Thank you for the warning, Wes. I am already tracking the dampness in my basement wall in Garner. During the last heavy rain, I noticed some minor weeping along the cold joint where the slab meets the foundation wall. I have placed tape indicators across the minor hairline shrinkage cracks to monitor for any shifting before I start to panic. I highly recommend everyone check their crawl spaces and basements before the heavy rain starts to establish a baseline.

Frank, that weeping is a classic sign of high hydrostatic pressure. When we get these tropical systems, the water table rises rapidly in our clay soil, and the relative humidity in unencapsulated crawl spaces shoots up to ninety percent. If your indoor dew point matches the crawl space temperature, you will get condensation on your floor joists. Keep your foundation vents closed during the storm and make sure your sump pump is plugged into a functional outlet.

The Neuse River greenway trails are definitely going to close by Sunday afternoon. I am keeping a close eye on the river level gauge near Milburnie Road. Please stay off the flooded trails. I have seen too many folks try to bike through standing water only to get swept off by a hidden current. If you live in a low lying section near the creek, make sure your vehicles are parked on high ground.

I spent this morning clearing out the storm grates on our street in Southeast Raleigh. A single bag of pine needles and fallen leaves can block the street drain and turn the entire cul de sac into a temporary pond. It only takes five minutes of manual labor to clear the grate, and it saves everyone from dealing with water creeping up their driveways.

Diane is absolutely right about the preventative maintenance. I calculate my drainage maintenance costs per year, and spending a small amount on gutter cleaning and storm drain clearing saves thousands in foundation stabilization and drywall repairs. I always instruct my tenants to report any pooling water near the foundation immediately so we can address the grading before the next big storm hits.

I have opened up walls on older homes in East Raleigh after storms like this and found years of hidden water damage that was just covered over with fresh drywall by previous owners. If you see water staining on your ceiling after this weekend, do not just paint over it with Kilz. You have to trace the leak up to the roof or the flashing. The storm will show you exactly where the house is weak.

Great advice from everyone. Let us stay safe this weekend. Secure your patio furniture, keep your chainsaws on the ground, and let the professional tree crews handle the canopy work once the storm passes.