Can Droughts Lead to Wet Basements in Cincinnati?
Just a quick reminder Cincinnati that while watering the grass and shrubs- we also need to “water the foundations” of our homes.
A few years ago I covered the topic because greater Cincinnati was 3 inches below normal rainfall. This year we’re already 5 inches behind. The lack of rainfall leads to the soil drying up and pulling away from the foundation leaving a nice gap for water to drain down and the parched soil also leads to shifting and cracking foundations. The best way to combat the problem is to move your sprinkler a few feet closer to your house or condo and make sure the soil around the foundation is watered too. If your like me there’s a good chance the windows will also get watered at the same time,but I’d rather clean the windows than bail out the basement when the fall monsoons hit our area. Grading the soil to drain away from the foundation is key-but making sure no ”parched soil gaps” appear will help to minimize the chance for erosion and future foundation problems.
Tim Carter from Askthebuilder.com has some tips:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbHppoj9rg[/youtube]
Just a little bit attention to details now may save you a lot of problems in the future. Stay cool Cincinnati!
