No one likes water where it shouldn’t be. Flooding in your home can be really catastrophic, causing damage to your belongings and the structure of your house. Flooding often leads to repairs that can take weeks or months to complete. But floods don’t have to be as catastrophic as they sometimes are, especially if the proper areas of your home are waterproofed. Here are the most important areas of your home to waterproof and safeguard against damage!

The Roof

Your roof is your first line of defense against rain and snow falling from the sky. A waterproof roof means keeping your roof maintained and repaired, so that there are no leaks. A leaky roof can cause all sorts of damage to your home, from floor and wall damage, to mold, and even structural damage if you allow your roof to get really bad. If you are unsure if your roof is waterproof, you should get it inspected by a roofing company and listen to their recommendations. They can tell you how to keep your roof as waterproof as possible to protect your home against water damage.

The Basement

In the event of a classic flooding situation, then it is your basement that is going to get hit first, and usually the hardest. If you have not waterproofed your basement then you are looking at significant damage to your home in the event of flooding. Wall damage, structural damage, and foundational damage are just the beginning of the types that are possible. If you store things in your basement, like keepsakes or seasonal items, you are risking water damage to those items in your basement without waterproofing. Give your basement the best chance at deflecting floodwaters by getting your basement waterproofed.

The Foundation

Your home’s foundation is arguably the most important structural component of your home. If your foundation becomes damaged or otherwise requires repairs or maintenance, your home is left in a very vulnerable position. Selling your home can also become a headache if you have a damaged foundation, with many buyers unwilling to purchase a home with foundational issues. You need to make sure that your foundation is waterproof so that rain, snow, and floods don’t compromise the quality of your home.

Outdoor Features

The outdoor elements of your home are the areas that have the most exposure to water every day. There doesn’t need to be flooding for your patio or porch to deal with water, making it essential to keep the outdoor features of your home waterproofed. If you are looking for waterproof outdoor options, then you should consider using concrete fixtures. Concrete is a naturally waterproof element that can look great and provide you with a wonderful outdoor space. Not to mention, using concrete is usually cheaper and lower maintenance than hardscaping your backyard. 

Your Garage

Just like your outdoor space, your garage is a somewhat liminal space, at times both indoors and outdoors. This means that your garage has more exposure to the natural world than most other areas of your home. Because of this exposure, it is important that your garage is waterproofed. This way when you have your garage door open in the rain or snow, or otherwise track rain and snow in, your garage is equipped to handle it. Your garage is the gateway from the indoors to the outdoors of your home, and should be well maintained and kept from water damage.

The Shed

Just like the other outdoor areas of your home like patios and decks, and your garage area, your shed also receives a major dose of outdoor exposure, more than the rest of your house. Because a shed is also a stand-alone structure, it needs particular attention, as it does not benefit from having a sophisticated drainage system, or as robust of a foundation as your home. Give your shed some extra attention when looking at waterproofing parts of your home. Having a shed that is suffering water damage can be a major eyesore, and actually damage the value of your property.

The Bathrooms

Your bathrooms are one of the few areas on the inside of your house that receive regular exposure to large amounts of water. The last thing you want is some leakage in your bathrooms to cause damage to your home. This is especially true of second floor or higher bathrooms, as they can cause leakage onto the floor below if they are not properly waterproofed. Make sure that your bathrooms are designed with extra waterproofing features to ensure that, in the event of a bathroom water emergency, you are prepared and your house can handle it.

Children’s Play Room

Children are messy, and a little clumsy. Kids are great at creating messes, and spilling liquids is no exception to their domain of mess-making abilities. Make sure that your kids’ play room is designed to handle spills that come with having kids. A few simple waterproofing elements should be enough, like a rubber play floor for instance, or waterproofed walls to ensure that when your kids spill you don’t have permanent damage to your home from it. Kids are kids, and they will create messes, but that doesn’t mean your house has to take the brunt of the damage —prepare your kids’ playroom for water.

Let’s face it, at some point, you are going to have to deal with water damage to your house—whether it is a simple spilled glass of water, or flooding of your bottom floors. But water damage doesn’t have to be so pervasive if you prepare your home. There are a few key areas of your home that ought to be waterproofed, and if you simply take care of the most pressing items to you on this list, then you are well ahead of the game to mitigate water damage to your home.

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