seaquake
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-23
Millersville, MD
clubs:  
 ·Verizon FIOS
| Wet basement, anyone?
We lost power between 10pm through 3am last night. The result was a good inch and a half of water in the basement since I sump had no power. Fortunately, we didn't have a lot on the floor. Unfortunately, we had a lot of carpet remnants and rugs on the floor which now require removal.
As ugly as it is, it could be a lot worse. I can't praise the folks at BGE highly enough. They were out working on the poles after midnight in these gusty winds and heavy rains. If they hadn't gotten the power back on, I'd be up to my knees in water right now. So if you know anyone who works at BGE, tell them I said thank you!
How has everyone else faired? |
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Rxdoxx
Premium,Mod
join:2000-11-03
Middle River, MD
clubs:
 ·Comcast
Host:
Software
Washington DC/Balt..
| I'm fine on this one.
Do feel your pain though, went through it with Hurricane Floyd (3") in basement.
When talking to insurance be sure to say it was an electric sump pump failure and not a flooding issue. One was covered for me, the other wasn't.
I got a generator a couple of years ago and have an extension cord running from the pump through the drier vent opening in the wall to the generator. I still have to be around to catch it and start the generator, but got that covered now. Going through the mess once was enough, and preventing it as best I could for the future was a priority.
I'll run another cord to the fridge/pellet stove if need be, but the sump line is already in place.
Hearing lots of schools closed down your way, is it more power or flooding issues?
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Was a Cruise Fanatic, one cruise on Princess cured me. Bleah |
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DC DSL
Stays crunchy even in milk
Premium
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
 ·Covad Communications
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to seaquake
Thankfully, there's only minor street flooding here in downtown DC. DPW and WASA have been pretty good with keeping the storm drains clear of late. For years, we used to have "Lake Twenty-Second Street" after just a minor summer afternoon tstorm...a heavy rain like this or a tropical system would have a Niagra Falls thing going over the ridge at P Street and down onto Rock Creek Pky.
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There is no giant fur-bearing trout. |
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JAAulde
yum yum yum yum yum
Premium,MVM
join:2001-05-09
Hagerstown, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to seaquake
I have two spots in my basement that let water in. The one is the bilco door as it is not properly sealed where it attaches to the brick side of the house. So a decent rain always causes some water to come in their. The other is either due to improper water locking on the wall (it's behind the oil tank) or the old coal door is not sealed properly. It's hard to tell, but I only really have any come in there during very very heavy downpours.
Either way, they both result water running across the floor to a floor drain (gravel pit). Only a few puddles here and there due to uneven floor. All of it in a utility area with no carpet, so no big deal.
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No eat apple, eat cookie. Apple spoil dinner.
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seaquake
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-23
Millersville, MD
clubs:
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Rxdoxx
said by Rxdoxx  :Hearing lots of schools closed down your way, is it more power or flooding issues? AA County had a lot of outages. We thought another large tree/limb came down across the power lines down the road from us. In fact, there were multiple emergency vehicles coming and going and I thought they had the road blocked. Couldn't tell because of all the rain, though. The streams were running high but I didn't see any major flooding issues.
Drove past the area of commotion this morning and a split-rail fence was decimated. Apparently someone did something stupid last night and clobbered it, along with a couple of trees. Not sure if the power outage was related; no telephone poles were replaced.
We did run up to HD today and pick up some plastic storage bins and a dehumidifier. All told about $250. We also have to chuck out about 1500 sf of rugs and carpet. These are just left over remnants and not worth a thing. Aside from that we really didn't lose anything...we were very lucky.
Not going to bother reporting it to insurance. We've got a $500 deductible so I'd have to come up with quite a bit of damaged and destroyed material to make it worth while...we simply didn't lose much.
