Serving Winter Haven
Wind-Driven Rain Intrusion Winter Haven, 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
What stains the top of the kitchen cabinets in an older Winter Haven house?
Often a duct in the soffit above. In some houses of around 1990, the boxed soffit over the cabinets carries a supply duct and is open to the attic. Hot, humid attic air settles inside it, reaches the cooled duct, and water forms on the metal and drips onto the cabinet tops. Sealing the soffit from the attic stops that air from reaching it.
How are Winter Haven's lakes connected?
By the Chain of Lakes and by flow-ways. The city's lakes page lists 8 lakes in the North Chain and 14 in the South Chain, plus 13 more public lakes that boats cannot pass between but that water can, through hydrologic connections and flow-ways. After heavy July rain, water moves from lake to lake, and lots sloping to the shore keep their lowest ground wettest.
Where should a damp slab in a Winter Haven house be traced first?
Indoors and overhead. The city's center stands some 166 feet above sea level, beyond the reach of any tide, which changes where to look when a slab is damp: the cooling system's drain line, the supply pipes in the walls and the rain running off the roof are the likelier sources, and a moisture reading along each one finds it.
For the figures behind these answers, see Winter Haven.