Autumn and Winter can be a beautiful time of year with all of the leaves of the trees turning into golden yellows and oranges, before falling off branches and turning our walkways into a pile of leafy fun for the kids.. or the dogs.
As lovely as this may appear, leaves can become a big nuisance in the winter, especially when there are high winds, causing leaves to blow around in the air and land in our home guttering.
If you live close to some trees, it is worth a check to see if your guttering has been blocked by leaves, especially when it has been raining outside. Wet soggy leaves in guttering not only blocks the flow of rain water passing through the pipes, but it can cause a great deal of damage to your home.
When the rain water has nowhere to go, the water overflows and soaks into the external walls of your home causing it to become damp, this is called lateral penetrating damp.
If this is left untreated, not only can the walls become stained and filled with mould growth, but the cold winter weather can also cause freezing and cracking of the wet bricks. This can cause some major structural damage to a home and have the possibility of health problems caused by the growth of mould.
Wet/soggy leaf piles up against a house wall for a prolonged period can lead to lateral damp penetration, and also breach the damp proof course.
If you are worried about penetrating damp in your home, we have specialists who can provide you with helpful advice and effective solutions.
Find out more about penetrating damp or contact us.
