excell Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 The battery backup for my sump pump failed. The engineer who designed it, apparently, didn't think a fail-safe bypass circuit in case of battery failure was necessary. So I had 3" of water in my basement. I already shut my gas off at the meter until the water finishes pumping out so I can test my water heater and furnace. I dig on getting all the shit out of there. I've already ordered a dumpster. I dig on pressure washing the piss out of it. I dig on setting up a de-humidifier on warp speed. I have finished stairs. The bottom of the stairs, door, walls, etc. was under water. What the hell do I do with that? Get a carpet cleaner and hope the drywall doesn't come unglued? Is there anything else I should do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 The battery backup for my sump pump failed. The engineer who designed it, apparently, didn't think a fail-safe bypass circuit in case of battery failure was necessary. So I had 3" of water in my basement. I already shut my gas off at the meter until the water finishes pumping out so I can test my water heater and furnace. I dig on getting all the shit out of there. I've already ordered a dumpster. I dig on pressure washing the piss out of it. I dig on setting up a de-humidifier on warp speed. I have finished stairs. The bottom of the stairs, door, walls, etc. was under water. What the hell do I do with that? Get a carpet cleaner and hope the drywall doesn't come unglued? Is there anything else I should do? AKA: Don't buy Chris' house, it's going to have mold in the basement. Sucks dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragknee66 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 AKA: Don't buy Chris' house, it's going to have mold in the basement. Sucks dude. dawt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 AKA: Don't buy Chris' house, it's going to have mold in the basement. Sucks dude. Mold is going to have a tough time sticking to concrete blocks and floor. The amount of carpet is like 3x3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lustalbert Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 You can call one of those water damage recovery companies. It probably wont be cheap, but at least it done right. BTW, and chance any part of this (was the pump bought as part of the house?) could be a home waranty issue? Also, any chance you homeowners insurance may cover part of the cleaning services? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 You can call one of those water damage recovery companies. It probably wont be cheap, but at least it done right. BTW, and chance any part of this (was the pump bought as part of the house?) could be a home waranty issue? Also, any chance you homeowners insurance may cover part of the cleaning services? I've already called a few. You're right, estimates of about $2000. No, I bought the battery back up to power the pump in the event of an extended power outage. Lotta good that did! The pump is fine and pumping right now. Yes, my homeowners will cover everything after my $500 deductible. I don't care about the deductible, but my monthly rate will go up if I make a claim. If I don't have to, I won't. I already planned the dumpster, I didn't lose anything of great value (only sentimental value), and I have all of the cleanup items. My Dad is bringing over his power washer. I just didn't know if there was something else I should be thinking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 I wouldnt use a pressure washer will make a mess. just run a graden hose down there and get a good sized srcub brush (pool scruber). will take make a hr to clean it all up. how long you lose power? and when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 how long you lose power? and when? I didn't lose power, the backup unit failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 So the basement isnt finished just the stairs right? Are the block walls sealed? How much water are we talking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 oh, ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Also call nationsrent or uhaul and rent one of their large floor blowers. It will dry it up faster than anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam1647545489 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 If the walls are block then they will dry up by themselves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 So the basement isnt finished just the stairs right? Are the block walls sealed? How much water are we talking? I think he said 3 inches worth. My sister and her husband moved to cinci 2 years ago, while the house was on the market in the middle of the winter a pipe burst in the kitchen and flooded the whole house for 2 weeks without anyone knowing. Needless to say they had to hire a company to come out, thankfully insurance took care of everything past their deductable which included the 15,000$ finished basement and all the wall/flooring on the first floor as well. The clean up company got rid of EVERYTHING within a day or so. If the water touched any drywall/carpet get rid of it. It sounds like that was just at the bottom of the stairs so at least you lucked out. everything else I'd clean with bleach and a power washer if your not going to hire the company. How much would your monthly payments go up if you claimed this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 If the entire basement is finished, cut off the damaged drywall and replace it. If the doors are hollowcore, they may be ruined if the were left soaking for any amount of time. However these are pretty cheap and easily replaced. Carpet with padding below may be ruined as well. If its just a small are of carpeting, pull up the carpeting in are and allow pad to dry before retacking or simply replace padding. Solid woods can go for a decent amount of time being submerged without to much damage. The cheaper the wood, like whats found in todays stick homes, will suffer faster than older more expensive hard woods found in older more expensive homes. If you need help with repairing/replacing anything let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 If the walls are block then they will dry up by themselves... Hopefully the walls were treated to prevent unsightly efflorescence deposits from forming which will require acid washing to remove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted March 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Good info so far. I'm going to imagine that by the time I found the water it had been in the bottom of the stair area for about 3-4 hours. The rest of the basement probably 6-7 hours. I know it was dry last night at 6PM, so it had to fill up overnight when it started raining. I would imagine it's all drained now, the sump pump was working it's ass off when I left at 10AM and the water level was already down about an inch. I have a carpet cleaner and I'm going to try my ass off to salvage the carpet. I have a vacuum-type carpet cleaner and if I vac it up really well I think it has the potential to be fine. The drywall, molding, and door is what I'm most concerned with. I hope they'll just dry out and that's the end of it. The walls are block, and they'll dry. I don't really care if they have a water mark or something, that does not concern me. I don't think anyone buying the house will notice anyway, cause it's always had a little mark on it from when the house was built. As soon as I step in the door I'll get the de-humidifier going so it can start drawing out water. I need to wipe down and have a look at my hot water heater and furnace. They were both under some water, how much I'm not sure. I'm hoping not more than an inch or so, and I should be okay. We'll see. If either or both is damaged, then obviously I'm going to need to get my insurance involved. Here's hoping. I'm not sure how much my rates will increase, but I know I get a "loss-free" discount now. I don't mind the work to keep it as long as the major parts of this deal are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Chris I'll come seal your walls and clean for some money and green letters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMeanGreen Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Dad has a power washer? Damn, I need to borrow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 I got home at 4PM and the basement was water-free. Little sump pump made quick work of it. The water level was just to the bottom of any electronics on my hot water heater and furnace. I cleaned both of them up, turned my gas on, and fired them up. No problems! I got a lot of the water sucked out of the carpet and have the de-humidifier in the area on ludicrous speed. Water exposure to the drywall, door, and woodwork seems minimal. There was no swelling on any of it. So, we'll see how the carpet dries out. My dumpster was delivered yesterday just as I was getting home. I spent the rest of the time getting boxes of shit up. All 20 of them. They were heavy BEFORE the flood, now they're soaked with water. I got all of them up, but my muscles sure got a workout. Makes me miss working out every day. I still have a lot of work to do, but so far so good. The moral of the story is: If you have a basement with a sump, get a $20 water alarm from a hardware store. Seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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