Vivek Shukla
New Delhi: As the fury of
monsoon season has already been started and has it has given great deal of relief from long and unbearable sweltering summer, it is also the time when we think of our homes as well as those buildings where we go in order to work. In the absence of proper maintenance, they badly suffer during monsoon.
Have you done all the required actions in order to prevent any damage to your home? Remember outer walls which have to bear the brunt of intense rain seepage. Experts say that in order to prevent seepage through walls during monsoon, the terrace wall surface should have a gentle slope towards the inner side of the building. This will cause the water to flow onto the terrace instead of flowing along the wall’s outer surface to the ground. Noted architect and head of Designers arch e-homes, Mr KK Jain says that if you have a large balcony or an open sit-out area, ensure the rainwater doesn’t stand for longer periods at these places. This is more important particularly when you have marble flooring at these locations. The gradual action of slightly acidic rainwater may discolour, damage or even eat away the costly marble.
It has been seen more often than not that after couple of good rainy days, roof of your home or building started leaking. According to Dr Najma Rizvi, an ex-faculty member of Delhi based School of planning and architecture, mainly residents of apartments face this problem. If you live on the top floor, there are strong chances that your roof starts leaking as rain water stagnated there. Then how to prevent this situation which leaves ugly marks in our homes? Dr Rizvi says that the one has to ensure that rain water does not stagnate in roof. That is the only way to prevent seepage. She, however, said that due to lack of knowledge many people do not care on this aspect. “I know that due to differences among members of cooperative group housing societies, no effort is made so that rain water does not stagnate on roof. Rather than fighting on petty issues, they should look after their society nicely. Those with who own their independent homes, they still take care of their houses,” she informs.
Experts also say that it is very important that your roof has sufficient gradient to quickly drain out the water collected after heavy downpour. Terrace floor should be leveled by applying cement plaster. “if you see or find cracks in the roof slab, ensure that it should be properly covered”, says J K Jain.
If there is rain, can clogging of drains be far behind? Not at all. This is another cause for the stagnation of rain water. Experts further say those who are responsible for the upkeep of homes or buildings should check drain pipes on regular basis to ensure they are not clogged. Placing an iron mesh at the mouth of the drain pipes is an effective method to prevent the clogging of drains.
If you want to see that you’re building withstand the vagaries of weather, then remember your building needs your regular care. If you show any kind of non-serious attitude, then you have to pay very heavy price. You have to see to it that your terrace is cleaned regularly. Those who do not clear and clean the debris that gets collected there may block the pipes.
Then there are some other aspects for you look them closely in this rainy season. You better roll away expensive carpets for the monsoon. Ensure that once rolled, the carpet is covered in a plastic sheet. This will reduce the chances of moisture or accidental leakages damaging the carpet.
Do builders look after their buildings so that they remain unscratched even after monsoon? “Of course, says Dr Davinder Gupta, CMD of Century 21 India, adding “no builder worth its salt can ignore the maintenance part of his building. If he fails in this front, then he cannot make his presence felt in his business. All noted developers have full-fledged staff which looks after the maintenance part of the building.” Well, this might be true for buildings made by private builders, the state of affairs of many other buildings are pathetic to say the least. After heavy rain, the buildings start seeping from number of places. You can see such buildings even in CP area.
And finally, please see to it your important documents remain safe during rainy days as water is a menace for books and important documents. Ideally, keep important documents such as your passport, driving licence, title deeds, etc. in a waterproof, zip-lock case or box. Ensure that you have photocopies of this document similarly protected in another place in the house.