Gutters, Grading and Water Management

Precipitation pools and soaks away on level ground, because it is spread over an area. If the terrain slopes, then it flows away along established routes. However, when we build a house we concentrate the flow off the roof at the bottom of a few down pipes. This concentrated water falling at speed seldom reaches those established routes.

Moreover, if we don’t lead it away sensibly, then it pools at the bottom of down pipes, and saturates the earth underground. Gravity demands it finds a route to flow away. That route is often beside and under newly dug foundations.

If we do nothing, then the water gradually carries away the earth underpinning those foundations. These begin to sag under the weight of the house, and they may eventually crack. The cracks ripple through the structure above, before there is time to underpin the damaged foundations with concrete.

However, We Could Help Prevent this Happening

There are few solid guarantees in the construction business, because the earth is a living thing. However, we are able to keep to our word regarding our fascias, eavestroughs, soffits, and siding because these are above ground. If you call us in time, then we may be able to improve the water flow from your roof, and protect your foundations from flooding, and eroding.

Some architects and builders don’t seem to consider water flow is their business, with new houses especially. A concrete shoe under a down pipe appears to be as good as it gets in their minds.

Challenges We Face with Some Water Flows

Form should follow function from an engineering point of view. Therefore, a house and its systems should first work well, and then secondly look good. Unfortunately, few new home buyers think about this until after they move in.

Water flow obeys the law of gravity. If the ground slopes towards the house, then that is where the down pipe water collects. We have faced situations where we had to run the pipe horizontally overhead or over the ground to take the water to a safe point.

There are often trade-offs in our game, because we are tidying what the builder forgot to do. However, Valiant Exteriors always finds the best solution under the circumstances. Please call us at (403)829-1661 to view examples of eavestrough projects we completed in Calgary.