Storm Water Intrusion in Forest Lake, MN
Surface water and heavy rain finding a way in at grade, through windows, or through a roof.
Storm water is different from a plumbing leak in one important respect: it arrives from outside, which means it is not clean, and it usually arrives in several places at once because the whole property is under the same rainfall.
What this service covers
- Assessment of every point where water entered
- Removal of surface and storm water from the building
- Handling of water that entered through a roof or opening
- Assessment of contamination from ground-contact water
- Drying of affected structure and cavities
- Guidance on the drainage issues that allowed entry
Signs to watch for
- Water appearing at the base of a wall during heavy rain
- Window wells filling and overflowing
- Staining spreading on a ceiling after a storm
- Water tracking in around a door threshold
- Damp appearing at the top of a foundation wall
- Pooling against the house rather than draining away
Common causes
- Heavy or prolonged rainfall overwhelming drainage
- Surface runoff directed toward the foundation
- Blocked or disconnected gutters and downspouts
- Window well drains that have silted up
- Storm damage opening the roof or building envelope
- Saturated ground preventing any absorption
What to do first
- Establish whether the building is safe and whether power should be cut.
- Photograph the water entry while it is happening if you safely can.
- Clear gutter and downspout blockages if reachable from the ground.
- Move contents away from entry points.
- Treat storm and surface water as contaminated until assessed.
Before anyone arrives: never step into standing water in a basement while power to that level is still on. If you cannot reach the panel safely and dry, stay out and call the utility.
Storm water is not clean water
A supply line failure produces clean water and the cleanup reflects that. Storm and surface water has been over the ground, through the garden, past whatever is on the driveway, and often through a septic drain field before it reaches the house. It is classified differently, and porous material it has soaked is treated differently as a result.
The practical consequence is that carpet, pad, and other absorbent material affected by surface water is much more likely to be removed than dried. That is not caution for its own sake; it is what the contamination category requires.
The fix is almost always outside the building
Where storm water gets in is usually a symptom. The cause is normally water being delivered to the foundation faster than the ground can take it — downspouts discharging at the wall, grading that slopes back toward the house, a window well with a silted-up drain, or a driveway that channels runoff into the garage.
Drying the inside without addressing that means the same event repeats at the next heavy rain. It is worth asking a provider what they observed outside, because they walk the perimeter and most homeowners have not looked at their grading in years.
What a provider may assess on site
- Every entry point, not only the one that was reported
- Whether water is contaminated by ground contact
- How far water travelled from each point of entry
- The condition of gutters, grading, and window wells
- Whether the roof or envelope was compromised
- What drainage change would prevent a repeat
How far the assessment goes depends on where the water travelled, which is usually further than the wet floor suggests. No work starts until a provider agrees scope and terms with you.
Related services
Water in the basement right now?
Tell us where the water is and whether it is still coming in. A coordinator can review it and tell you honestly what provider availability looks like right now.