the house. A roofer can clear the downpipes to provide an unimpeded tunnel to keep the rain off the external walls.
Thus, downpipes are an essential element of the guttering system that protects your home from rain. Clues that there might be problems include screws on the ground, loose pipe sections, and pooling water on the earth. Alternatively, you may notice that no water flows out the downpipes when it's raining, in which case it may be blocked. A roofing expert can check the guttering and downpipes and determine what the issue is. Debris and leaves in the downpipe can also encourage animals to build a nest in the system, causing additional problems.
If your downpipe has problems like these, you should replace it and get a new downpipe.
Share