Fun fact, raining cats and dogs may refer to a storm, with heavy rain (cats) and wind (dogs). “Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.
Last night alone it rained more than it does than most winter months in Perth!
Sourced from Water Corp - https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/rainfall-and-dams/rainfall
Aside from storm and wind damage, property owners typically believe that water ingress to their property is caused by cracked or broken tiles.
We find however, that poor or insufficient guttering OR extremely unusual heavy down pours are typically the main cause of water ingress.
Perth and it's surrounding regional centres have over the last few years, experienced far greater heavy rain over shorter periods. Unless your property is a new build or your gutters and down pipes have been modified, most buildings in Perth and surrounds are not set up to cope with these extraordinary “one off” per season down pours. Some properties also do not have down pipes connected to storm water drains, causing rising damp, that however is another problem, outlined in a further article.
To remediate your roof leaks we recommend the following;
a) Review the simple and low cost causes first:
Leaf and other gutter blockages.
Cracked roof tiles etc. It's important to know to not silicone roof tiles. This causes the water flow to act in a manner not beneficial to the property, always keep a bank of tiles and replace as necessary.
b) Review number of down pipes and roof catchment area for the size of your gutters.
Eave gutters are the most common type of gutters on homes. As they are on the outside edge of your roof they should not cause too much damage when they overflow, unless they back up into the eaves and leak down the external/internal walls. Sometimes this shows up as rising damp or even causes problems with the foundations of the home. Box gutters also, if not properly installed or maintained, can rust up or block and typically cause damage to the inside of your home or premises.
Based upon this, if you are experiencing problems with leaks, we recommend that the Strata Company employ the services of a reputable builder or roof plumber to review and provide a report and recommendations on your roofs, gutters, and down pipes in their entirety.
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