Basement flood

[rdsmith3]

My basement flooded on March 14 with a foot of water -- the fire dept pumped it out. It's nothing like the flooding that many others have experienced. But still, it was a finished basement, and I have had to rip out sheet rock and insulation, and I threw out the wall-to-wall carpeting and padding. We had one large TV/exercise room, one kid's bedroom, and my office/guitar room in the basement.

Here is a snapshot of my son's bedroom after cutting out the sheetrock and ripping out insulation:



It's a major headache, but at least the water did not reach the first floor living area. The good news is that the furnace and water heater were OK, and it was only rain water, not river water or sewage.

Here are the fire dept hoses pumping us out



This was just the beginning of the UN-finishing of my basement.



I'm finally getting my basement back, which includes my office/music room. It took a while to get the floor done. we had an epoxy floor put down instead of doing carpet again.

My son's bedroom has gone from the picture above to this


My play room went from this


to this


the main room of the basement went from this


to this


After these pictures were shot, we moved all the furniture back down.

[sweatmark]

I like that epoxy floor. You do it or contractor?

[rdsmith3]

I like that epoxy floor. You do it or contractor?

A contractor did it. He mechanically grinds the floor (rather than use acid), then puts down epoxy, then paint chips, then a sealer. It has a texture to it.

[sweatmark]

A contractor did it. He mechanically grinds the floor (rather than use acid), then puts down epoxy, then paint chips, then a sealer. It has a texture to it.

Thanks for reply. Looked into the acid cleaning process for garage floor refinishing, and had a neighbor who used acid/epoxy kit, but the results were not suitable for living spaces.

Will check into local floor refinishing contractors. I like stained concrete also, but think that needs to be done at time of slab pour.

[rdsmith3]

I live in a very densely populated area, with lots of contractors, but it was still tough to find someone who was competent and had experience with basement floors. There are some contractors who do garage floors, and think it is the same to do a basement, but they don't seem to know what they're doing.

Here is a close-up of the floor.

[iowabeakster]

What a mess... tearing apart a flooded home is nasty work. I helped out a friend after his home was ruined in the flood here 2 years ago (the water filled the basement and went a few inches above floor on the main level... which was about 2-3 feet above ground level).

The house was old with plaster walls. Like most of the "help" I provided during the flood... it turned out to be a waste of time. The city bought the whole neighborhood, a while later, and demolished the house. The buyout was good for him and his family (it was really for the best), but... oh... those days we wasted with stinky hard work.

...did your sump pump fail?
...busted pipe?

Glad to hear things are getting back to normal. Better luck to you, looking forward.

[rdsmith3]

...did your sump pump fail?
...busted pipe?

Glad to hear things are getting back to normal. Better luck to you, looking forward.

The pumps (plural) were just overwhelmed.

The preceding week, we had significant snow melt, and the ground was saturated. On Saturday, we got about 5" of rain. Also, I later found out that the gutter cleaning people who had been at my house that week did not clean out the part of the downspout that went under the flower beds, so three downspouts were clogged. It was sort of a perfect storm.

I have a sump pump and a battery backup pump. I also added a small submersible pump (see garden hose in this picture). Three pumps were going but the water rose faster than they could handle. It was like a dam broke.

The fire department pumped me out. After that, my pumps could keep up with the incoming water.

[rdsmith3]

We had about 12" of water. This gives you an idea of how high the water level was.

[iowabeakster]

It sounds like it was the perfect storm of events to flood a basement... indeed.

We rent a house currently. The owners graduated med school last year, needed to relocate for work, and couldn't sell their house (they are still significantly financially underwater with it). I think they might be in real trouble when we move out. They've told us they will give us a "good deal" to purchase it. That "good deal" price is going to need to drop at least another 20-25K, for any chance of selling it, to anyone. They are really nice folks (and 4 young kids)... I feel bad for their situation.

back to basements...

They had basement flooding problems while they lived there. They had to replace the hot water heater, furnace, washer and dryer...everything. The walls and flooring he did by himself. It's obvious that he wasn't experienced doing construction/repair (further lowering value of house).

Since we've been living there, the sump pump would run after heavy rains. The sump pump usage seemed excessive to me... and the sound was annoying too. I thought the foundation must have been the problem.

In June or July, the forecast was for heavy rain all the coming week, and the ground was already saturated. I was getting worried about the basement flooding. I did some quick gutter work... and attached some extra tubing to the down spouts. I did no more than 15-20 minutes of work... and just used some stuff that was around the house (their stuff). The sump pump hasn't ran once since then. In fact, the sump hasn't even had a drop of water in it.

I've been afraid to tell them how easily the flooding could have been avoided.

[rdsmith3]

Downspouts definitely need attention.

Our dog chases chipmunks. Sometimes the chipmunks will run into the horizontal part of the downspout. Our 7 year old, 84 lb Boxer still behaves like a puppy. she thinks it is a great game. She will literally tear the downspout off the side of the house trying to get the chipmunks out. I have to put screens on them or something like that to stop this problem.

[Hawkman]

Speaking of gutters.
Does anyone have any suggestions about gutter blockers/covers for use my gutters. I last year I underestimated the sheer volume of debris (leaves and pine needles/cones) that would make their way into my gutters after 2 cleanings (It was a new home). I have seen covers, but they seem flimsy, but cheaper than the foam/plastic forms that fit inside the gutter. I live in desperate fear of water damage.

Just wondering if there are any recommendations on what to avoid or what to look for.

Thanks.

[iowabeakster]

The house I'm renting has aluminum gratings (2 foot sections) screwed to the roof, over the gutters. I was really happy to see them, when we moved in. But, they aren't that great for this particular house.

They would work fine if the problem were just leaves. I'm sure they would be good for pinecones also. The pine needles... I'm not sure.

The trees in my yard are maple trees. The gratings work in the fall for the leaves. Those stupid "helicopter seeds", in the spring, remain a nuisance. The seed end of the helicopter falls through the grating, but the blade hangs up in the grating. Then they hang there. Not in the gutter, but in the grating. That is until the fibrous tissue starts breaking down... Then they fall in.

So, I've had to climb up there with the power drill and remove the gratings to clean out muck and baby maple trees.

The gratings would be great, if the spaces in the grating were just a little smaller, so that the seed end of the helicopters could not fit.

[wncbmw]

I had gutter guards put on and just paid someone to take them off after several years! They were plugged solid with pine needles!

After some research, I could not find any company that would guarantee their guards would keep out pine needles. If you are surrounded by hardwoods, they might work but if you have pine trees, like I do, all bets are off. And the guards I had made it impossible to clean by hand. So I called a company that did house maintenance work and said I would pay them to clean the gutters if they removed the guards at the same time!

I would rather climb 20' up a ladder or pay someone $100 a year than have the gutters plugged and not working!