Basement flooded! Woo hoo!

[child of wonder]

Did some computer work for a friend of my parents' who owns a real estate business. Spent only 2 hours setting up network printers, shares, etc. We all had some pizza then headed home.

It started raining like crazy as we left. The 30 minute drive home sucked. Soon after we arrive home I get an email from my mom.

"Check your sump pump to make sure it's working. We're supposed to get lots of rain!"

Sure enough... sump pump is DEAD. It has power, it was running a few weeks ago, but now it is stone dead. It's 10pm and the water is almost all the way to the top of the sump pump well.

I reach in and try to see if the float is stuck. Nope, it doesn't have a float -- just some kind of sensor that detects the water level. Test the outlet. Yep, it has power.

Wife and I start using the shop vac to suck out water. No effect. The water is now over the top. We begin to notice water coming in from the exterior walls of the basement.

My wife, mother, and I start frantically calling plumbers, electricians, somebody that could either fix the sump pump or replace it. We either get voicemail or someone saying they can't help.

Finally my mom gets a hold of a guy who agrees to drive down but it's a $200 minimum and he can't guarantee he can fix the sump pump. Fine... whatever. We need help! No place is open that sells sump pumps so we're kind of screwed.

My parents say they'll pull out their sump pump and bring it over. They're 40 minutes away.

They eventually arrive as we're clearing things out of the basement we don't want destroyed. My dad and I hook up the sump pump and it begins to work. We go outside to see the water spraying out of the hose.

We've only lived in this house 4 months and, while the sump pump has come on in the past, it's never given us any issues. Well, my dad's sump pump is so strong it blows the jury rigged coupler off the side of the house. The previous owner had it held in place with electrical tape. Sweet.

We get the coupler re-attached and all is well. The water is beginning to recede.

We then call the guy that's on the way. He had called my dad en route to verify our address. Dad tells him he has a sump pump and is also on the way to our house. Here's how this conversation goes:

Dad: "Hey, this is <our address>. We got a new sump pump in place and it's working."

Guy: "You bastard."

Dad: *chuckles thinking the guy is joking around*

Guy: "You son of a bitch."

Dad: "What?"

Guy: "You bastard. I just drove 42 miles, you son of a bitch."

Dad: "Hey, wait a minute..."

Guy then hangs up.

Anyway, the water is receding but all the carpet is soaked and there was almost 1" of water against the baseboards all around the basement.

Now we're off to bed and will begin calling our insurance company and places to start clean up in the morning. I'm REALLY glad my mom talked me into increasing our sump pump failure coverage on our home owner's insurance from $5,000 to $15,000.


Cliffs:

1. Sump pump fails, basement begins to fill with water.
2. Hilarity ensues.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I'm a little confused, you do know that a sump pump is the last line of defense not the first, right?

 

[Mike Gayner]

If the pump guy has any brains he'll still charge the $200 call-out fee.

 

[child of wonder]

If the pump guy has any brains he'll still charge the $200 call-out fee.

We never told him not to come out. Heck, we had just spoken to each other before we called and talked about still needing to pay the $200.

He, however, did not need to be an ass to us. It had been 1 hour and 45 minutes since we called him. Were we supposed to twiddle our thumbs waiting while our house filled with water?

 

[guyver01]

We never told him not to come out.

Then what was this about?

Finally my mom gets a hold of a guy who agrees to drive down but it's a $200 minimum and he can't guarantee he can fix the sump pump. Fine... whatever. We need help! No place is open that sells sump pumps so we're kind of screwed.

Did you agree for him to come out? Did you say you were just calling to get pricing?

 

[konakid7]

Sounds like a crazy night. You should try and make things right with the repair man though. He was coming a long way late at night to help you.

 

[Mike Gayner]

WTF do you seriously think you don't have to pay this guy's call-out fee? You're deluded man. You called him, agreed on a minimum charge, he made his way out then you told him you don't need him. You fucked up the guy's weekend and that's the point of the minimum charge. Have fun paying the bill.

We never told him not to come out.

Finally my mom gets a hold of a guy who agrees to drive down but it's a $200 minimum and he can't guarantee he can fix the sump pump. Fine... whatever. We need help! No place is open that sells sump pumps so we're kind of screwed.

He, however, did not need to be an ass to us. It had been 1 hour and 45 minutes since we called him. Were we supposed to twiddle our thumbs waiting while our house filled with water?

Put yourself in his shoes. Have some common sense FFS.

 

[child of wonder]

Then what was this about?

Did you agree for him to come out? Did you say you were just calling to get pricing?

