April showers might bring May flowers, but they also bring leaky basements, moldy carpets, shorted-out wiring and muddy yards.

Handling water on any property is not just about convenience, it’s the law in most municipalities: corral that water and direct it where it’s not a problem for you or your neighbors.

Kurt Mueller, owner of Mueller Construction in Bruin, said the solution to a water problem depends on the particular need.

“It depends on the specific problem. If water is coming into the home, we try to identify the major problem area and offer solutions from there,” he said.

Many homeowners find French drains, which are perforated pipes around the house that collects and detours water, to be an effective option.

“Any time you have water penetrating a basement wall, that’s what I would recommend,” Mueller said.

“I dig down to the footer and remove all of that dirt, then we reseal the basement wall with a block sealer.”

“A lot of places where you have water problems, the dirt is more clay, and it defeats the purpose to put it back because water can’t reach the drain.”

Mueller said stone is a more effective cover.

In some cases, though, a French drain may not be the best option for basement water issues.

“A lot of people need a french drain but do not want the expense of it. Or, there may be a big deck or expensive landscaping in the way,” Mueller said.

In such cases, a basement sump pump is effective.

“You are taking care of the problem after it is already inside. Or, in some cases, there may be a spring under the property and the water is coming from underneath,” Mueller said.

“We will cut the concrete along the perimeter of the basement wall, dig down 12 inches or so, and put a pipe in, then fill it with gravel. It keeps the water from building pressure underneath the concrete floor.”

Water is then pumped to storm drains or to a grade in the yard, away from the house.

For properties with a lot of pavement, a water retention pond is often the only way to deal with excessive water on the property.

“That’s a fairly uncommon thing to do. A lot of people don’t have room for a pond. They are mostly a commercial application so water can seep back into the ground slowly, rather than run off,” Mueller said.

He said building codes generally determine the size and position of such retention ponds.

Of course, rain does not just fall on the ground, and if it’s flowing off a roof the wrong way, it can create problems.

Mercer-based D and P Seamless Gutters does a variety of work on both new and older homes. Owner Joe Arnett said spring is a boom time.

“Right after winter and right before winter is when we get most of our work,” he said.

“Seamless refers to the fact that there are less seams in the gutter. There are seams in some places, such as corners, or very long sections.”

Older homes generally were equipped with galvanized steel or even wooden gutters lined with copper, he said, but both the technology of gutters and how they are attached has changed.

Aluminum and, rarely, plastic gutters are the choice of most builders and installers for their longevity, sturdiness and effectiveness.

“Gutters used to be hung with what was called a spike and ferrel, which went through the side of the gutter to attach it to a building,” Arnett said.

“Now, we use what are called hidden hangers, which fit inside the gutter and are attached by screws to the home. They are a lot more secure; The old spike and ferrel, the holes would get so big they’d just pop out.”

Once the gutters are up, the downspouts are installed.

“There’s several things that you have to kind of look out for. There are now codes that say drains can no longer go into the sewage system in many cities,” Arnett said.

“Also, you certainly don’t want to be running water into another person’s yard”

Replacing a downspout is like plastic surgery: You want it to look better without making it obvious work was done.

“You don’t want it to look like you’ve had work done, and a lot of the time when you remove the downspout, there is an obvious mark where it used to be,” Arnett said.

“Newer construction homes, they have already decided where the gutters will go and usually have drains already set up for the downspouts.”

He said his pet peeve is people who don’t clean their gutters, or rely on claims of “never clean again” gutters.

Arnett said the warranties on those products protect against internal product clogging, but no warranty can stop leaves and debris from falling.

“You can’t lay anything flat on a gutter to keep leaves or debris out. After a while, it dries and has to be removed. Any kind of product that goes on your roof should be at an angle to the gutter, so whatever hits it has a tendency to fall off,” Arnett said.

He said gutters need to be cleaned regularly.