I knew things had been going too well...

[Exterous]

We had a good couple year stretch - no one died, jobs were going well, life was good. Too good and I knew things were going too smoothly. Well I think we're starting to 'pay' for that stretch. Nothing bad in the grand scheme of things but stuff keeps happening. So what's up after the two hit and runs in less than 9 months? How about a flooded basement?

Slightly older than 5 year old sump pump failed during a storm two days ago. Like hard core died. The float was up, float bypass didn't work and the screen was clear. Went downstairs last night to find the flooding. Remediation guys emptied about 400 gallons of water from my basement

So yes it could have been much worse. Most of our important stuff in the basement on the ground was either in plastic bins or in shelves that start 3' above the ground. I also have some definite low spots so some areas of my basement were actually spared while others had a little over an inch of water.

I had just ordered my projector screen (should be here today) and had gotten quotes for carpet. This will be a bit of a setback to the project. Not great but the Home Theater room was at a middle elevation so didn't get quite as much water as other places. Still enough to ruin the drycore (it was higher than the rubber so the OSB got wet) but didn't get above the sill plate so the insulation should be dry or dryable

The roofing felt was designed to keep out moisture and maybe a little water. Standing water for over a day? Not so much. All the insulation will need to be tossed.

Towards the 'very good news all things considered' it looks like my water barrier worked for most of the stage

So I get to find out what the process of home owners claims is like. Also I think I'll just replace my sump pump every 5 years. I can get 10+ sump pumps for the cost of my deductible so the math works out. And measure for a backup one.

 

[zinfamous]

One positive in all of this is that you probably have a bunch of mole crabs that have moved into your basement sand now. You two will be eating like kings!

 

[Exterous]

Also it was pretty disheartening to hear the guys drilling holes in home theater room. I mean at least I didn't have carpet yet but I was so close after so many hours of work. Ugh.

positive of this is you

I mean I know I am sleep deprived but...what?

Edit: Oh wait I think I get it now

 

[zinfamous]

Also it was pretty disheartening to hear the guys drilling holes in home theater room. I mean at least I didn't have carpet yet but I was so close after so many hours of work. Ugh.



I mean I know I am sleep deprived but...what?

Edit: Oh wait I think I get it now

that really was turrible on my part. Will fix it.

 

[Exterous]

In case anyone was wondering how many screws I used to secure the plywood to the stage and riser it was this many:

Pro tip - drawing lines for where to screw things down also makes it easier to unscrew said things. Hunting down the screws that were not on my lines was annoying

 

[highland145]

And no visible ho's. I'm impressed.

 

[kn51]

So I get to find out what the process of home owners claims is like. Also I think I'll just replace my sump pump every 5 years. I can get 10+ sump pumps for the cost of my deductible so the math works out. And measure for a backup one.

I installed a backup pump along with replacing the old pump a few years back. It makes me sleep a little better at night. But even then it isn't foolproof. Hell I'm basically relying on a $1 switch to detect when the other pump failed. Extended power outage, well there goes the battery. So then let's look for an extra level of reduncy, a generator.

SIL had a whole-house one. In typical fashion they never really serviced yet it would work. But for some reason wouldn't come on in the rain. You can guess what happened next. I think they ended up with 6-8" of water in their finished basement.

I try to mitigate what risk I can without breaking the bank. Heck proactively changing a sump pump may get you in a situation where you end up with a dud where the old would have kept chugging away forever.

Anyways, it sucks and I empathize.

 

[BoomerD]

Built-in basement swimming pool...FTW!

 

[purbeast0]

I grew up in a house that constantly had basement floodings so it's a fear of mine in my current home. And now in my basement I have my home theater down there. The house had one of the B-Dry systems installed in it prior to us purchasing it so it should be just fine, but every time we have a ton of rain and I hear the sump pump pumping out water every 5 minutes I get nervous as shit. I haven't really done any maintenance to it but every year at least once I will dump some of those big home depot buckets full of water into it to be sure it is still running.

I did go through my first home owners insurance claim myself fairly recently. We ended up getting a new roof for free other than paying the deductible. They are installing it next week actually. The total cost is about $10.5k. We needed a new roof badly too, the one we have now is 25-30 years old.

 

[Red Storm]

I grew up in a house that constantly had basement floodings so it's a fear of mine in my current home. And now in my basement I have my home theater down there. The house had one of the B-Dry systems installed in it prior to us purchasing it so it should be just fine, but every time we have a ton of rain and I hear the sump pump pumping out water every 5 minutes I get nervous as shit. I haven't really done any maintenance to it but every year at least once I will dump some of those big home depot buckets full of water into it to be sure it is still running.

I did go through my first home owners insurance claim myself fairly recently. We ended up getting a new roof for free other than paying the deductible. They are installing it next week actually. The total cost is about $10.5k. We needed a new roof badly too, the one we have now is 25-30 years old.

You could've gone with a solar roof for unlimited internet points!

