Minor basement floods

[charrison100]

My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you have had experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been small. 3 times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the rain water that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal one and it happened again.

I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my furniture is fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement again. I am not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory is the grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.

What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many Hp would you recommend?

When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?

When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood damage? Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?

[RBM]

Depending upon where the water is entering the basement, different solutions would be required. If it's coming through walls, proper grading and footing drains will be required. If the water table is rising and it's coming through the floor, sump pumps can prevent it from reaching the level of the floor, if they pump faster then it comes in. Don't concern yourself with HP of the pump but rather GPM or gallons per minute, which will vary depending upon the height of the discharge pipe. What you may want to do is enlarge the diameter of your pump pit. Don't make it to deep, as the ground water to far below the floor line doesn't need to be pumped, and add a second pump at a slightly higher elevation. This way if the lower pump, or primary pump can't handle the load, the water level will rise until the second pump kicks in. Keep in mind, unless you have a back up electrical system, this is all moot in a power failure.

[hallerb]

ANY chance of draining the sump to daylight say near a curb? It amazes me how many peoples sumps could drain directly to daylight. Many people DONT want to dig:(

Plus whats the diameter of your discharge line and where does the pumped water go? a too small discharge line or one thats blocked or crushed can lead to yopur trouble.

Does your sump have underground french drain?

[dss]

charrison:

I've been fighting a wet basement for 20 years. Most years I win, some I don't. (Recently had a couple feet of snow followed shortly by an 80 degree day.)

A couple of inches of heavy clay soil will really help.

I like the idea of a second pump rather than one bigger system. The advice to check out the system when it is operating is also good. It may not be installed very well and your pumped water may be returning. My system pumps to a pipe that goes 20 feet away and a foot down.

The floor in my basement is the old fashioned thick vinyl 12" tiles put down with mastic. It has held up well to the occasional flood for many years. Read the fine print and make sure it is guaranteed for sub grade installation. Most of the thin self stick tiles are not. We use area rugs that can be rolled up and moved in an emergency.

You may also want to leave a gap at the floor in the wallboard of a couple of inches. Cover it with an oversized baseboard that stands up to water. Just in case.

Good luck.

dss

[3G]

your house could be built around ledge rock forcing the water in/up.

| | I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my | furniture is | fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement | again. I am | not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory | is the | grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.

is the water coming through the walls or from under the floor? a pump usually means high water table not grading problem.

| | What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many | Hp would | you recommend?

1 1/2 hp

| | When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?

4 in. top soil 8 in. below foundation top

| | When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood | damage? | Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?

tile would be best

I would probably install a second pump in the opposite corner than the one you have now (if the cause is high water table). |