The fun part is going to be getting all this stuff to the dump. Not looking forward to hefting those water logged carpets and rugs again. |
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madylarian
The curmudgeonly
Premium
join:2002-01-03
Parkville, MD
| reply to seaquake
After years and years of flooded basement due to loss of power to sump pump, sump pump failures, leaking foundation, etc., we've finally managed to stay dry!!!! Of course, we put in a second french drain and sump pump on the other side, then each pump got a second, battery-powered pump, reparged the outside and sealed the inside block walls. But it's been worth it.
Btw, we thought about a generator. Even our contractor has one. But when the power went out while he was on vacation and his basement flooded he told us he was going to switch to the same setup we had.
mady
--
Honi soit qui mal y pense |
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shezams
My Other Car Is A Zamboni
join:2001-08-14
Hyattsville, MD
·Comcast
| Mady - do you have a link to your backup system? I was fine this time since I never lost power, but I can remember oodles of fun on other occasions, bailing the sump with a flashlight between my teeth  .
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Simple rules - no offsides, no intent to maim, everything else is all good! |
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madylarian
The curmudgeonly
Premium
join:2002-01-03
Parkville, MD
| said by shezams :Mady - do you have a link to your backup system? I was fine this time since I never lost power, but I can remember oodles of fun on other occasions, bailing the sump with a flashlight between my teeth . I'm not sure what you mean. The "backup system" is actually a second sump pump installed in the same hole as the original. They had to enlarge the hole for it to fir. This second pump has the float set higher than the original and is connected to large capacity marine battery, which is plugged in so it stays charged. We just have to watch the water level in the battery, but there's warning light panel and warning buzzer. It looks like this is what we have. That is just what the warning panel and battery case look like. I never saw the pump as it was installed by the contractor during our basement renovation.
The way it works is that if the water level in the hole rises for any reason, be it loss of power or a dead sump pump (we've lost a few that way, too), the battery-powered pump kicks in.
mady
--
Honi soit qui mal y pense |
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy
| reply to seaquake
I live near the top of damned hill and still managed to get water in my basement. Of course, the only reason I ever get water in my basement is because I live in a duplex and get it through the shared wall. Yep: if my neighbor gets water, I get his overflow through the cracks. The joy of older home ownership.
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The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell |
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eSteve
Yoiks and Away
Premium
join:1999-11-08
Alexandria, VA
clubs:
edit:
May 16th, @02:32PM
| reply to seaquake
Rain Rain Go Away |
Sump was fine, but the ejector pipe goes into the downspout tube (black plastic pipe that runs out into yard) which got clogged, which had the water from the sump splashing right back against the foundation and running down the wall, carpet was leaching the moisture off the wall before it could drip into the french drain thing under the walls. I was on travel and got to fix it in the dark when I came home, mud and blood... 
The icing on the cake was unplugging my PC to "protect" it from any power surges. When I plugged it back in, I heard a "pop" and bye-bye power supply, and onboard USB too it seems. Spare power supply got me back up and running.
I hope that red/yellow stuff stays south...
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eSteve
"Think left and think right and think low and think high." - Dr. Seuss
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Coma
neuro anomalist
Premium
join:2001-12-30
Nirvana-Land
clubs:
| said by eSteve :I hope that red/yellow stuff stays south...
Your next wish will cost a dollar . . . .
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. . . seeking professional help . . . |
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Rxdoxx
Premium,Mod
join:2000-11-03
Middle River, MD
clubs:
·Comcast
Host:
Software
Washington DC/Balt..
| reply to eSteve
You get your wish?
Bookmark this site if you don't have it. it is the one I use for my reference
»www.timoniumweather.com/wx3.html
Our own jbags does a nice job 
HD finally got sod in today (supplier can't cut when ground is drenched)
Got 60 sqft covered in back, so my mudpatch is gone.
Been tilling the heavy clay soil down about 6", adding mulch and a bunch of peat moss.... and gypsum et.al. Hopefully I've done enough that I won't have the slick clay mossy bare spot... have to get some weeks of sun to be sure... covered 250 sqft so far. got about another 100sqft to prep and do if the rain ever stops.
