Serving Jacksonville
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Jacksonville, 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 does the floor of an old Riverside bungalow feel damp in July?
Many of Riverside's frame houses and bungalows rest on brick or concrete block piers, with outdoor air moving freely under the floor. When the house is cooled, the underside of the floorboards and any ducts run beneath them sit colder than that air, and water condenses there. Looking under the house after a humid stretch, at the joists, the duct wrap and the ground, shows whether it is collecting.
Do Avondale's masonry houses take on rain differently from frame ones?
They hold it differently. Avondale was built out mostly in the 1920s in brick, stucco, tile and coquina concrete block, and those walls absorb rain through the wet months rather than shedding all of it. They release it slowly, inward as well as out, so a damp patch on an inside wall can appear days after the rain itself has stopped.
What does a run of heavy summer rain do to a Jacksonville septic system?
Jacksonville has some 14,000 homes with septic systems on record. After days of heavy rain the soil around a drain field can fill with water, leaving the household's wastewater nowhere to go, and it backs toward the house through the lowest drain: a shower, a floor drain or a ground-floor toilet. Easing off laundry and long showers until the ground drains gives the field time to recover.
Back to Jacksonville for the housing and weather behind them.