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Home systems

Exterior & Drainage

The cheapest fixes prevent the most expensive damage. How water moves around a house is the single biggest driver of wet basements and foundation trouble.

The ten second check

What else is typical in a house this age?

Type the year the house was built and I will tell you what else tends to be true at that age, what it costs, and what to ask. One number, ten seconds.

A guess is fine. 1965, or just the 60s.

Anything worrying you? Tap any that apply, or skip it.

Free. No account. Educational and impartial, not a home inspection.

Negative grading & drainage toward the house

The most common, most preventable cause of wet basements, and it's cheap to fix.

$500 to $10,000+Address soon

Sump pump & backwater valve

Basement flood protection insurers expect, costs, rebates, and what to check.

$800 to $4,500Address soon

Eavestrough & gutters

A cheap system to maintain, and an expensive one to ignore near the foundation.

$100 to $3,500+Address soon

Retaining walls

Sight down the wall, lean and bulge are soil pressure winning.

$1,500 to $15,000+Address soon

Driveways & walkways

Ignore hairline cracks; care where the water goes.

$2,500 to $6,000+Monitor

Trees near foundations & sewer lines

Big tree + old clay sewer line = scope it before you offer.

$100 to $12,000+Address before purchase

Exterior cladding: brick, stucco & EIFS

The building's raincoat, spalling brick and stained stucco are water findings.

$500 to $8,000+Address soon

Pools, hot tubs & enclosures

The gate must close itself, and 'just needs a liner' rarely stops there.

$45 to $70,000Address before purchase

Score a listing before you tour it

Casaroo reads any listing for the bones as well as the appearance, free, in seconds.

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