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Was a Cruise Fanatic, one cruise on Princess cured me. Bleah |
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eSteve
Yoiks and Away
Premium
join:1999-11-08
Alexandria, VA
clubs:
| reply to Coma
said by Coma :said by eSteve :I hope that red/yellow stuff stays south... Your next wish will cost a dollar . . . . Only a $1... I better think about this one |
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eSteve
Yoiks and Away
Premium
join:1999-11-08
Alexandria, VA
clubs:
| reply to Rxdoxx
I did get my wish, and I do keep jbags site bookmarked, thanks!
Have fun w/ the sod. I got my grass cut yesterday, I think today will involve gutter cleaning, extending the drainage emitters out further, and perhaps adding a separate drain line for the sump ejector. All that prep for rain on my part should ensure at least a week of sun
Also will be updating my backups and looking into a new motherboard and power supply. In addition to the PS, the on-board sound and USB ports seem to have gotten fried when I plugged the LAN cable back in. On-board NIC still works. |
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jsimmons
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-24
Falls Church, VA
·Cox HSI
| reply to seaquake
said by seaquake :We lost power between 10pm through 3am last night. The result was a good inch and a half of water in the basement since I sump had no power. How has everyone else faired? I feel your pain. Been there, done that.
My sump tends to fill quickly during storms since the basement stairwell floor drain empties into my sump via drainage piping under the concrete basement floor.
Several years ago, I concocted a home-grown "UPS" from a half dozen 12v 33 AH high-capacity computer room UPS batteries, a 1000W 120-volt RV inverter, and a 12v marine battery recharger (designed to remain connected to the batteries 24x7). This setup will keep my sump pump, a few 110v fluorescent lights, and a TV going for 12+ hours during extended power outages. It has saved my bacon many times.
So while the rains kept filling my sump, the backup worked like a champ.
I highly advise having some form of UPS on sump pumps for those occasions when heavy rain and loss of power occur simultaneously.
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"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."- Albert Einstein |
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KoolMoe
Aw Man
Premium
join:2001-02-14
Annapolis, MD
clubs:
·Verizon FIOS
·Speakeasy
| reply to seaquake
Yeah, I gotta get a UPS on my sump...I keep forgetting that.
Thought about it last weeks when this thread was new but then had a completely unrelated PITA.
Our downstairs has flooded a few times from heavy rains, either because of power outages or the sump gets stuck. So I kept a close eye on the laundry room (where sump is) throughout the rainy days.
On the last one, checked, and there was water in there, maybe .25", mostly soaked up into the various laundry on the floor.
Dammit.
Checked the sump and it was DRY. WTF? Searched around a bit and saw the wall behind the washer/dryer stack was wet. Poked a bit more...hmmm, the kitchen sink is above that area.
Checked under the sink and the three year-old garbage disposal had rusted-out at the bottom! Who knows how long our sink drain had been letting loose into the laundry room. Looking closer at the laundry room mess, all sorts of coffee grounds and other old food.
Total yuck.
So cleaned it up, replaced the disposal, cursed about the stupid plumbing under the sink (both sinks had glued traps, not threaded!), and ultimately the luck that on a three-day rain, our sump held-up for once, but we still got a little flood.
Argh. Home Ownership.
KM
--
Don't Lie - Be Kind - Realize your Potential |
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shezams
My Other Car Is A Zamboni
join:2001-08-14
Hyattsville, MD
·Comcast
| Here you go, Moe! What you need is a Leak Frog! »www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor···z3r0tx_e
You can put him under the sink or in the basement. Another thing to be aware of in the unwanted water department is the age and condition of washer and dishwasher supply hoses, which can be a nasty surprise. My last bit of advice would be to make sure your main water shut off is accessible and works - the working part can be an issue with older houses and rarely used shut offs - and that you always turn off the water if the house is going to be unoccupied for any length of time!
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Simple rules - no offsides, no intent to maim, everything else is all good! |
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