Yes, we agreed for him to come out. Before we called him to tell him we got another sump pump in place we fully expected (and still do) to get a bill from the guy.

He did not need to be a dick.

In the future, I'll just let my basement continue to flood.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Don't worry about the kiwi, the closest he's come to a basement is the barrel his folks raised him in.

I'm more concerned with the fact that your basement is apparently lacking any waterproofing and weeping tile. If you don't take care of the problem, aside from water damage, your foundation will eventually fail.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Don't worry about the kiwi, the closest he's come to a basement is the barrel his folks raised him in.

Eh, basements are uncommon here except on old houses. We chose to build our houses above ground.

 

[child of wonder]

WTF do you seriously think you don't have to pay this guy's call-out fee? You're deluded man. You called him, agreed on a minimum charge, he made his way out then you told him you don't need him. You fucked up the guy's weekend and that's the point of the minimum charge. Have fun paying the bill.

Put yourself in his shoes. Have some common sense FFS.

You, apparently, can't read.

My wife and I were just talking to each other that we'll probably still need to pay the $200 as my dad was making the call.

The guy did not need to be a dick. Period.

 

[guyver01]

The guy did not need to be a dick. Period.

You called him at 2am for an "emergency call" that's an hour+ drive... probably woke his wife, kid, etc.... then call him and tell him LOL Nevermind? You're lucky he didn't show up and face stab you.

 

[child of wonder]

Don't worry about the kiwi, the closest he's come to a basement is the barrel his folks raised him in.

I'm more concerned with the fact that your basement is apparently lacking any waterproofing and weeping tile. If you don't take care of the problem, aside from water damage, your foundation will eventually fail.

Good point. We'll need to look into that.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Good point. We'll need to look into that.

Do it soon. It's not something that can be put off.

 

[child of wonder]

You called him at 2am for an "emergency call" that's an hour+ drive... probably woke his wife, kid, etc.... then call him and tell him LOL Nevermind? You're lucky he didn't show up and face stab you.

We called him at 10pm. Then called him at 11:45pm to tell him we got a new sump pump in place.

But, you're right. Next time this happens I'll sit patiently and make no attempts to fix the problem while I wait for the repairman.

Or, if I do decide to be rude and fix it, I'll let him actually complete the trip to my house and THEN tell him it's fixed.

Better yet, I won't call a repairman at all. If I don't manage to find a replacement sump pump I'll just let the house fill with water overnight. It would be rude to call someone whose job it is to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day.

As I said, I fully expect to get a bill from the guy and I'll pay it. But I'm going to talk to him or his boss and let them know the way he talked to us was out of line.

 

[BoomerD]

I definitely agree that you owe the guy the call-out fee, and I suspect that he was a dick because he thinks you're gonna stiff him for that fee, after he drove 42 miles...

I also agree that your house has some major drainage issues that need to be corrected IMMEDIATELY.

I'm not sure...so check with a real estate lawyer, but this COULD possibly come under "pre-existing conditions" and if basement flooding wasn't disclosed, you may have some legal recourse against the seller...if there's anyway to prove that they knew about the basement problems. (OR, you may not...which is why I recommended talking to a lawyer.)

Sump pumps should be standard in any basement, but the water should NOT be coming through the basement walls. That's a sign of trouble by itself.

The RIGHT way to fix that would be to excavate all around the perimeter of the house...at least to the level of the basement floor...preferably deeper, then install proper drainage to your local code. Also, the walls should be properly waterproofed at the same time.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-04.html

 

[eldorado99]

I definitely agree that you owe the guy the call-out fee, and I suspect that he was a dick because he thinks you're gonna stiff him for that fee, after he drove 42 miles...

I also agree that your house has some major drainage issues that need to be corrected IMMEDIATELY.

I'm not sure...so check with a real estate lawyer, but this COULD possibly come under "pre-existing conditions" and if basement flooding wasn't disclosed, you may have some legal recourse against the seller...if there's anyway to prove that they knew about the basement problems. (OR, you may not...which is why I recommended talking to a lawyer.)

Sump pumps should be standard in any basement, but the water should NOT be coming through the basement walls. That's a sign of trouble by itself.

The RIGHT way to fix that would be to excavate all around the perimeter of the house...at least to the level of the basement floor...preferably deeper, then install proper drainage to your local code. Also, the walls should be properly waterproofed at the same time.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-04.html

My neighbours went without a working sump pump for about 4 years. They called my dad one day and didn't know what to do because they finally went down there and there was 5 feet of water.