 

[zinfamous]

Reminds me...I need to get around to replacing that one sump pump that has been dead for 2 years...

 

[purbeast0]

You could've gone with a solar roof for unlimited internet points!

Considering I live in a neighborhood with "Woods" in the name, I don't know how beneficial solar would be.

 

[Exterous]

Considering I live in a neighborhood with "Woods" in the name, I don't know how beneficial solar would be.

Eh - neighborhood names don't always mean much. I've been to places with names like Paradise Palms that were neither paradise nor had palm trees

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Oh man that sucks and right near the finish line too.

Ever since finishing my basement last year, I get nervous when there is a torrential downpour. The remnants of Gordon are expected to drop 4-5 inches of rain here Saturday night and Sunday.

 

[kn51]

Yeah, I just "love" the every couple minutes hearing the sump crank off. I live in a very heavy clay area. So if it rains it literally takes a day or two for the water (after it rains) to actually make it to the sump. Which is somewhat of a nice thing. But god trying to plant something in the yard with clay, eff that.

 

[Mayne]

sorry to hear about your nightmares...atleastl you have your health so far.

 

[brianmanahan]

gotta have a backup sump pump

 

[BoomerD]

y'know...a water sensor and alarm MIGHT be a good idea in places where the basement is prone to flooding...even if you have sump pumps. There are a lot of different makes and models...most are battery powered, some notify you via smart phone in addition to a loud alarm...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh man that blows. That is one of my worse nightmares. That and fire. I should really look at actually installing a sump pump. I have a tiny sump pit right in the middle of the laundry room so it would not work. I would have to make another sump pit closer to a wall. But I don't like the idea of digging so close to the footing. I guess if it never flooded since it was built... maybe I'm safe. But yeah an upstream sewer pipe blocking or my own pipe blocking could mean bad news.

Been meaning to put a sensor in my sump pit though. I really should get on that. Had a couple close calls where my main sewer line blocked and rain water started to rise, but I think there is an exit somewhere else in the system because it never went past a certain point thankfully.

Stupid question but where do you normally put the discharge for a sump pump? If it's just pumping in your yard it's just going to go back in the house eventually.

 

[13Gigatons]

Stupid question but where do you normally put the discharge for a sump pump? If it's just pumping in your yard it's just going to go back in the house eventually.

Different areas have different laws (rules) for sump output. Some want it in the street or storm sewer, others want it outputted to the yard. You need to check local code.

 

[13Gigatons]

Oh man that sucks and right near the finish line too.

Ever since finishing my basement last year, I get nervous when there is a torrential downpour. The remnants of Gordon are expected to drop 4-5 inches of rain here Saturday night and Sunday.

Some places may get 10-15 inches of rain!

 

[13Gigatons]

We had a good couple year stretch - no one died, jobs were going well, life was good. Too good and I knew things were going too smoothly. Well I think we're starting to 'pay' for that stretch. Nothing bad in the grand scheme of things but stuff keeps happening. So what's up after the two hit and runs in less than 9 months? How about a flooded basement?
Slightly older than 5 year old sump pump failed during a storm two days ago. Like hard core died. The float was up, float bypass didn't work and the screen was clear. Went downstairs last night to find the flooding. Remediation guys emptied about 400 gallons of water from my basement

So yes it could have been much worse. Most of our important stuff in the basement on the ground was either in plastic bins or in shelves that start 3' above the ground. I also have some definite low spots so some areas of my basement were actually spared while others had a little over an inch of water.

I had just ordered my projector screen (should be here today) and had gotten quotes for carpet. This will be a bit of a setback to the project. Not great but the Home Theater room was at a middle elevation so didn't get quite as much water as other places. Still enough to ruin the drycore (it was higher than the rubber so the OSB got wet) but didn't get above the sill plate so the insulation should be dry or dryable

The roofing felt was designed to keep out moisture and maybe a little water. Standing water for over a day? Not so much. All the insulation will need to be tossed.
Towards the 'very good news all things considered' it looks like my water barrier worked for most of the stage
So I get to find out what the process of home owners claims is like. Also I think I'll just replace my sump pump every 5 years. I can get 10+ sump pumps for the cost of my deductible so the math works out. And measure for a backup one.

You should have a primary and backup sump.
You should have two pits. (connected if possible)
You should have a water alarm.
You should use basement grade building materials.

 

[snoopy7548]

On the bright side, at least it didn't happen after you completely finished your home theater!

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Some places may get 10-15 inches of rain!

Yeah it's far worse for many in the path.

When are sump pumps required equipment? Few of the houses around here have them. Is it just based on the local water table? I live in the city and all our gutters empty into a combined sewer system. I always figured that was part of it.

 

[skyking]

after my remodel, I put one of these under each sink and one in the hot water heater pan. I have knocked off a drain under the sink and it worked great. I mopped up the leak and got a fan on it before it soaked into anything.
https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-...1536419469&sr=8-7&keywords=amazon+water+alarm