Weather Extremes Cause Problems In Cellars

On a nearly new house, one can be slightly forgiven for assuming that very little needs to be done, at least in the first few years.  This of course can be a bit of a disaster – particularly if the weather is very windy and wet for many weeks at a time, followed by extreme heat and dryness.  These conditions cause the ground to slip badly – very dry weather of course sucks out normal moisture and then it starts to behave like massive sand castles.   Very dry and not stable.  Then along comes the torrential rain in autum.  This has the effect of washing away much of the ground cover and the soil erosion becomes very serious.  Property maintenance must take into account the ground on which the place stands.  If there is a basement or cellar, regular checks must be made to ensure no cracks appear in the side walls or floor.  Any pipework going through the cellar must be sound and not exposed to freezing temperatures – cladding of pipes is essential to avoid frozen pipework and ultimately, burst pipes which cause terrible flooding.