Regardless of the season, redirecting water around your home is very important to the long term stability of your foundation footings and walls. Water should be directed at least 6 feet away from the walls of your home so that it doesn’t filter down back to the foundation.  Why?  There are several reasons:

• Water travels through the previously disturbed soil and can interfere with the stability of the footings below the foundation walls;
• Water can freeze in the soil adding extra external pressures to the wall and causing potentially dangerous and expensive cracks.

With warmer temperatures occurring mid-winter, the melting and quickly freezing weather cycle plays havoc with our ground temperatures and the ability of water to flow where it needs to go! Water will also tend to freeze up inside your downspouts causing damage by expansion, splitting at the seams.

So, what can you do to prevent this damage?  There are cables available to install on your roof to assist in the prevention of ice damming (another article coming soon!) These may also be wrapped around your downspouts (providing the cables are insulated properly to avoid potential electrocution!) to stop water from freezing and causing damage.  Melting water will be absorbed by the ground, under the snow layer the rest will settle at the lowest point, so you need to make sure your lot is properly graded away from your home.  Put downspout extensions on the downspouts, and make sure that the water will exit the downspouts and travel away from your house.