Leaking soffit after rain

16 years ago

I got water in my finished basement last week after a heavy downpour. When it rained today, I went outside and looked, I saw water dripping from under the soffit on the sides of the house that got water in the basement. This was my parent's house, dad replaced all the soffit years ago with what I assume is vinyl. The gutters have guards on them and I have them checked, the downspouts work. It appears there is something wrong with the soffit on that part of the house, but I don't know what to do. The water is dripping at the seam in the outer part and it really drips along half the front of the house, all of one side and part of the back. I will need to call a contractor to look at it and want to make sure I have an idea of what they will need to do, so I thought I would check here first. The house is a brick ranch, about 50 years old.

I think there was so much rain last week, it just made the soffits drip like crazy down along the foundation. The water appears to be coming up from the floor, no water on the walls or near the windows. Maybe I need to call a concrete repair company and have them look at the outside of the foundation? I feel like the soffits need to be checked, as well.

Any input would be appreciated. I am a single mom, my son and mom live with me. Our church sends a group of men out monthly to fix things, but they were just here before this happened and I would like to get it looked and fixed before another big rain.

Thanks.

Nancy

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Comments (5)

ctbosox
16 years ago
not sure but seems for the water to effect the soffits, its not getting into the gutter properly. The shingle edge and drip edge should place the water into the gutter. I would check where your downspouts are leaving the water, make sure the water is running away from the foundation. A good place to check when getting water into the basement is the outside landscaping.
turnage (8a TX)
16 years ago
Nancy - are you saying the water is coming from inside the soffit?
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lynnt
16 years ago
I have this exact same problem with my 1950's ranch, even after replacing the gutters and putting in new drip edge: water drips down the face of the fascia boards at about six-foot intervals. The water runs down between the gutter and the fascia. Could this six-foot interval be at the gutter-spike locations? It's not at the drip-edge seams -- that is a single 12-foot length. And though there is some debris in the gutters, they are not by any means full or blocked; there is still a good stream coming out the downspout.

I welcome your ideas -- for the moment I have cut some of that black-plastic drainpipe in half lengthwise and put it along the house to catch and direct the drips, but that is not a good long-term solution; it has cut the amount of water in my basement, but I'm still getting some. I'm also thinking about attaching a length of light chain at the drip points so water will slide down it into the catchment trough -- no splashing that way. What d'you think?

LynnT
ctbosox
16 years ago
I'm thinking that the over hang of your shingles and drip edge are not long enought to deposit the runoff into the gutter. we did put a length of dowel under a section of shingles to get the water into the gutter, a small section over a door exit, you'll be suseptible to the wind getting under there though.
chuckfh
16 years ago
check to make sure the downspouts r not plug with roots and dirt. Get someone to take a garden hose to the downspout and turn the hose on. And "make sure" U SEE where it is coming out at the bottom. Depending on the rain event "Amount of rain during a given time period" Gutter, partial clogged or smaller
gutter can do spill over. We do not see this because we are inside most of the time :) But it would do good if U get a rain coat on and take a walk around the house...check downspouts and guttering look up also! The six foot question..maybe just that...when guttering fills rain does come out those holes. Good Luck.