Monsoon Storm Water Damage in Sahuarita, AZ

The seasonal picture

What monsoon water damage actually is

Southern Arizona is dry most of the year. Then, from roughly July into September, moisture moves up from the south and afternoon storms build over the Santa Rita Mountains and the valley. They can drop a lot of rain in a short time onto ground that has been baked hard and dry for months.

That ground doesn't absorb much. Runoff moves fast across yards, streets and washes. On the house, roof drainage is overwhelmed and water that can't get off the roof quickly enough starts looking for another way down. Water tends to enter through roofs, parapets, scuppers, windows, door thresholds and low openings, rather than rising slowly the way it does in wetter places.

It's worth keeping this in proportion. Most storms pass without trouble for most homes. The ones that cause damage usually find a weakness that was already there: a clogged scupper, a cracked parapet cap, a cooler curb that has lost its seal, a threshold that sits too close to grade.

What owners usually notice

• A ceiling stain under a flat or low-slope roof section, sometimes appearing hours after the rain stopped.
• Drips from a light fixture, smoke detector or cooler vent.
• Water on the sill or floor below a window facing the storm.
• A wet strip of carpet or tile just inside a patio or garage door.
• Damp drywall in a closet corner on an exterior wall.
• Stucco staining or efflorescence below a parapet or scupper.

May and June

Before the season starts: a pre-monsoon checklist

The best time to deal with monsoon leaks is in the dry weeks before the first storm. A careful hour in May or June covers most of it.

On and around the roof

• Have scuppers, canales and roof drains cleared of leaves, nests, gravel and debris.
• Have parapet caps, the membrane where it meets the parapet, and any roof coating checked for cracks, blisters or gaps.
• Check sealant around vents, skylights and the cooler curb.
• Service the evaporative cooler: pan, float, supply line and the seal where it sits on the roof.
• Make sure gutters and downspouts, where the house has them, discharge well away from walls.

At ground level

• Confirm soil and gravel slope away from the foundation on every side.
• Clear drainage openings in yard and garden walls so runoff can pass through.
• Check weatherstripping and door sweeps on doors that face the yard or patio.
• Clean dust out of window and sliding-door track weep holes.
• Photograph the ceilings and exterior walls, so you have a before picture.

If you'll be away during monsoon, arrange for someone to walk through the house after significant storms and look at ceilings, especially under flat sections and near the cooler vent. Our guide to vacant and seasonal homes covers that in more detail.

Time, cost and what to know about insurance

Most monsoon losses are modest in size: a ceiling section, a strip of flooring inside a door, a wall under a window. They become larger when water goes unnoticed, repeats over several storms, or soaks attic insulation across a wide area. The main cost drivers are how much ceiling and insulation got wet, whether flooring needs to come up, how many storms the leak has been through, and whether drywall must be removed to let a wall cavity dry.

Drying usually takes a few days. Repairs to the roof itself are a roofing job and are scheduled separately; interior repairs follow once materials are dry. You'll get the price for the restoration work before any of it begins.

Insurance

Coverage depends entirely on your individual policy and the circumstances, and your insurer is the only one who can tell you how your policy applies. Read your own policy and contact your insurer directly with questions. Thorough photographs and written notes are generally useful, and the restoration contractor can provide documentation of the work performed.