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rowynIt's been raining continuously, and heavily, for about the last 24 hours. (Apparently, the rain that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_anne sent away has come to me.) I told one of my co-workers earlier this afternoon, "Well, if my basement doesn't flood through this, it's probably good."
As soon as I got home, I went downstairs to check on it.
The extension is flooded; carpet is soaked through on one side, and lifting it up where it wasn't soaked, I could see at least half an inch of standing water under it. The carpet is basically floating on top of water. We'd noticed a few days ago that the extention had a water problem, so this was bad but not astonishing.
Then I went into the rest of the basement.
From the entrance to the rear of the house, north to south, there is a line a couple of yards wide of soaked carpet. Underneath almost all of the rest of the carpet, there's water. Almost the entire basement is flooded, about an inch deep in places. A few spots are still dry. There's so much stuff still packed down there that it's hard to tell the exact extent of the damage. But it's a safe bet that anything in contact with the floor is going to suffer water damage.
On the bright side, the stuff in boxes is stuff that we didn't need for three months, so it's not like these are our most prized possessions.
Lut and I did a bit of bailing, but it's hard even to bail, with the carpet soaking up so much water. And there are large heavy pieces of furniture occupying much of floor that we have nowhere dry we could move it. I suppose we could shift all the remaining boxes off the floor and upstairs. I don't know that it's worth it.
It's still raining, so the problem is going to get worse. Some of the water will go out through the sump pump, so there's a probable limit to how much worse it will get.
Lut's suggesting getting plastic sheeting to put under the furniture, and keep it out of contact with the floor. I guess that's better than sticking my head in the sand and hoping it will go away on its own.
In any event, one thing's for sure: I'll be calling a professional for help next. I've already contacted my agent about what recourse is available with regards to the sellers.
In the meantime ... guess I'll go buy some plastic sheeting.
lady_anne sent away has come to me.) I told one of my co-workers earlier this afternoon, "Well, if my basement doesn't flood through this, it's probably good."As soon as I got home, I went downstairs to check on it.
The extension is flooded; carpet is soaked through on one side, and lifting it up where it wasn't soaked, I could see at least half an inch of standing water under it. The carpet is basically floating on top of water. We'd noticed a few days ago that the extention had a water problem, so this was bad but not astonishing.
Then I went into the rest of the basement.
From the entrance to the rear of the house, north to south, there is a line a couple of yards wide of soaked carpet. Underneath almost all of the rest of the carpet, there's water. Almost the entire basement is flooded, about an inch deep in places. A few spots are still dry. There's so much stuff still packed down there that it's hard to tell the exact extent of the damage. But it's a safe bet that anything in contact with the floor is going to suffer water damage.
On the bright side, the stuff in boxes is stuff that we didn't need for three months, so it's not like these are our most prized possessions.
Lut and I did a bit of bailing, but it's hard even to bail, with the carpet soaking up so much water. And there are large heavy pieces of furniture occupying much of floor that we have nowhere dry we could move it. I suppose we could shift all the remaining boxes off the floor and upstairs. I don't know that it's worth it.
It's still raining, so the problem is going to get worse. Some of the water will go out through the sump pump, so there's a probable limit to how much worse it will get.
Lut's suggesting getting plastic sheeting to put under the furniture, and keep it out of contact with the floor. I guess that's better than sticking my head in the sand and hoping it will go away on its own.
In any event, one thing's for sure: I'll be calling a professional for help next. I've already contacted my agent about what recourse is available with regards to the sellers.
In the meantime ... guess I'll go buy some plastic sheeting.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 05:43 pm (UTC)The grading is pretty eh; I did have some dirt added at the back wall, but possibly not enough. And the gutters DO need to be cleaned. Sigh.
But after this deluge, I really think I need a pro. This is just too much to have to deal with. :/
(Whimper!)
Date: 2004-03-04 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 03:32 pm (UTC)The Glorious State of Rowynia endures another setback
Date: 2004-03-04 05:44 pm (UTC)[or retreat to higher ground. One of the two.]
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 03:39 pm (UTC)===|==============/ Level Head
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 05:45 pm (UTC)Pallets?
Date: 2004-03-04 04:15 pm (UTC)As for the sump pump, I had a strange problem when it rained really heavily once, for a day after it rained, the sump pump would pump the water out(dumping it 1 foot away from the house) and it would leak through the ground right back in.
I stuck another piece of pipe onto the outlet and directed it toward a downslope away from the house and the water went away.
Re: Pallets?
Date: 2004-03-04 05:40 pm (UTC)On the upside, a lot of my stuff in the basement is in plastic bins/drawers already, so it's not as bad as it might be.
I would definitely recommend such a move, though. :)
The sump pump does dump about fifteen feet down slope from the house, so at least that's not a problem. :/
Re: Pallets?
I was going to suggest some 2X4s, but I guess you're already on top of it.
Good luck!
Scott
no subject
Date: 2004-03-05 05:50 am (UTC)I dread doing that, too
Date: 2004-03-05 09:43 am (UTC)So in the end, suing the sellers will be just one more large bill to pay with no end in sight and not necessarily any payoff even if I win. When I bought the house they said they were looking at filing bankruptcy already.
And, of course, there's no reason to assume I'd win.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-05 08:27 pm (UTC)What is listed in the "known defects" section of your real estate contract? Did the sellers disclose a flooding problem?
Who represented the sellers? Is it the same broker who represented you? (They would have disclosed a "dual agency" representation to you if this had been the case.) The issue of whether their broker knew may be material.
Depending on the laws in your state, failing to disclose a flooding problem can be a serious breach of ethics for the broker and a huge liablity for the seller. Ask your neighbors if they are aware of any previous flooding in your house. Fraud (deliberate deception) can result in not just damages awarded to you to fix the problem, but possibly the recession of the contract (you would be released from your obligations to own the property and it would revert to its original owners).
Call your broker and/or your state real estate commission.