This has become a regular phone call for us, generally early in the morning after (surprisingly) a rainy night.

“Can you please help us?  We woke up this morning and there was water leaking from the window.  We have put buckets out and towels to mop up the water but it is still raining and water is coming in our house”

It happened 4 times yesterday and again first thing this morning.  We want to help and give you peace of mind and I thought it would make sense to post about the process.

First, I will ask you a series of questions

• How old is your house? How old are the windows?
• Has this ever happened in this spot before, to your knowledge?
• Is the window underneath a dormer or large roof overhang or close to any angles and flashing or junction of brick/siding/stucco?
• When were your eavestroughs last cleaned/inspected?
• Did you recently have any work done on the exterior or interior of your house? (roof, new windows, exterior or interior caulking, capping, flashing etc.)
• Have you called your insurance company? (more about this later)

Depending on the answers, I usually try to dig deeper to find out over the phone what the possible sources are.  Generally, there needs to be an initial inspection done on site, at which point we can make some suggestions.  I usually tell people to call their insurance company first off to describe the problem, as your insurance company wants to make sure that the least amount of damage happens, so they have a lower potential payout.  For example, if you have hardwood floors, and the water is seeping into them at a fast rate, it is in the insurance company’s best interest to get to your problem faster, or they possibly have to pay to have your floors redone.

An initial visual inspection costs $175 + HST and includes a question process on site, a visual inspection from inside and from the ground or stepladder (up to 10 ft) and a checklist of potential reasons that we go through.  The inspection is carried out by a construction professional, well versed in all aspects of home building, repair and maintenance.  If further inspection is warranted (roof, dormers, flashing, behind drywall etc.) adjustments will be made to the inspection fee to diagnose the problem.   Depending on how invasive we need to be, this amount need to be determined as we progress with the inspection.  This fee is dependent on the house and the location of the leak, and the initial assessment as to potential origin of the leak.

Please call us to help you with your leaking issue.  We will ensure that the right people get to your home to find the source.  Sometimes the source of the leak is obvious, and there is a straightforward repair to rectify the problem.  With water, however, it is not always cut and dry finding the problem, and in some cases, extensive inspection is required to determine the source of the leak.   We will work with your insurance company if need be to find a solution and repair the leak.  Our workers are fully insured and we carry $2 million in commercial and general liability insurance.  We are committed to helping our clients with all their home repair and maintenance needs.

Lakeshore Home Maintenance – 289-242-8439