East Bay Real Estate

Jim Walberg’s storm maintenance ideas for the next few days.
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WOW! What a storm hit today in the East Bay! My phone has been ringing off the hook from our real estate customers who are experiencing storm related PROBLEMS. The challenge is that the wind is driving the rain horizontally and it is getting underneath shingles and gutters. Some of my customer visits today included:
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• Water running down the face of the granite fireplace. ( Guess: rain blown under the chimney flashing.)
• A sheetrock ceiling section collapsing in the garage next to the garage door. ( Guess: gutters clogged up and water overflowing and getting behind the stucco and draining onto the garage ceiling sheetrock.)
• A lake forming in the backyard and draining under the house instead of down the landscape surface drains. ( Guess: landscape drains clogged from Fall leaves and debris.)
• Upstairs window leaking from under the window down the interior sheetrock soaking the carpet. ( Guess: exterior gaps around the window framing and the stucco exterior.)

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Now, I am not a contractor or a home inspector, but I have come up with several simple maintenance ideas to these storm related problems because of personally having experienced all of them. Here are some of the basic tasks to do during a break in the storms coming the next five days – probably Sunday morning.
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• Clean out the gutters ASAP. This is the main reason for roof leaks around the perimeter of homes. It is a pain to do, but it is critical to prevent leaks. If ceiling sheetrock starts to bubble or bow you may have water collecting on top of it, and it may only be a matter of time before the sheetrock collapses. A simple remedy is to take a broom handle and punch a hole in it to release the water. Be prepared for a flood so get your flooring protected and get lots of towels ready. The water mess is better than having the ceiling falling in on your home.
• Any flashing around chimneys needs to be caulked on an annual basis. Ask any Home Depot or Lowe’s for the proper material to use.
• Backyard drain issues where there are current landscape drainage in place is usually because the drain lines are clogged with debris from the Fall dropping of leaves. Typically this can be resolved with just putting a garden hose down the drain and turning the water on full blast. If this does not do the trick then you may need to hire a professional service to address the problem.
• Caulking around the exterior trim of windows is a MUST at least on an annual basis – especially with stucco siding. It is very easy to do this simple maintenance work, and a real mess if it is not done and you get water behind the stucco and then into your home.

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The East Bay is covered in water this weekend, but it is much needed rain because of the lack of it the past 18 months. Our reservoirs and the Sierra snow pack is benefiting greatly. The challenge is making sure our homes stay dry during the next five days of downpours. Let me know if you have come up with other rain maintenance ideas. Stay dry! Until next time.

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