· 5 min read · By Napa Home Watch
Napa Valley’s dry months are long, and a second home spends many of them closed. By the time the first real storms arrive, the house may have gone months without anyone seeing how it sheds water. Rain finds whatever was put off.
This is the checklist we would use for a house you do not visit often. It follows the order of a walk-through: the outside first, then the inside, then the things that depend on power. It is a guide for owners. It does not replace a licensed roofer or plumber, or the advice of your insurer.
Start where the water goes
- Gutters and downspouts. After a dry summer they hold leaves, dust, and needles. Check that they are clear, that joints are tight, and that each downspout ends well away from the foundation.
- Roof and flashing. Look for lifted, cracked, or missing tiles or shingles, and for flashing that has pulled away at chimneys, skylights, and walls. Anything you cannot judge from the ground belongs with a roofer.
- Grading, drains, and hardscape. Ground should slope away from the house. Open the yard drains and catch basins, and look at low spots near steps, patios, and the garage door.
- Slopes and retaining walls. On a hillside lot, note bare soil, cracks, or leaning, and ask a qualified professional about anything that looks like movement.
- Trees. Wet ground and wind are hard on large trees. Trim limbs that overhang the roof, and ask an arborist about any tree you are unsure of.
Then the envelope
- Door thresholds, weatherstripping, and the caulk around windows.
- Chimney caps, roof vents, and the seals around skylights.
- A garage or crawl space, where there is one: any sign of water entry, damp, or a musty smell.
Inside, where a slow leak shows first
Water seldom announces itself. It tends to appear as a faint stain on a ceiling, a bubbled patch of paint beneath a window, a darkened baseboard, or a smell in a closet on an outside wall. A house that is visited regularly will catch these early. A house that is not may not see them until the next stay.
The things that depend on power
Storms can leave a house without electricity for hours or longer. Think through what that means while you are away:
- Refrigerator and freezer contents, and how little you want left in them.
- A sump or drainage pump, if the house has one.
- Alarm panels and cameras, and whether they run on a battery backup.
- Irrigation controllers, which often need resetting after an outage.
- The manual release on a garage door opener.
What the walk-through adds
The regular walk-through reads the house in order, outside, rooms, and systems, and you receive a photographed report. In the rainy months it is read against the weather: fresh staining, standing water, debris against the walls, a limb that has come down.
If a significant storm passes and you would like someone to look at the house afterward, tell us beforehand. That visit can be scheduled as concierge time, which is billed in 15-minute increments with no minimum. If you want a roofer, a drain specialist, or a gutter crew, we can schedule them, meet them at the house, and lock up afterward. We will not engage a vendor in your name without asking.
Before you leave, agree on four things
- Whom to call first, and whom to call if you cannot be reached.
- The vendors you already trust for the roof, gutters, and drains.
- What you would like photographed after a heavy storm.
- Whether the weekly or twice-monthly cadence suits the wet months. Both are on the pricing page.
Questions about how a visit works are answered on the questions page. Dry-season preparation, including wildfire, is covered on the wildfire preparedness page.