How poor drainage can affect your house

When starting to construct, one has to critically understand the drainage system of that particular area so as to avert future regrets.

The foundation and walls of a house are greatly affected by a number of factors that interrupt with the structure and a poor drainage system is one of them. While people give the drainage system little thought while building, it may cost you your home especially when its advance effects are discovered at a later stage.

According to Engineer Moses Nsubuga, before building, you need to understand the topography of an area because this will help you determine the water table level and if it’s near, measures can be taken to combat it from affecting further activities.

Where it is common
Poor drainage system is common in swamps, areas near water bodies, sloped landscapes and valley like areas. But this does not mean that people will not build in such areas. However, if no precautions are taken, the house might collapse and Nsubuga explains how poor drainage can affect your house.

Collapse and cracking of walls
Walls of houses whose drainage system is poor will easily develop cracks and if not repaired immediately, it might lead to the collapse of the walls. “This can happen during the initial process of construction or at later stages of completion. Because walls are weakened by water, it will be hard for the foundation to support the weight of the house. Cracks at times may also be noticed in the floor.”

A musty smell
A musty smell is also a result of poor drainage system. It is due to the absorption of water from the lower ground to the upper levels. Water will always be dump thus creating a dump smell in the house,” Nsubuga explains.

Wall paint will peel off
He further notes that wall paint will keep on pilling off because the walls will be moist and paint will not stick to walls because it will be peeled off by the water absorbed by the walls. This making it costly to maintain such a house.

Cause flooding
A house built in a poorly drained area is susceptible to flooding especially during the rainy season. Landscaping and leveling becomes hard in a poorly drained area, this makes it very tricky because there is always poor water flow that makes soil binding hard.

Overcome the effect of poor drainage
According Joseph Kalumba and Engineer, the only way to prevent your house from effects that come with poorly drained places is;
“By using hardcore stones in the foundation before laying the slab. You should also use a Dump Proof Course (DPC) before building the walls. The hardcore will allow the easy floor of water and the DPC will protect the walls from water.”

ADVICE
Excavation in a water logged area should be at a depth of between three to five feet deep in the ground. This is done because when you set up a house without first considering what effect water will have on it, chances are that you might end up incurring double stretching expenses. After excavating its advisable put hard core stones use a compressor is to compact and compress the stones together.