Flooded basement
Apr 5th 2010, 1:11 am
#31
A lion in your lap
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Sparta NJ
Posts: 7,605
Re: Flooded basement
http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/
Flood insurance underwritten by the government is available for almost any property provided the community it's located in participates in the NFIP.
Flood insurance underwritten by the government is available for almost any property provided the community it's located in participates in the NFIP.
Apr 5th 2010, 1:51 am
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,544
Re: Flooded basement
There were were, Mrs tonrob and I, undergoing final preparations for a long weekend jaunt to Philadelphia, when Mrs tonrob announces that the suitcase I chose a few days ago for the trip isn't big enough and we need the seriously big one.
So there I go, trotting down to the basement, with such momentum that I am unable to halt my progress before splashing into the 500 gallons of murky water that wasn't there last time I looked.
Bugger.
Turns out most of my street had this happen to them after a few days of record-breaking heavy rain.
So off I trotted to a local equipment rental place to rent a little pump thingy that cleared all the standing water in just a couple of hours. But here's the thing - even though the rain had stopped hours ago and now the sun was finally out, the water was still oozing in at an alarming rate.
We have a sump pump, which had clearly failed to do its duty so the rental pump (which has no on/off float switch thingy) is sat in the sump well and I'm there switching it on every time the water gets to the top. Cue a night of sleeping on the sofa with the alarm of my phone waking me every hour, on the hour, so I can go check the basement and pump as needed to avoid a further flood.
The next day I got my arse down to Home Depot sharpish to view the wide array of sump pumps they didn't have in stock on account of every flucker wanting one right now. Amazingly, and despite the helpful advice of the staff that I wouldn't find one for a month, I actually found a suitable unit, almost out of view on a high shelf that I was able to tease off with my fingertips while stood on tiptoes. This was a find, as I'd been told that everything had been shipped off to stores in Rhode Island (which I'm given to understand is almost completely under water in case you're thinking of going there soon) where they had sold 10,000 units over the last few days.
I am not a plumber, but I also didn't fancy my chances of been able to hire one any time soon, so one quick Youtube instructional video later and I managed to install the thing to replace the old one in under an hour. And it bloody worked!
So there I go, trotting down to the basement, with such momentum that I am unable to halt my progress before splashing into the 500 gallons of murky water that wasn't there last time I looked.
Bugger.
Turns out most of my street had this happen to them after a few days of record-breaking heavy rain.
So off I trotted to a local equipment rental place to rent a little pump thingy that cleared all the standing water in just a couple of hours. But here's the thing - even though the rain had stopped hours ago and now the sun was finally out, the water was still oozing in at an alarming rate.
We have a sump pump, which had clearly failed to do its duty so the rental pump (which has no on/off float switch thingy) is sat in the sump well and I'm there switching it on every time the water gets to the top. Cue a night of sleeping on the sofa with the alarm of my phone waking me every hour, on the hour, so I can go check the basement and pump as needed to avoid a further flood.
The next day I got my arse down to Home Depot sharpish to view the wide array of sump pumps they didn't have in stock on account of every flucker wanting one right now. Amazingly, and despite the helpful advice of the staff that I wouldn't find one for a month, I actually found a suitable unit, almost out of view on a high shelf that I was able to tease off with my fingertips while stood on tiptoes. This was a find, as I'd been told that everything had been shipped off to stores in Rhode Island (which I'm given to understand is almost completely under water in case you're thinking of going there soon) where they had sold 10,000 units over the last few days.
I am not a plumber, but I also didn't fancy my chances of been able to hire one any time soon, so one quick Youtube instructional video later and I managed to install the thing to replace the old one in under an hour. And it bloody worked!
Good deal on getting that sorted, it could have been a nightmare.
Apr 5th 2010, 5:22 am
#33
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Re: Flooded basement
Most of houses of our vintage have a "California" [e.g. small, not full] basement. As standard practice, the concrete was poured with a hold for the sump. My niece's house in the flats has a very high water table and the slightest rain, the sump pump starts going. Our house has the sump -- but it is filled in with sand and no pump -- no problem. Houses a block way -- have those pumps and need them. Location, Location, Location.
BTW, do you have a "backflow" valve in the "black water" outlet line for your house? [Assuming you are hooked up to a sewer system].
