Standing water inside your house can be a big problem if you do not get it taken care of soon, but people are often not exactly certain as to what they can do about the water that may stand in their basement or other room of their home. What most do know is that water damage and mold are two things that are pretty easy to let happen to a home. The fact is that this standing water can come from a few different places and not only are they repairable, but most of the time, they are preventable.
Sometimes the source can be from a leak in the plumbing in the wall. This is especially true if the leak is located in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, or the basement. Shutting off the water is the first thing that you should do in this situation and after that, soaking up the standing water with a towel should be next. Unless you have some experience in plumbing, then you should probably call a plumber to help fix this problem.
The leak could also be coming in from the roof, windows, or doors. If your home is newly built, contacting the contractor who built your home is the best thing that you can do, since your home should still be under its construction warranty. Water leaking in from a chimney that is improperly sealed is also a possibility.
If there is standing water in your basement, there is a possibility that there could be a leak in your home’s foundation. This is especially true if the water is mostly there after a heavy rain. Your sump pump could also be malfunctioning and not draining the water out of the basement as it should be. You may need a new one. Another cause for the water buildup could be that water is settling around your home’s foundation. This could be due to the soil around your home not being piled up high enough so that the water runs away or because your rain gutters are not collecting water as they should be and are dropping it down on the foundation instead of channeling it down through the downspouts.
Clean out your gutters and install some downspout extensions. Pile some new dirt around your home’s foundation so that the water drains away from your home.
Most importantly, if you cannot repair the leak right away, make sure to keep a towel or something absorbent up against the area to keep the water soaked up. Water damage to your floor and walls is even more difficult and expensive to repair.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Hampshire Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Repairing Tile Grout to Prevent Water Damage
Sometimes the tile on the floor and the walls in our bathrooms can become cracked over time and not only is it unattractive, but when we continue to get water on this tile, it seeps underneath it and damages the wooden floor holding it up. Repairing this damage to the wood underneath your tile can be expensive, since all the tile must be taken up in order to get to it. Repairing tile on your own is not a difficult job to do and if you do it correctly, you can even take up the tile later if it is not to your liking and replace the tile in the entire bathroom. Learning how to repair grout, however, is a first step.
Even if the tile itself is not cracked, sometimes grout will be missing, especially if the home is old. Grout comes in a few different types: sanded, unsanded, acrylic or epoxy. Depending on the type of tile you have in your bathroom, you will want to use one over the other. Sanded grout should not be used with marble tiles, since this will scratch the marble. Acrylic latex grout or unsanded grout should be used. The grout should be mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and the area you wish to replace needs to be cleaned out with a mixture of vinegar and water. A grout saw can be used to remove the rest of the damaged or loose grout. Do not chip the tile. The joints should be dampened with water and a paper towel used to remove water puddles in between the tiles. Fill in the joints with the grout completely and the joint’s surface should be smoothed out with a rounded stick. A damp sponge can be used to remove the excess.
The grout should be allowed to set firmly. The instructions on the package should tell you how long this should take. Since this is in a bathroom, a grout sealant should be applied after the grout completely dries.
After it dries and the grout sealant is in place, cleaning it with a damp rag is recommended. A cloudy haze should appear on the tile after it dries again and a dry towel can be used to remove this.
Replacing the grout in between the tile in your bathroom will help prevent water damage from occurring to the floor underneath and save you quite a bit of money in the long run. Hiring a professional is not always necessary and you can save money by learning how to do small home improvement projects like this yourself.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Hampshire Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Even if the tile itself is not cracked, sometimes grout will be missing, especially if the home is old. Grout comes in a few different types: sanded, unsanded, acrylic or epoxy. Depending on the type of tile you have in your bathroom, you will want to use one over the other. Sanded grout should not be used with marble tiles, since this will scratch the marble. Acrylic latex grout or unsanded grout should be used. The grout should be mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and the area you wish to replace needs to be cleaned out with a mixture of vinegar and water. A grout saw can be used to remove the rest of the damaged or loose grout. Do not chip the tile. The joints should be dampened with water and a paper towel used to remove water puddles in between the tiles. Fill in the joints with the grout completely and the joint’s surface should be smoothed out with a rounded stick. A damp sponge can be used to remove the excess.
