Serving Lake Worth Beach
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Lake Worth Beach, 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.
Say where the water came from when you call
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 did closing in the crawl space make an older Lake Worth Beach floor damp?
A raised floor was built to have air moving beneath it. Where the open space under an older house has been closed in with a block or stucco skirt wall, the cross-breeze is gone, and the summer air trapped under the floor sits still against boards the cooled rooms keep cold. Water condenses on them and on the joists. Vents cut through the skirt wall on opposite sides restore the flow.
Do short eaves matter on a 1960s Lake Worth Beach block house?
They do. About a mile and a half from the open coast, a June storm can arrive on a strong onshore wind. Deep eaves throw that rain clear of the walls; eaves only a few inches deep leave the wall face, the window heads and the joints around the frames to take it directly. Stains and lifting paint below the windows on the windward side are the usual sign.
What does salt air do to the windows of an older Lake Worth Beach house?
The city's center lies about a mile and a half from the open coast, and salt carried inland on the wind settles on aluminum window frames. Over the years it pits the metal, and the caulk joint between the frame and the block wall loosens and opens. Rain driven against the wall then follows that gap inside. Rinsing the frames and renewing the caulk keeps the joint closed.
For the figures behind these answers, see Lake Worth Beach.