Gutter and Downspout Overflow in Marysville, WA

Gutter overflow is a steady source of water damage in Marysville because the city is full of tall firs, cedars and leafy yard trees, and November storms bring heavy rain right when needles and leaves are falling. A gutter packed with fir needles and moss fills up fast during an atmospheric river, and water spills over the front edge in a sheet. That water runs down the siding and behind it, soaks the bottom of the wall, and pools along the foundation where it can enter a crawlspace vent, a basement window well or a garage. In the November 15, 2016 downpour, clogged drains sent water across streets and into homes, and a clogged gutter does the same thing on a smaller scale.

In the first hour, water soaks the fascia board, runs behind siding and wets the bottom plate of the wall. By 24 hours, drywall and baseboards on the wet wall have wicked water up from the floor and insulation in the wall cavity is damp. By 48 hours, mold can start inside the wall where nobody can see it. After a week of repeated rain, fascia and sheathing begin to rot, paint peels, and the floor near that wall may swell or lift.

Gutter overflow usually brings clean rain water, so a lot can be dried in place if the work starts soon. Wall studs, sill plates and sheathing behind a wet wall can be dried by removing the baseboard, drilling small holes low in the drywall and blowing dry air into the cavity. Drywall that is damp but still firm, with no swelling or staining, often dries this way. Carpet and pad along the wall can usually be extracted and dried in place, and a concrete garage floor or slab edge dries quickly with air movers. Crawlspace framing near the overflow point dries with dehumidifiers.

Some parts usually need replacement. Drywall that has wicked water several inches up the wall, or that has been wet for days from repeated storms, is cut out above the wet line. Batt insulation in the wall cavity that is soaked is replaced. Laminate or engineered flooring that swelled at the seams near the wall usually comes up. Fascia boards and trim that have started to rot from long-term overflow are replaced outside, and pad that soaked up water from a garage floor or window well is pulled and replaced.

Overflowing gutters cause wet walls all over Marysville. Older homes around downtown and Jennings Park often have big shade trees and older gutters that sag at the corners. In North Marysville, Pinewood and Shoultes, 1970s and 1980s homes surrounded by mature firs collect needles fast, and in Smokey Point and on Getchell Hill, newer two-story homes have long gutter runs and downspouts that sometimes empty right next to the foundation or onto a driveway that slopes toward the garage.

Gutter overflow is just as common in nearby towns. In Mukilteo, homes on the plateau near the gulches have big trees and drainage that runs toward steep slopes, and in Arlington and Everett, older neighborhoods have the same needle-clogged gutters every November. One call connects you with a local crew that serves your town and can dry the wall, floor or crawlspace where the water ended up.