COLUMBUS, Ohio — With spring showers on the way, local experts say now is the time to take preventative steps to keep your home from flooding, and it all starts with the gutters.
“We've done jobs that have gone north of $20,000 and it all is completely preventable by just fixing gutters and downspouts,” said Brandon Chace, owner of Foundation 1st in Columbus.
Chace advised that every homeowner check and clean their gutters at least once a year. He added that neglecting downspouts over the course of years is what leads to major flooding.
"We've seen walls falling over because the downspouts were not working for who knows how long,” Chace said.
The process only takes a couple of minutes to make sure water build-up is flowing away from your house.
"If you have downspouts that go underground out to the street, make sure the water is flowing out to the street,” said Chace. “You can take a garden hose, put it inside the downspouts and just make sure water is coming out of it.”
The basement is where you also want to keep an eye on. Chace said to look for signs like moisture build-up on the walls and floors.
"One of the clear indicators is the yellowing and the bubbling up of the ceiling on the wall. You can see this stuff comes off with the touch of a hand,” he said
Chace also suggested checking your sub pump before opting for waterproofing, the most expensive and last resort.
Lastly, Chris Green, the Flood Insurance Guru, said to consider flood insurance sooner rather than later.
"Everyone should get flood insurance. It’s the best investment you'll ever buy,” he said.
According to Greene, it only takes one inch of water that could cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
“We had a client recently that had hardwood floors and they only had a couple of inches of water in there and they had almost $25,000 in damage just for the flooring," he added.
When considering flood insurance, Greene said you want to consider what is your personal property or anything that’s not physically attached to the building.
“Do you have the money sitting in your bank to pay $50,000 for contents? Then, the next question [we ask] is when picking a deductible. We always tell people to don't pick a deductible larger than what you have in the bank,” he said.
He explained his team has seen many people have to take out a disaster loan to cover this extremely high deductible.
Evaluate your personal possessions or the actual cash value of the items.
“You always want to pay attention to replacement costs,” Greene explained.
The Ohio Department of Insurance also issued a reminder that there is a 30-day waiting period that applies before coverage begins.
You’ll also want to review any policy exclusions and assess roof repair and replacement deductible, as well as to conduct a home inventory.
For more information on flood insurance, you can go to his website and the Ohio Department of Insurance website.