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April Showers bring more than May Flowers

Category: Article • June 9, 2022

We’ve all heard that “April Showers bring May Flowers”.

With the spring rain you need to consider the impact on your commercial property, as well as other seasonal variables that can adversely affect or compromise your brick & mortar.

Having left the freezing-cold temperatures, snow, and ice of the winter just passed, we might be inclined to look only ahead to warmer, sunnier days.  But we should first pause for a moment to consider the possible aftereffects of the winter season just passed.

Winter freezing and thawing is often a cause of roof damage, especially on a shingled roof.  With the expansion of ice lifting up shingles, stressing the tabs, Spring is the time to have the roof examined to determine of there are any lingering after-affects from the winter’s chill.  “Ice dams”, due to a repeated freeze/thaw cycle, were discussed in one of our previous Blogs.  All of these possible issues cause water damage.

With the coming spring rains, we want to ensure the roof does not have damage before water might start finding its way into the building and causing damage.  Gutters should also be inspected, as winter ice may have formed behind gutters and around soffits and fascia, pushing gutters away from the roofline, allowing water to flow down the wall…or behind the wall causing water damage.

Downspouts should be inspected to ensure a proper free-flow of water is being shed from the roof to the gutters for proper drainage away from your building’s walls & foundation.  Time to open those cleanouts. Does your building have buried, underground downspouts?  While there’s much debate about the pros & cons of this practice, one thing is certain:  If you have buried portions, you need to clean them out regularly.  Debris blocking the flow of water will only cause the water to back-up towards your building’s foundation and cause water damage.

Let’s not forget about proper tree pruning.

Tall, stately trees surrounding a building’s perimeter can help shade the building from some of the summer sun’s intensity, as well as add a visual aesthetic to the setting.  But tall limbs that are permitted to grow over and past the roofline will quickly contribute to the accumulation of debris in your gutters and come down onto the building during a springtime storm.  Spring pollinating season is when a significant amount of organic debris is produced and can wind up clogging your roof’s drainage system leading to water damage.

Rain Season is also Pollen Season.

With warmer temperatures and spring rains we see a tremendous surge in pollen production.  Many of us are well-aware of its effects on us, with increased sneezing, watery eyes, and respiratory irritation.  Seasonal allergies are triggered by this dramatic increase in plant pollen production.  But we also need to be thinking about our building’s “respiratory irritation”.  Your building’s filtration media is just as much under assault as are your lungs.  Thorough and repeated cleaning or replacing of your air handler’s filtration media will extend the life of your equipment and ensure adequate air flow for proper indoor air quality.  Read more about addressing indoor air quality on this previous blog post.

As you transition your building’s HVAC from Winter to Spring/Summer, NOW is the time to have routine service performed.

The boiler you use only to heat the building will be sitting idle for several months.  Winter-time humidification systems, likewise.  Idle time is the perfect time for routine inspection and if necessary, recertification, repair, or replacement.  Servicing off-season equipment means it will be at its peak performance months later when called back into service.

Bob Sansbury,
Commercial Account Partner
Elegant Restoration, Inc.