Apr 5th 2010, 5:51 am
#34
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Re: Flooded basement
We were our own contractor on our kitchen remodel. Unfortunately, we had an unexpected change in the framing regarding removal of a wall due to the fact that the ceiling joists were framed 90 degrees from normal which meant we were removing a load bearing wall -- oops! We built using the LA City "Type 51" sheet of standard specs and left it open for the inspector to see. Mr. Parisi says "type 51" ain't appropriate here, get seismic engineering. So we did. [messing up the budget by $750 -- but we had build a fudge factor into our costing].
Problem was that we needed a 4 x 4 post to replace the king stud and the layout meant we needed to eliminate the jack stud! Engineer replaced the need for a jack study by use of the appropriate Simpson Strong Tie and it passed!
Framing is wonderful.
Apr 5th 2010, 12:49 pm
#35
Wondering if...
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: Clarence, NY
Posts: 1,214
Re: Flooded basement
I was reading about back-up pumps you can get: either battery or (would you believe it) water-powered. Could be worth looking into, especially if a bad storm coincided with a power outage.
There were also set-ups that could sound an alarm, or even text your phone (can't remember exactly where I read that last bit or how it worked).
There were also set-ups that could sound an alarm, or even text your phone (can't remember exactly where I read that last bit or how it worked).
The 'warning' setups rely on electricity, so will not help when it fails, unless you also have a generator covering the various components needed to send the alarm/email, in which case the need for the alarm reverts just to when the pump fails...
I'm paranoid about water. Pernicious stuff. And I really like the idea of using water to defeat water!
Apr 5th 2010, 12:54 pm
#36
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Re: Flooded basement
We have a water powered backup pump. Took my brain a while to understand how water could be used to get rid of...water.
The 'warning' setups rely on electricity, so will not help when it fails, unless you also have a generator covering the various components needed to send the alarm/email, in which case the need for the alarm reverts just to when the pump fails...
I'm paranoid about water. Pernicious stuff. And I really like the idea of using water to defeat water!
The 'warning' setups rely on electricity, so will not help when it fails, unless you also have a generator covering the various components needed to send the alarm/email, in which case the need for the alarm reverts just to when the pump fails...
I'm paranoid about water. Pernicious stuff. And I really like the idea of using water to defeat water!
Apr 5th 2010, 12:57 pm
#37
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Apr 5th 2010, 1:34 pm
#38
Wondering if...
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: Clarence, NY
Posts: 1,214
Re: Flooded basement
- The device itself, which is generally in the basement, and needs electricity.
- The router to which it connects and which it needs to send out an email.
- The cable (or whatever) device that the ISP connection needs.
In my house they are in three different places and supplying power to all 3, to enable such a system, would have meant batteries everywhere! Too many points of failure for my liking...
Apr 5th 2010, 4:21 pm
#39
BE Commentator
Joined: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Re: Flooded basement
If I understand that correctly, then sure, that works. The trouble with the emailing devices is that there are usually several components.
- The device itself, which is generally in the basement, and needs electricity.
- The router to which it connects and which it needs to send out an email.
- The cable (or whatever) device that the ISP connection needs.
In my house they are in three different places and supplying power to all 3, to enable such a system, would have meant batteries everywhere! Too many points of failure for my liking...
- The device itself, which is generally in the basement, and needs electricity.
- The router to which it connects and which it needs to send out an email.
- The cable (or whatever) device that the ISP connection needs.
In my house they are in three different places and supplying power to all 3, to enable such a system, would have meant batteries everywhere! Too many points of failure for my liking...
The system that was in place when we bought the house was quite old and was a single circuit perimeter system operated by a Medico key. There were four switches -- two outside and one on each floor. They are still there along with two red "panic" buttons! Since it would have a hassle to repair the walls where they were, we have simply left them in place. Several house guests have wondered about the red button and I dare them to push it! However, we do show the real control panel and give them the guest code.
Back to that old alarm -- our house was a bank "REO" -- and we did a lot of work just to get the house liveable. The dining room bay double hung windows not only were alarmed, they were also barred -- AND -- there were pressure pads under the carpet! [We removed the carpet and there was beautiful hardwood underneath]. Is there a triplicate version of "belts and braces?"