 

[guyver01]

But, you're right. Next time this happens I'll sit patiently and make no attempts to fix the problem while I wait for the repairman.

Or, if I do decide to be rude and fix it, I'll let him actually complete the trip to my house and THEN tell him it's fixed.

Better yet, I won't call a repairman at all. If I don't manage to find a replacement sump pump I'll just let the house fill with water overnight. It would be rude to call someone whose job it is to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day.

Or .. how about.... You attempt to fix it FIRST... and then call the repairman... you know... like most normal people do?

Most MEN don't panic like a pansy chick and call the first repairman in the book at the first sign of a simple issue.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Or .. how about.... You attempt to fix it FIRST... and then call the repairman... you know... like most normal people do?

Most MEN don't panic like a pansy chick and call the first repairman in the book at the first sign of a simple issue.

A flooding basement is a simple issue? How 'bout you and the kiwi get a room?

 

[Modelworks]

Invest in a water alarm for the basement.
They cost about $15 and will sound if the water reaches a preset level in the sump.

Water that comes in basement through walls that quickly is a health risk due to mold growth. A lot of people have HVAC in basements and that distributes the spores throughout the home.

 

[child of wonder]

Or .. how about.... You attempt to fix it FIRST... and then call the repairman... you know... like most normal people do?

Most MEN don't panic like a pansy chick and call the first repairman in the book at the first sign of a simple issue.

Did that. The water was all the way to the top and was cloudy so I couldn't see the sump pump, but, there I was, my entire right arm submerged fishing around for the sump pump to see if the float was stuck or if a switch got moved somehow. Once I realized it was a water level detector and not a float I tried seeing if there was any debris over the sensor. I also checked the circuit to ensure there was power getting to the pump.

But I could never live up to your manly manliness, Mr. Internet Tough Guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiXaT_1I-vw

 

[child of wonder]

I definitely agree that you owe the guy the call-out fee, and I suspect that he was a dick because he thinks you're gonna stiff him for that fee, after he drove 42 miles...

I also agree that your house has some major drainage issues that need to be corrected IMMEDIATELY.

I'm not sure...so check with a real estate lawyer, but this COULD possibly come under "pre-existing conditions" and if basement flooding wasn't disclosed, you may have some legal recourse against the seller...if there's anyway to prove that they knew about the basement problems. (OR, you may not...which is why I recommended talking to a lawyer.)

Sump pumps should be standard in any basement, but the water should NOT be coming through the basement walls. That's a sign of trouble by itself.

The RIGHT way to fix that would be to excavate all around the perimeter of the house...at least to the level of the basement floor...preferably deeper, then install proper drainage to your local code. Also, the walls should be properly waterproofed at the same time.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/components/7051-04.html

When we called we expected the guy to say that he'll still have to charge us and we would have said that's fine. We did not expect him to cuss us out and hang up.

We'll do some investigating about why the water came in the exterior walls. We were under the impression this was because the drainage tile was full of water which was why it seeped in from there.

 

[TwiceOver]

In the four years we've been in our house the sump has never needed to run (previous owner said it never had to run even during a major flood we had). Sump Pumps are fairly cheap, if it is over a few years old you should really have a second unused one on hand.

 

[Marinski]

you need a battery back up. My dads got a sump and has one of those. I dont have a sump so dont need to worry bout that.

 

[PingSpike]

Did that. The water was all the way to the top and was cloudy so I couldn't see the sump pump, but, there I was, my entire right arm submerged fishing around for the sump pump to see if the float was stuck or if a switch got moved somehow. Once I realized it was a water level detector and not a float I tried seeing if there was any debris over the sensor. I also checked the circuit to ensure there was power getting to the pump.

But I could never live up to your manly manliness, Mr. Internet Tough Guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiXaT_1I-vw

I think your position is solid and pretty obvious, there is no real need to continue explaining it. The guy was out of line. $200 for driving a couple hours isn't exactly you screwing him, and it was always a possibility that was all he was going to make so why he went so ape shit is beyond me. If driving to your house was such a burden to him in the first place that it wasn't worth $200 he should either charge more of not agreed to have come out in the first place.

He must have assumed you intended to screw him, when you were actually just trying to avoid wasting any more of his time. The correct response was to state he was sending you a bill for the call-out and that you should call him if you have any more issues. If you were going to screw him, calling you a son of a bitch isn't exactly the best first strategy to avoid that.

On a side note, some one said all houses should have a sump pump. I've never lived in a house with a sump pump and never had any water problems in any of them. (Except for a backed up sewer line in an apartment once)