Storm Damage Sandy Springs Residents Experience in Winter
Common Yet Unexpected Winter Storm Damage
Exposure to winter storm damage in Sandy Springs can have devastating consequences. Sleet, ice, and snow can coat and weigh down roofs and other structural components, threatening their collapse. High winds topple trees and send branches and other debris into homes and businesses, breaking windows and doors and destroying the siding or other exterior building materials. This direct harm demands immediate attention as the integrity of your building in the path of the storm is obviously compromised. Water, in many forms, from liquid to solid, invades, damaging everything it encounters. AdvantaClean of Sandy Springs is ready to offer immediate assistance in these dire circumstances with trained work crews and high-efficiency equipment.
We also advise property owners to seek out less apparent issues caused by and during wintery weather conditions. The “hidden” problems might develop more slowly in cold and freezing temperatures but must receive swift, professional attention to prevent long-term and permanent deterioration and secondary damage.
Winter Versus Summer Storm Damage
Fierce winds and heavy precipitation can result in Sandy Springs storm damage in every season. Cold temperatures during the winter alter the ways properties experience adverse effects, including slowing down, obscuring, and complicating the harm. Freezing and frozen liquids might not flow inside directly, unimpeded, as during torrential warm seasonal rains, but significant problems still occur. Take the possibility of considerable damage after a winter storm seriously, even if all seems well. Consider the following:
● Top-Side Accumulation
Roofs in the good repair shed heavy spring, summer, and fall downpours immediately, although winds can tear away that protection. That complication is usually quickly visible to property owners.
The same roofs collect winter’s sleet, ice, and snow, burdening all roofing layers with tremendous weight even without the added element of windy conditions. Shingles and decking might eventually fail under pressure, collapsing while allowing water inside.
● Roof Drainage
Correctly installed and maintained gutters and downspouts direct stormwater away from the house structure and foundations, especially with proper grading.
Even well-planned drainage systems can clog with frozen liquids during cold seasons (ice dams). Upper levels of buildings exposed to cyclical melting and refreezing where the roof joins the building’s framing experience interior leaking that destroys building materials and invites mild growth. Icicles are not decorative; they signal inadequate insulation and incomplete sealing, allowing water incursion through the eave line.
● Flooding and Plumbing Ruptures
Severe warm-season weather events can result in overland flooding into basements and crawl spaces. Overburdened municipal sanitary sewers back up into properties,
exacerbating the situation. Contaminated water needs removal by AdvantaClean of Sandy Springs professionals.
Poorly or uninsulated pipes can burst during freezing weather, sending flooding throughout a home. Power outages allowing interior temperatures to plummet increase the risk. Waste pipes are not immune to breakage due to the expansion of frozen liquids. This exposure to sewage and its hazardous contaminants is a destructive and frightening reality during severe cold snaps.
● Foundation Failures
Even without overt overland flooding, poorly graded ground around a building allows pooling 365 days a year. When water saturates the perimeter, it must seek an outlet, which can be through concrete, wooden, stone, or cinder block foundation walls into your property.
Melted ice and snow moves inside as well when temperatures fluctuate. Snow shoveled or blown against your property increases seepage exposure, and banked snow can prevent the pooled melt water from escaping from the foundation.
Winter storm damage in Sandy Springs poses exceptional circumstances, but we are aware of the factors freezing temperatures add to the equation. Our team is up to the challenge. AdvantaClean of Sandy Springs technicians uses the strategies mastered during certification from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) to assess and develop interventions that follow industry best practices to remedy water damage and contaminated fluid issues all year round.
AdvantaClean of Sandy Springs offers storm damage mitigation and remediation services 24/7 during all seasons. Call us at (404) 474-8443 for professional assessment and to explore restoration options.