Winter Thaw And The Best Homes Inspector

Even the best home inspector cannot predict how a home will behave in extreme conditions. This rapid winter thaw has created flooding problems are across Ontario and basements everywhere that are normally dry are suddenly flooding with water. The rapid onset of warm weather melted the snow on top of the still frozen ground. This leads to extreme water pooling in places that water would not normally sit. Compounding the situation further is the fact that the snow melts unevenly affecting the natural slopes the normally carries the water safely away from the home. Water left pooling against a foundation wall will expose any weakness that under normal condition would not be a problem.This creates an issue for home inspectors.

When a home inspector inspects a home they can only access what they see at the time. If a basement has never leaked there will be no water or evidence of water present at the time of the expectation. It’s important for the home inspector to manage the expectation of the client around basement when it comes to leaks. All to often a basement will have a small leak or major leaks that only acts up during major rain storms or extreme weather. It’s very important to clearly communicate this to the client and write it in the inspection report to help avoid future conflict.