Apr 5th 2010, 4:37 pm
#40
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 7,605
Re: Flooded basement
Back to that old alarm -- our house was a bank "REO" -- and we did a lot of work just to get the house liveable. The dining room bay double hung windows not only were alarmed, they were also barred -- AND -- there were pressure pads under the carpet! [We removed the carpet and there was beautiful hardwood underneath]. Is there a triplicate version of "belts and braces?"
Apr 5th 2010, 4:42 pm
#41
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Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,420
Apr 5th 2010, 6:36 pm
#42
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Flooded basement
We got lucky that the landlord replaced the weedy sump pump last summer after the basement flooded then, because the sump pump floated away...
The missus was chatting to a customer of the bank who's a plumber, he had to lay off a bunch of people because work had dried up, till the rains, he then got 400 calls in one morning....managed to get 60 sump pumps and had a lottery draw for those who wanted one and pay over the odds, so he was happy.
Weird how so many people in the area don't even have a sump pump.
This place floods at the first sight of rain, the drains are utterly rubbish around town. Seeing major roads closed because they flooded over was also pretty amusing.
The missus was chatting to a customer of the bank who's a plumber, he had to lay off a bunch of people because work had dried up, till the rains, he then got 400 calls in one morning....managed to get 60 sump pumps and had a lottery draw for those who wanted one and pay over the odds, so he was happy.
Weird how so many people in the area don't even have a sump pump.
This place floods at the first sight of rain, the drains are utterly rubbish around town. Seeing major roads closed because they flooded over was also pretty amusing.
Apr 6th 2010, 12:54 am
#43
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 60
Re: Flooded basement
This place floods at the first sight of rain, the drains are utterly rubbish around town. Seeing major roads closed because they flooded over was also pretty amusing.[/QUOTE]
What WAS funny was seeing people think that the road closures didn't apply to them and driving straight through the flood and then getting stranded!
What WAS funny was seeing people think that the road closures didn't apply to them and driving straight through the flood and then getting stranded!
Apr 6th 2010, 1:37 am
#44
L2, GC, Surrey, OH, TX!
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey to Dallas (via Ohio)!
Posts: 6,363
Re: Flooded basement
someone tld me to put a 2nd sump on top of the first or standing on a brick next to the first - so that if first/lowest one fails the second should kick in.
Also told me to tip a bucket of water into the sump every month to check it started okay.
Also told me to tip a bucket of water into the sump every month to check it started okay.
Apr 6th 2010, 6:05 am
#45
member of little note
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 526
Re: Flooded basement
Sorry, not in convo, but same thing, on Tuesday hubby came home at lunch time, and said I'll check the basement, a few people at work have had flooding, we are at the top of a hill, and in the 6 years the house has been standing the basement has never flooded, it was 6 inches deep! we where lucky all pumps sold out, but a friend lent us a pool pump, and even with that running 24hrs the level rose, in a moment of inspiration I told my DH to try the local pool builders, success:-) even with 2 going and the rain stopped the level rose by an inch.
most the houses on our level on the hill have been here for 15 years and never flooded, but did this year and we where on the very edge of the rain, we have friends 15 miles away who's basement floods all the time, and they got 2 inches!
the reason we are lucky, we might have had to buy a pump, hose and shop vac but nothing of value ruined, we hope? hubby had his linn record player and speakers down there, and they are not cheap, all brought second hand but still expensive, he has slowly build the system up over 14 years, the speaker where the only thing actually in the water, they seem to be drying fine.
and I feel for the people down the hill they all have these industrial pumps going.... their first floor is in danger. all in all we have been lucky given this freak weather.
most the houses on our level on the hill have been here for 15 years and never flooded, but did this year and we where on the very edge of the rain, we have friends 15 miles away who's basement floods all the time, and they got 2 inches!
the reason we are lucky, we might have had to buy a pump, hose and shop vac but nothing of value ruined, we hope? hubby had his linn record player and speakers down there, and they are not cheap, all brought second hand but still expensive, he has slowly build the system up over 14 years, the speaker where the only thing actually in the water, they seem to be drying fine.
and I feel for the people down the hill they all have these industrial pumps going.... their first floor is in danger. all in all we have been lucky given this freak weather.