flooded basement

some of us here in the northeast have been having water problems. we've lived in this house 15 yrs with a dry basement which is now flooded. it seems like water is coming in 3 different points but we are not sure how. it began fri 10/14 after a week of heavy rain and has continued, weather's been dry since fri late night but water is still coming in at this point (sun nite 10/16). we've got 3 pumps running and my husband shopvac-ed for hours and got it pretty dry only to have it fill up again. now we know the water table is high but it just seems odd. our plumber and landscaper have both been here and suggest sump pump. we're fine w this but we think it may need

2-3 for all the areas. so any suggestions are helpful thanks Susan-- snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net
formatting link
Reply to
Susan
Loading thread data ...

We live on the East coast of Mass.

Our basement got water in it too, some places of up to 2" of water.

It seem to come from our basement windows, they are so small but do not open at all. I have run our dehumidifier, fan down there. It is finally dry now, but a lot of stuff got soaked with water and I had to throw it away.

shirley

Reply to
Shirley Thebaglady

Time for a pit and pump. one pump tied to let a floor drain drain into the pit. A Zoeller or Basepump backup second water powered pump will ensure saftey.

formatting link
Get a good dehumidifier to

Reply to
m Ransley

I live in Baltimore, and though I have had many leaks over the 22 years,** this is the fist time my sump pump woudn't handle it.

The original one rusted out, and I replace it with iirc the only one they sold, but at least it was basically an identical pump which I knew would go in simply. The new one has plastic pipe and won't rust out. I should have looked for a bigger one.

So I agree that this was a very unusual rain, and you might well go as many years as you did before without another wet basement.

Still, one sump pump might be a good idea. Now mine works so well because there is perforated, corrugated, plastic pipe (black) a little below and along the base of my basement walls, outside, and the pipes, one from the front, and one from the side and rear, go under the basement floor and into the sump. So there issn't much water pressing on the cinder block walls trying to get in***

***(Waterproof basement paint works well if it is leaking through the walls. It worked well in 1962 and I'm sure it has been improved by now.)

** from burst humidifier tubing, burst washing machine hoses, leaking water heater, burst temporary hose in the kitchen sink, water coming out of the basement sink (I live next to a stream and the water can overflow the manholes of the sewer that runs parallel to the stream, water overflowing the sink when I forgot the sink was plugged to stop the previous water and I did my laundry anyhow, AC drain didn't work for some strange reason until rerouted to make it drop 3 feet first and then go to the side instead of dropping 2 inches and going to the side and then going down.

I've yet to have my pipes freeze and break. That must be coming next.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

Reply to
mm

Your recent rain has been rather unusual and strained the normally efficient systems to take care of it. It may be several days before the water table gets down to anything close to normal.

I would guess that a single sump pump will do the job for you. Be sure to get a good one, not the cheapest builder's special. The better ones have larger motors and can pump a lot more water than the cheaper ones. It will not be often that you will see the kind of problem you had this last week.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

I would agree with Joseph; one pump ought to do it, though you might have some water on the floor in various places since you have no drain tiles to get the water to the sump pump efficiently. You just can't have anything that can't get wet directly on the floor. If that's a problem then yeh, you might need several sumps. You might also consider a backup sumppump; both to give some protection during power outages, and to supplement the main sumppump if it gets overwhelmed. I like battery powered, but the majority seem to go for water powered.

Reply to
Toller

check this out, it may help

formatting link

Reply to
Al Moran

Sometimes its a losing battle with the water table so high. Even with a sump pump it cant keep up sometimes. Water will just go back in. I know a lot of people here on Long Island that had pumps running constantly during the flood and it did not help. Then again water tables can be so irregular. I got an inch of water in my basement, and yet my neighbor down the block whose house sits lower than mine diod not see a drop of water in his basement. Go figure.

Reply to
Mikepier

Same problem here. A waterproofing contractor has recommended installation of a "French Drain" system with sump pump. Would like comments from anyone who has experience with this system, especially over the past week. Long Island soil has a lot of clay, which hinders drainage.

Bill on Long Island

Reply to
Bill Chamberlain

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.