WATER INFILTRATION:
WHERE DID IT GET IN?
Tracing the source, entry path, and extent of damage after the heavy rain.
Recent heavy rainfall in Omaha and the surrounding region has put water infiltration back in focus. The September 30 storms brought widespread flooding across southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa, followed by additional flooding elsewhere in Iowa as September ended and October began.
For claims professionals, wet drywall, stained ceilings, or a flooded basement are the starting point. Understanding the loss requires establishing where the water came from, how it entered, and which materials were affected.
Have a water infiltration claim with an unclear cause?
Submit a Forensic Assignment or call 888-484-4939 to discuss an investigation.
Three Areas to Examine
Surface Drainage
An investigation often starts outside the building. Grading, sidewalks, patios, landscaping, and neighboring properties influence where rainfall collects and how it moves.
Ground that slopes toward a foundation can concentrate runoff against the building. Overflowing gutters, disconnected downspouts, and poorly located discharge points can add roof runoff to the same area. Window wells can also collect water when their drainage is restricted or surrounding grading directs water into them. These conditions help explain how water reached a potential entry point.
Foundations and
Below Grade Spaces
Water around a foundation may enter through cracks, construction joints, penetrations, or the connection between the wall and floor. Foundation drains and sump systems also play a role in collecting and removing water.
The investigation considers whether those systems were present, functioning, and capable of handling the conditions encountered. Restricted drains, equipment failures, and discharge problems may contribute to the loss.
Where water appeared is a clue. Determining its source may require evaluating surface runoff, subsurface water, drainage systems, and other possible contributors together.
Roofs, Walls, and
Windows
Above grade infiltration often involves connections between building components. Roof penetrations, roof to wall intersections, window openings, and changes in exterior materials deserve attention.
Flashing and drainage layers must work together to direct water back outside. Missing, damaged, or improperly integrated components can allow rain to enter. An investigation considers both visible exterior conditions and the details behind the finished assembly.
Follow the Water's Path
Water can travel behind walls, along framing, and between floors before becoming visible. Staining or wet finishes may be some distance from the entry point. Tracing that path helps establish the source and extent of the damage.
Illustrative example: staining below a window
Water appearing below a window may have entered at the window flashing, a wall penetration higher up, or a roof to wall connection above. Each possibility leads to a different repair approach. Investigating the surrounding assembly helps identify the pathway that best fits the observed conditions.
What Did the Recent Event Change?
Heavy rain can produce new damage, worsen an existing condition, or reveal an earlier construction or maintenance problem.
A longstanding entry path and new interior water damage can coexist within the same claim.
Evaluating that relationship requires bringing the physical evidence and reported history together. Relevant information may include earlier photographs, previous leaks, repair records, the timing of water entry, and the location and condition of affected materials.
Staining, deterioration, and repair patterns may provide clues about repeated exposure. Those observations require context; assigning an exact age to every stain or damaged material may not be possible.
The investigation should explain which findings are consistent with the reported event, which suggest earlier exposure, and where the available evidence leaves uncertainty.
What KPE Evaluates
KPE's engineers and architects examine the building and site conditions relevant to the reported loss. Depending on the assignment, the investigation may include:
- ✔ Source and entry path: Identifying how water reached and entered the building.
- ✔ Contributing conditions: Evaluating drainage, construction details, maintenance, and equipment performance.
- ✔ Damage extent: Assessing affected finishes, building components, and accessible concealed areas.
- ✔ Event consistency: Comparing observed conditions with the reported history and available weather information.
- ✔ Repair considerations: Identifying measures needed to address the damage and contributing conditions.
Moisture measurements and infrared imaging may help direct the investigation. Infrared cameras identify surface temperature differences; suspected moisture requires verification through moisture measurements or other appropriate investigation methods.
Where necessary, further access, selective openings, or controlled testing may be recommended to resolve questions that a visual examination cannot answer.
When an Engineering Investigation Can Help
Engineering involvement can be useful when several water sources are possible, damage returns after repairs, the reported history and physical evidence differ, or the appropriate repair scope remains unclear.
KPE provides technical findings on the source, contributing conditions, and extent of damage to support informed claim decisions.
When additional repair planning is needed, our architecture and engineering team can also assist with repair scopes and design services.
Objective Analysis. Defensible Results.
Get Clear Answers on
Water Infiltration Claims.
KPE supports claims professionals evaluating water infiltration, building envelope failures, and resulting damage. Contact us to discuss the property, reported conditions, and questions the investigation needs to address.
Submit a Forensic AssignmentOr call 888-484-4939 to discuss an assignment.
