Noreen Claire Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 It snowed two weeks ago. We've been in drought conditions since last summer and had very little snow this winter so, yeah snow! Then, it warmed up and rained. And rained. And rained some more. Yesterday it was downpours on/off all day. The finished portion of the basement has been underwater since last Wednesday. I can keep up with it during the day, if I go downstairs every 90 minutes or so and swap the soaked towels for dry ones, vacuum up the puddles, set off the sump-pump (other side of the basement), put the wet towels into the washer to spin dry, put the damp towels into the dryer, empty the wet/dry vac, and set off the sump-pump again (for good measure). Two-thirds of the floor is wet every morning. Yesterday, I was outside during the downpours shoveling puddles towards the other side of the yard. It's been nine days. I'm so over this. My back aches and I have so much that I've had to put off (like laundry, and some of DS8's school work) and the kids have watched way more tv than usual while I'm downstairs cleaning. It wouldn't be *that* big a deal, except that DS21 has his bedroom down there, and I would prefer to not end up with a basement full of mold. As it is, we will probably have to take down one finished wall to have someone come look at the basement stone wall and see if we can repair it so this doesn't happen again... Home ownership is awesome. </snark> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Your sump pump doesn't get triggered on its own? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Your sump pump doesn't get triggered on its own? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk It does, but not until the hole is full *all the way* to the top. I feel like, maybe, if I set it off before that point, the water from the other side of the basement might redirect to the lower level of the hole. I mostly do it to make myself feel like I have some control over the situation, which I obviously don't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 I'm so sorry. What a nightmare! :grouphug: Do you know where the water is coming from, so you can have the basement sealed once it dries out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Are your downspouts directing water away from your foundation? Can you dig a channel to direct the water away? You might look into getting a french drain to help out in the future. We had a flooded garage last week. We had a fast thaw, so the snow melted but the ground was too frozen to absorb the water. The water was coming up in cracks in our driveway. We had a similar routine with shop-vacs and towels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Are your downspouts directing water away from your foundation? Can you dig a channel to direct the water away? You might look into getting a french drain to help out in the future. We had a flooded garage last week. We had a fast thaw, so the snow melted but the ground was too frozen to absorb the water. The water was coming up in cracks in our driveway. We had a similar routine with shop-vacs and towels. We have one downspout, and it actually runs into a pipe in the ground near the corner of the house, about 15ft away from where the leak is. I'm not sure which direction the pipe runs underground - we only bought this house 18mos ago. Thanks for the tip about french drains - off to google! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 sorry..btdt...we FINALLY seemed to have gotten stuff sealed well enough and we had a real test these past several days of downpours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Do you need a new pump? Ours triggers at about 4 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Would another pump on that side of the basement help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Do you need a new pump? Ours triggers at about 4 inches. This is something that I will look into! Would another pump on that side of the basement help? Probably. We will call a professional at some point to tell us what we can/should do. The plan was for DS21 to move out next spring, so if I can wait to tear the place apart until after he leaves, I would prefer to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Can you adjust the level your sump pump turns on? When we first moved here ours was set to a higher level and didn't kick on until the water was almost to he top. The basement always seemed musty, so DH adjusted it to turn on when the water was about 6 inches lower. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 So, after 12 days I called the town. Seems there might be a water main leak just uphill. They will be back tomorrow with heavy machinery - the kids are so excited! Still water coming into the basement. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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