Water in basement - Ideas Needed

[barryra]

Here in Moorhead/Fargo we are having flood issues again but I don't hink my water is from that.

I have lived here 5 years (house built 1950) (have 2 foot incline in back yard) and this is the 1st time I have seen water. My theory is I didn't clean gutters in fall & rain collected near house.... not sure but...

For the last 6 days I have been shop-vacing every 1.5 hours. There is about 10x7 inch of water in one room east & other 2 rooms have water also. It rained yesterday & now its coming in faster.

There is a sump pump in north west corner that is working... that room is good. I do not have drain tile.

My question is... is there something I can do now to either stop the water from coming in or.... is there a pump type product etc that can sit on a flat floor & have a hose to the shower?

I am thankful the shop-vac im using has a built in water pump with hose to shower. I do plan on either puting in drain tile or building up angle near the house when we get things dried & out of basement. We took carpet out & have stuff piled in other room...

Thank you for ANY ideas!!! There are a lot of smart people here... so I thought to ask.

One more question.... when will it stop or at least slow down?

[Ed Harris]

I have a basement pump that sits on the floor but there has to be enough water for it to prime and start the pumping process,sort of a double edged sword?
It will start in less than 1 inch but that is a fair water depth in my
basement.

I know for my house the slope away and gutter cleaning do make a huge difference as you suggest.
It is tough to give specific advice though without being there?

I am sort of used to it in the Spring and there is a consistent path my water flows so I have everything on that path lifted a few inches,a true pain but I have too much stuff.

Good Luck

[Alf S.]

Hi: barryra... I feel your pain. We too have drainage issues. Rural living can be a drain pain. We had to install a second sump so we have one for the basement sewage, 4pc. bathroom, laundry, kitchen, and floor drains and one to relieve the storm water pressure from water under the cement floor.
We have re graded the lot and installed steel window wells and use black Otile extensions on all downpipes.
Our ground around the house is just saturated and the sump pump runs every 15-30 min. 24/7. Two years ago we had it so bad the water was coming in thru cracks in the cement pad/floor but thats not happening with the new sump pump installed.
Our next job maybe to put in a third sump pit and break up around the perimiter of the cement floor and install sock covered Otile in a trench under the cement (Cost aprox. $10,000.00) or build an ARK!!! Excuse me while I go man the bilge.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Joe Z]

If your gutters outside the house end at the foundation extend them out about four foot or more to divert the water away from the house.( buy a length of downspout pipe and a 90 degree elbow) We just had a couple of real bad storms here and that's what i had to do to one of the drains..... i even dug a tiny canal to give it a direction away

[Matt in SV]

It sound pretty serious. Do you have wood floors?

You need to install a sump pump quick and pump the water around the house to the incline or into a storm drain! Using that vacuum is goid to help dry out water but no way to move water.

You can get a sump pump and discharge hose at the hardware store or harbor freight. You might need to dig a pit, or you can start by pumping from the lowest spot. There are pumps that will pump down to 1/4 inch or so, but they generally aren't the high volume kind you'd want long term, installed in a pit with an auto shutoff, but do what you need to do

Also check your water meter to make sure you don't have a cracked pipe. Maybe your neighbor's meter, too!

Regards,

Matt

[Greg H]

My mom and dad had to have a system put in their basement, it involved jackhammers and drain tile sump pump and wall sealant, it was expensive but it worked. extensions on your downspouts is a good way to start, get the water away from the house and it wont get in the house. Or you could move down here where I live, it hasn't rained since last July or August.

[Victor Benz]

I had similar issues in my (new to us) home in 2005-6. The foundation wall was cinder block and cracked. Salt deposits on the wall indicated a history of leaks. I put in long downspouts to get the rain away from the foundation, and that did a lot. I checked with recommended local contractors, and they told me the only fix was to excavate the outside of the foundation, seal the wall, and put in weeping tile if it was absent. Way too many dineros for me! I came across an article in a home mag about in-ground rain gutters that made sense to me, and I will put them in, probably this summer.

The idea goes like this:
Excavate a trench 2 feet deep and 4 feet wide nect the foundation. put in clean fill, sloped from 1 foot deep at the foundation to 2 feet deep at the trench wall, 4 feet from the foundation. Lay in a membrane like roofing membrane over the full width of the fill. At the foundation wall, roll it arounf a pressure treated 2x2 and Hilti it to the foundation wall. Carefully backfill over the top of the membrane with sand and light gravel, eventually finishing with turf at the surface. It is designed to create a dry(er) space next the foundation wall.

Vic

[barryra]

Thank you so much everyone. I am going to try the method of putting plastic/dirt/rock around the areas that need some angle. I just got done cleaning out the gutters & extending the out ones.

The water is slowing down so hopefully we can start taking out all the carpet & stuff... I collect pinball machines so I may just move them around to a dry area until that room is ready.

Thanks again for all your help!!

[Roger C H]

My folks' house in Pewaukee, WI had a dry basement until the neighbor behind built his house, then they had water coming in.

My Dad put in double sump pumps and an emergency generator because the electricity went out when the sumps were needed the most.

It was opined that the other house blocked an underground stream and diverted it to my folks.

This is a heck of a fiberglass RV website.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by barryra

Here in Moorhead/Fargo we are having flood issues again but I don't hink my water is from that.

I have lived here 5 years (house built 1950) (have 2 foot incline in back yard) and this is the 1st time I have seen water. My theory is I didn't clean gutters in fall & rain collected near house.... not sure but...

For the last 6 days I have been shop-vacing every 1.5 hours. There is about 10x7 inch of water in one room east & other 2 rooms have water also. It rained yesterday & now its coming in faster.

There is a sump pump in north west corner that is working... that room is good. I do not have drain tile.

My question is... is there something I can do now to either stop the water from coming in or.... is there a pump type product etc that can sit on a flat floor & have a hose to the shower?

I am thankful the shop-vac im using has a built in water pump with hose to shower. I do plan on either puting in drain tile or building up angle near the house when we get things dried & out of basement. We took carpet out & have stuff piled in other room...

Thank you for ANY ideas!!! There are a lot of smart people here... so I thought to ask.

One more question.... when will it stop or at least slow down?

Ones like this will pick up off the floor with very little depth,and they work with a garden hose!

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...631240.1260936