The grout should be allowed to set firmly. The instructions on the package should tell you how long this should take. Since this is in a bathroom, a grout sealant should be applied after the grout completely dries.
After it dries and the grout sealant is in place, cleaning it with a damp rag is recommended. A cloudy haze should appear on the tile after it dries again and a dry towel can be used to remove this.
Replacing the grout in between the tile in your bathroom will help prevent water damage from occurring to the floor underneath and save you quite a bit of money in the long run. Hiring a professional is not always necessary and you can save money by learning how to do small home improvement projects like this yourself.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New Hampshire Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Repairing Water Damaged Drywall
Water damaged ceilings can definitely be a safety hazard in your home, but not everyone has the money to hire a professional to repair or replace the section of drywall affected. It may just be a badly discolored piece of drywall or it could be that the tape between one section of drywall and another is sagging down. Even worse, the drywall could be weak in the middle and eventually collapse onto someone you care about. Something needs to be done about these water damaged areas of ceiling not only for structural purposes, but also for cosmetic ones, as well.
If the ceiling is only discolored badly with water stains, all you really should have to do is paint over it with primer first and then paint over that with the color of the rest of the ceiling. Your ceiling may be a traditional and ordinary white, but other colors will cover up the stains better, so consider this an opportunity to change the color of your ceiling. You will not have as much trouble covering up the stains with a paint that is not white.
No matter where the damaged piece of drywall is in your home, repairing it should be pretty easy. If it is the tape that is sagging down and coming apart from the drywall, all you need to do is remove the tape. Replace the tape and place joint compound over it. Smooth this out until the tape is not noticeable, paint over it with primer, then with the color of your ceiling.
If the drywall is sagging or cracked in the middle, then it needs to be completely replaced. You need to take out the entire damaged part of the drywall all the way to the joists, because the new piece of drywall needs something solid to hang onto or it will fall. It needs to be cut down the center of a joist in the ceiling so the new piece has something to rest on. Cut the new drywall to fit the part that you removed, screw it in with a drill, and tape over it the seam. Use joint compound over the tape and screws and smooth it out until the seams and screws are not noticeable anymore. Paint over it with primer the same way you would if you were only replacing the tape as mentioned earlier and then paint the color you desire back over it.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Michigan Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Florida water damage restoration companies
If the ceiling is only discolored badly with water stains, all you really should have to do is paint over it with primer first and then paint over that with the color of the rest of the ceiling. Your ceiling may be a traditional and ordinary white, but other colors will cover up the stains better, so consider this an opportunity to change the color of your ceiling. You will not have as much trouble covering up the stains with a paint that is not white.
No matter where the damaged piece of drywall is in your home, repairing it should be pretty easy. If it is the tape that is sagging down and coming apart from the drywall, all you need to do is remove the tape. Replace the tape and place joint compound over it. Smooth this out until the tape is not noticeable, paint over it with primer, then with the color of your ceiling.
If the drywall is sagging or cracked in the middle, then it needs to be completely replaced. You need to take out the entire damaged part of the drywall all the way to the joists, because the new piece of drywall needs something solid to hang onto or it will fall. It needs to be cut down the center of a joist in the ceiling so the new piece has something to rest on. Cut the new drywall to fit the part that you removed, screw it in with a drill, and tape over it the seam. Use joint compound over the tape and screws and smooth it out until the seams and screws are not noticeable anymore. Paint over it with primer the same way you would if you were only replacing the tape as mentioned earlier and then paint the color you desire back over it.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Michigan Flood Damage Cleanup and other states and cities such as
Florida water damage restoration companies
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