Edited to say: I know this isn’t a thrilling or probably even a mildly interesting topic but it’s what’s on my mind. My intention today was to write about our bees coming next week but when I sat down, this started pouring out (ha ha – water in my basement joke!).
I’ve spent the last hour researching the water leaking into my basement. I’ve read so many articles and watched so many videos that my five year old said “But Mommy, we’ve already watched this sump pump show”. (Although I must say I love YouTube – someone is always available to show you exactly what to do or not do whenever you have a question.)
So here’s the scoop: I have water. In my basement. For like the 8,000th day in a row. I don’t think it’s been dry since our snow started melting last month. It has limestone walls and is 100 years old so I can’t really blame it. At 100, my body probably won’t work as well as it used to either so I do have some sympathy. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
As I write this, I have seven box fans and one dehumidifier running. A few times it’s gotten almost all dry and I’ve turned the fans off and just let the dehumidifier run. Then we get more rain and I have standing puddles again. Out comes the shop vac, on go the fans and up goes my frustration level. At least everything is on blocks or up high so nothing is getting ruined.
Now, just to be clear, we have two sump pumps in our basement. Yep, two. One is in a bucket beside my washing machine. As the washer runs, it dumps the water into the bucket and the sump pump hauls it out of the bucket and up to connect to the PVC pipe that runs outside the house (I guess to the septic). Fancy, I know. Oh, and NEVER forget that the washing machine sump pump MUST be plugged in while running the washer. Otherwise, the washing machine dumps into the bucket, the bucket overflows and the water pours out onto the floor. And just because I love my husband so much I won’t tell you that he was the one who forgot to plug it in.
One day we would like to update this to the “normal” way a washing machine empties the water but for now, with a million and one other things to do, it works so we’re leaving it.
The second is a homemade sump pump that just kind of hangs out in the corner of one room, waiting for water to flow downhill to it. This was aided at some point by a previous owner who cut a channel into the floor lining the walls. Apparently they got tired of water all over the floors too. I guess they hoped that the water would all run to the edges of the room into the little ditch which would then lead downhill to the sump pump. From there it goes out the basement window to a PVC pipe that directs the water downhill.
Good in theory, bad in reality. Apparently despite the fact that every single wall, floor and ceiling slope in different directions throughout the entire house, the basement floor does not slope. At least not down toward the channels.
Sometimes the water leaks in the walls and runs down to the floor. Once the water pressure was so great behind the walls, a little stream of water actually shot out of the wall a good foot or so. It looked like a little boy peeing. Most often, this water finds it’s way to the ditches and eventually out the window via the sump pump. Other times, it just comes right on up from the cracks in the floors. This is the most aggravating because there are cracks all over the entire basement. And it has no hope of getting to the perimeter ditches.
So my friends Mr. Google and Mr. YouTube told me that my easiest solution will be to install a sump pump down under the floor. We will need to break up the concrete in an area, dig a huge hole down into the ground and set the sump pump down inside. My guess is that we’ll install it where the homemade sump pump is so we can use the existing PVC pipe to take it outside. Sounds pretty simple in design so it can’t be that hard to do, right?
Um, yeah, remember what happened while simply pounding in a little metal fence post?
Maybe I’ll just deal with the water until my Tim-The-Toolman Dad comes to visit in May…
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I feel your frustration level! In fact, I admire the solid, steady, and not frustrated (even humorous) way you managed to describe your wet basement. Honestly, if it were me I would be crying. We also have an ancient house. Built in 1859 or so. NO wall or floor is straight and you can see it shift before your eyes. However, it has stood this long…
But we don’t have a basement and over all the basement troubles I have read about this winter and I grateful for our dirt crawl space that the previous owners let our one tub drain into!?! Ya we fixed that.
I wish you the best. Your solution sounds correct if not scary. I hope it is dry very very very very soon for you. Here are good wishes as you hang in there!
Best of luck!
P.S. I found your lovely blog on Farm Friend Friday.
Lauren, thanks for stopping by! I know what you mean, the house is still here so it can’t be that bad, right? Your tub drained right out into the dirt crawl space? That’s just crazy! Hopefully we’ll get the basement fixed soon. It is very frustrating but I figure it’s better to laugh than cry (at least while the kids are watching).
Oh no Kimberly – don’t tell me that the in-floor sump pump won’t fix it! Okay, I’m just going to pretend that ours will be magical – once installed nothing bad will ever happen again!
But you are right about obviously not being too bad since the house has made it through all these years. And at least things like the boiler and freezers are up off the floor. Maybe we’ll just think of it as an indoor below ground swimming pool…
Mandy, this will give your Tim, the Tool Man Dad much to ponder between now & our visit in May. He will come armed with a great engineering feat planned along with a supply list for him & Josh to go to the big boy toy store. Make sure your homeowner insurance is up-to-date and make us some hotel reservations just in case.
Love, Mom
Ha ha Mom! I’m not sure my homeowner’s insurance will cover testosterone induced flooding. But the hotel reservations sound like a good idea. The kids would enjoy the hotel swimming pool – oh wait, unless Grandaddy and Daddy build them one of their very own in the basement!
Oh my!! It sounds like some of the “fun” times we have around here. Between the extremely inventive previous owner, my husband still learning how to construct/fix etc and the lovely advice from family and friends I have had plenty of meltdowns! I hope this is a somewhat easy fix for you and that your husband comes out of it unscathed!
I like that term Teresa – “inventive”. I think that will be my new way of describing just about everything in my house. We’re in the same boat with trying to figure out how to build or fix things. I’m trying to go with the “better to laugh than cry (or cuss)” approach. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t.
I’m so sorry to hear about the water. I’ve struggled with this occasionally. I need to use stuff (nice technical term, huh?) to fill cracks in the foundation. That can’t be good either. Hope things get fixed for you.