Serving Cocoa
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Cocoa, FL
Wind pushes rain sideways through window frames, stucco and the base of the wall. The roof can hold and the house still take water. The walls on the side the wind came from are traced first, at windows, sliders, the base of the wall and the soffits. Block that took on water is dried from inside the closed building rather than left to the outdoor air.
Switch off the air handler if it is dripping
Often needed alongside
- Humidity & Moisture Drying
When the outdoor air is wetter than the building, opening windows adds water. Drying means a closed building and conditioned air.
- Storm Surge & Tidal Flooding
Surge and tidal water rise from the ground up and carry salt and silt with them. Anything porous they soaked is treated as contaminated.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the textured ceiling sagging in a 1970s Cocoa house?
The median Cocoa house was built in 1975, and many of that era have a sprayed acoustic texture on the ceilings. Where a supply duct in the attic above has lost its insulation, it sweats, and the water drips onto the drywall. The rough coating soaks it up and holds it, so the ceiling softens and sags before a clear stain appears. The duct above the sag is the source.
Can an air return pull damp air out of the walls of an older Cocoa home?
It can. Some older houses and apartments use a closed-off stud bay or the space between joists as part of the return instead of a sealed duct. Those cavities are rarely airtight, so the fan draws air from inside the walls and from the outdoors through them, along with its water. A musty draft at the return grille is the sign, and lining or sealing the return fixes it.
Which way does the rain run off in Cocoa?
Both ways. Runoff from more than 170 acres of the city reaches the St. Johns River to the west, and Bracco Pond treats some 1,800 acres of stormwater that drains east to the Indian River Lagoon. Whichever way a street falls, the lot at its lower end takes the runoff from the yards above, so its slab edge and lowest doors are the places to check after a September storm.
Each answer ties back to the Cocoa overview.