Serving Lakeland
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Lakeland, 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
Can a lawn sprinkler wet the ground under a Lakeland manufactured home?
It can. About one Lakeland home in seven is manufactured, and where a sprinkler head stands close to the skirting, each cycle sprays through the vents onto the soil beneath the floor. That ground then stays wet even on dry days, and the air around the cooled ducts in the belly takes on its water. Turning heads away from the home, or capping the ones nearest it, keeps that soil drier.
After the rain has stopped, what keeps a Lakeland lake rising?
Lakeland has 38 named lakes, and many are connected through the city's stormwater drainage system. Rain on streets and neighborhoods upstream moves through those connections into a lake below, so a lake can keep rising after a July storm has passed. The city monitors levels on 14 of its lakes and keeps them within a range set by the regional water management district.
Under a Lakeland manufactured home, where does the water heater's relief line end?
A water heater has a relief valve, and often a pan, each with a line to carry away water it releases. Where those lines simply end beneath the home rather than outside the skirting, any discharge goes into the enclosed space under the floor, where the cooled ducts already gather moisture. Following each line to its end, and extending it beyond the skirting, sends that water into open air.
For the figures behind these answers, see Lakeland.