Serving Key Largo
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Key Largo, 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.
Shut off the water, then pick up the phone
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 do the vents drip in a Key Largo house the day it is opened up?
Nearly a third of Key Largo's homes are held for seasonal use. A house closed for the summer is full of humid air when its owner returns, and setting the thermostat far down to cool it fast chills the supply grilles and ducts long before that air is dried. Water beads on the grilles and drips. Lowering the setting a few degrees at a time lets the system dry the air as it cools.
What does salt do under a Key Largo manufactured home?
Key Largo stands about a mile from the open coast and some 8 feet above sea level. Wind off the water carries salt that settles on the skirting and the belly wrap of a manufactured home, and salt draws moisture out of humid air and holds it. Through September, the underside of the home stays damp between storms. Rinsing the skirting with fresh water after a windy spell removes some of that salt.
Why is the floor of the sink cabinet damp in a Key Largo manufactured home?
The openings cut where water and drain pipes pass through the floor into a sink cabinet can be larger than the pipes, and in a manufactured home, the type of about one Key Largo home in six, the damp air beneath rises through the gap. Inside the cooled house, that air settles on the cabinet floor and the cold pipes. Sealing around the pipes from inside the cabinet closes the path.
Key Largo's own page carries them beside the local figures.