While the calendar tells us that Spring officially arrived on March 21, a quick look outside last week tells us that the season will be late this year. If you live in California or most of the Southwest, the gloomy weather brought us another rainy atmospheric river and snow in the mountains without a hint of the sunny Spring days to come that we’re all anxiously anticipating.
The result: the Pacific and Southwest regions are experiencing coastal bluff home site mud slides, retaining walls are tilting or tumbling on soggy slopes, there is flooding in low-lying neighborhoods and snow damage to mountain home roofs. So instead of jumping into our Spring maintenance to do list, we wanted first to let you know that the licensed structural engineers at Helfrich Associates are here to help homeowners cope with these disasters.
We have decades of experience in helping homeowners recover from or prevent natural disasters. Our team of engineering experts will come to your home, assess property damage or offer mitigating advice to prevent damage. Many times your insurance company will contact us or you can ask directly for our services to ensure weather-related home construction damage issues are resolved and repaired properly and economically.
When this year’s rainy season comes to an end, those of you with coastal ocean view homes or hillside homes or living in terraced planned communities or mountain-view homes need to do a survey and see what’s changed around your home and inside too. For example, have the ground drainage patterns changed underneath the roof line or your property perimeter? Do you have tilting fences or block walls? Are there spongy hillsides above or below your property?
If your home is experiencing any of these issues, they need to addressed to avoid further damage if there is a summer monsoon season (in the Southwest especially). If your home landscape includes French drains or other ground level drainage systems, be sure they are cleared of mud and plant debris, such as leaves, mulch or bark. Note that standing water anywhere also is a potential breeding ground for summer mosquitos and other pests.
You’ll also want to do an attic interior and exterior roof and gutter inspection, as well as be sure that the structural supports are still sound for upstairs balconies or elevated patio structures built on hillsides. It might be time to consider replacing that older roof if there are gaps in coverage. Termites can arrive after a wet winter anywhere wood is exposed including attics with missing vent screens.
Speaking of the attic now is the time we suggest calling your HVAC specialist for an appointment to inspect those furnaces that have been working overtime this winter and request a tune-up of your air conditioner system before summer arrives.
Check your interior window sills for leaks too, dual-paned windows for broken seal moisture vapor and those outside decorative shutters for water damage that might cause sagging. Leaky or drafty windows are a path for warm or cool air to escape. (Think about the cost of air conditioning this summer and gas heating next winter). Resealing leaky windows and window sills also can prevent indoor water damage to sills, walls, floors, carpets, electrical and more.
While the drought is over in California, our state’s water agencies indicate that water demand is still outstripping supplies. There will be continued emphasis at the local level on homeowner residential irrigation conservation. If your home escaped this winter without serious damage, you might want to consider adding or expanding drip irrigation, removing and replacing your grass lawn with artificial turf or other hardscape, such as stone covered paths or seating areas.
Another popular choice is selectively replacing some landscape plants with hardy, drought-tolerant California natives such as the lilac Ceonothus shrub or colorful manzanita or blue Lupine, orange California poppies, etc. These plants are a natural fit for warm, dry Southern California gardens that offer unique character, seasonal color and often easy-care that is well-suite to busy family lifestyles.