It never fails that probably the single most prevalent issue\u00a0that I find while doing\u00a0home inspections is the lack of grading away from the home. I can pull up to ten\u00a0homes and I guarantee\u00a0eight out of the ten will have grading issues. Homeowners spend a fortune each year on basement water proofing remedies when the vast majority of basement water issues are caused by improperly sloped soil around the home. If your home has a basement water problem your first line of corrective action is to slope the soil away from the home around the entire exterior perimeter. Next make sure gutters and downspouts are not obstructed. Clogged gutters and downspouts can pour water right against the exterior walls of the home, right where you don’t want it. You want downspouts to discharge at least five feet away from the exterior walls of the home. I have inspected homes where the soil is steeply\u00a0graded toward the house and the\u00a0sellers wonder\u00a0why water is getting into the basement. <\/span>Many of the \u00a0foundation walls that I see while inspecting homes in NJ are block. Block foundation walls usually date back to the mid 1950’s. Block walls are porous and\u00a0water can seep (or even flow) in. \u00a0If water is laying against the exterior walls of the home you can better believe that there is a very good possibility that it is going to make its way in. Other structural issues may be caused by this water pressing against the exterior walls. There may be a need to install a drainage system and sump pumps but take care of the grading and downspouts first.\u00a0It may save you a small fortune.\u00a0If you have any questions about grading or other home inspection issues please drop me a note. I would be happy to answer any of them.<\/p>\n

New Jersey home inspections performed by a\u00a0certified and licensed New New Jersey home inspector. LookSmart Home Inspections is one of the very few independent home inspectors in NJ. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It never fails that probably the single most prevalent issue\u00a0that I find while doing\u00a0home inspections is the lack of grading away from the home. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-inspection","category-inspectors","category-nj-home-inspections"],"yoast_head":"\n