Our garage used to flood every time it rained heavily. Our yard had poor drainage (which we’ve since fixed) and the soil is basically clay, so the water would pour into the garage via the floor, through the siding and drywall etc. This caused our exterior siding to rot and also our interior drywall to mold and rot. What other potential damage could the water have caused? What should we keep an eye out for when we are repairing the damage? Thanks.
Keep an eye out for wood rot. if any of the boards are soft instead of firm you should replace that 2×4, especially the ones tying the building to the floor.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
It depends mostly on how well your garage is built and for how long has this flooding been happening, raising damp which will lead to mold, it could rot after time any wooden fixture/framing that are getting wet.
Most garages that I’ve seen don’t have any drywall or alike and the moister can’t hurt and masonry like brick, tiles or concrete unless the water is coming up through the floor.
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Carpenter & Joiner
December 11th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Well… mold and mildew.
Rot to the stud-wall.
Rot to the sill plate.
If a long period of time alternating wet then dry… you could see rust in the nails in the studwall and bolts through the sill plate = weakened structure.
Insect penetration… they love wet wood.
If you have electrical running in the garage… might look for corrosion on/in the outlets. Not likely, but possible.
Also, if you have water getting under the floor and the substrate is heavy clay… you could get heaving on the slab = cracks. It could also create voids underneath the slab. Heaving is a bugger to fix without jacking the slab and starting over. Voids/settling can be pumped with concrete to stabilize.
Wicking… moisture running up through the drywall or along the studs to well above the "water line" creating all of the above problems up to the ceiling.
Lots of things to worry about. Sorry.
Side note: in one terrifically bad case of long-term water damage… I found earthworms in the stud wall… ten feet above grade.
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December 11th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Keep an eye out for wood rot. if any of the boards are soft instead of firm you should replace that 2×4, especially the ones tying the building to the floor.
References :