I don't know how many of you have been watching the news regarding the flooding across the midwest, but we were affected here also with minor flooding in our town and quite extensive flooding in neighboring towns. Jenni and I were up a few nights ago around 2 or 3 am when the rain was coming down just so hard and loud that we just couldn't sleep. We had a little leakage around our chimney, but more than that it was coming in through the foundation walls pretty fast. Our problems were nothing compared to others that I work with who had to have their basements pumped out (multiple feet of water in some).
We have only a floor drain in our basement. We do not have a sump pump. The drain has always served us well and seems to have been able to handle the influx of water that we have experienced in recent days as well as a few years ago. Probably better than 95% of the water comes in on the unfinished side of the basement (where the lowest point in the floor is) and so it does not affect the finished area as long as it drains properly.
That being said, I have two questions.
Would installing a sump pump still be a wise decision since about two thirds of our basement is finished (and has carpeting, etc) and the floor drain could become plugged or overwhelmed if the influx of water was great enough.
Also, if the sump pump idea makes sense, would it make sense to dig the sump well very close to the floor drain so that the floor drain would be primary, but if it plugged, the water would spill over into the sump well and get pumped outside?
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
9 comments:
Why is water coming in to your basement? There is a company called dry-pro that advertises on the radio in Charlotte that gives a 100% guarantee. I remember selling a lot of those pumps at farm and family but I don't know anything about installing them. It sounds like you've got the right idea. I didn't know you had to dig a well to install one. I imagined they just set on top of the floor.
Almost all foundations have some cracks however tiny, even new ones. The hydrostatic pressure of the water table rising higher than the basement floor forces the water inside. We have companies here that do the same thing, but putting a sump pump in for around 200 bucks is a much cheaper alternative. The water table here in Sun Prairie is relatively high as we are in a flood plain. We are required to have flood insurance. You can do your own reading, but in a nutshell a sump pump is installed by digging out a hole in your basement floor to the dirt or gravel beneath. The pump acts to keep the water level from rising higher than the floor by pumping it out a pipe to the outside to drain away from the structure.
I need to make un update because my post seems to indicate that water would still come through the walls after the sump pump is installed ("drain would be primary"). Actually, if the sump pump works properly, it should keep the water level beneath the house to a level that would prevent the hydrostatic pressure on the walls. The only time that the drain would be primary is if a pipe within the house were to burst and we had internal flooding. That is my understanding of how it is supposed to work anyway. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I recall looking at some houses that had sump pumps when we were house shopping. They kind of concerned me so it would usually turn me off from an otherwise good house.
I think your first comment was right in that the floor drain would be secondary because thunderstorms and flooding usually go hand in hand, and thunderstorms often mean power outages, and unless you have a back up generator that pumps not going to be sumpin! You are right in the pump goes below the floor in a shallow well. The ones i have seen usually eject the water to your water/sewer line.
Jake
I was looking online and I saw some battery powered pumps. I even saw one that was water powered. Now there's a good idea!
Was there sarcasm in the "good idea" comment? They have their tradeoffs. The water powered obviously works when the power is out, but they are not as powerful as some of the electrics. They also tend to be more expensive to run from what I have read.
Water powered does seem like reverse logic...almost like the solar powered flashlight idea.
I hope you did not have too much damage to your home and property, Justin. Won't homeowners insurance cover damage repair? I saw the news about the flooding in Wisconsin but they never said where when I listened. Please keep us updated.
I am going to have gall bladder surgery on Monday. It will be done laproscopic. I have had some bad pain from stone so I am finally giving in
to letting it go! I will have to be out of work for a week and then light duty for another week.
We sustained no real damage. The carpet got wet in spots, but I think it will dry out ok. We will keep you in prayer for your surgery.
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