Flood!

[pyesetz]

My basement flooded last night.  I saw it coming around 9 PM and started using a rug-washer as a water-pump, but the washer couldn't keep up, so around 11 PM I declared a "family emergency" and everyone had to help out getting stuff off the floor in the basement.

Thankfully the water level crested only a couple of inches above the floor, so the furnace continued working through the night.  Apparently only the very bottoms of the expensive washer+dryer got wet, so hopefully they'll continue to work.  The wooden bases under the bookshelves were submerged, but the water didn't get up to the books, so we didn't lose any of those.

I drove down to my local Home Hardware today and got a water pump.  They tried to charge me $107, as shown on that web-page, but the price tag on the pump said $92 so I got it for that price.

Not mentioned on that page: the pump comes with a "suction plate" that allows it to continue pumping until the water is only ⅛ inch deep—very nice!  But the pump is not rated for continuous duty: its instruction manual warns of overheating and suggests running it only 15 minutes per hour.  I've been running it for a ½ hour at a time; it seems to be doing okay because the water is cold.

But I still need a sump pump.  I've been putting that off since Sept. '07 and clearly I have put it off too long already.  A sump pump needs a sump and apparently a sump needs a permit from the township because it involves digging.

My parents' house used to flood all the time because the neighbour's willow tree was clogging the drain.  After many years (and many metre-deep floods and many books lost), they finally got a sump pump.  But one day, during some torrential rains, the sump pump couldn't keep up and water rose out of the sump and spread over the floor—so once again all toys had to be picked up off the floor before they got soaked.  Finally the neighbour got rid of his tree and all was right with the world.

So even with a sump pump, I might still need this new pump I just got, to help out during super-heavy rains.

Comments

[xolo.livejournal.com]

I declared a "family emergency"

You need a family klaxon (http://www.adjunct.diodon349.com/submarines/navy_klaxons_from_the_1940s_for_sale_aaauuughaa.htm) for those occasions.

If it floods a lot, you might also consider getting one of those water-operated pool pumps for last-ditch use during power outages. They're cheap, and will keep pumping during a power failure, assuming you have city water that maintains pressure.

Also, not really on topic, but I just now thought about it - while discussing the Olympics at work, it occurred to some of us to wonder if naturalized citizens sing the line about 'our [...] native land', or do you have different lyrics?

[pyesetz]

family klaxon
Cute!  But overkill for my tiny 0.2-acre property.  It's easier to just yell "KIDLETS!"

If it floods a lot
First time in three years.

water-operated pool pumps for last-ditch use during power outages
I've seen those, but they cost hundreds and I've never experienced a flood and a power-failure at the same time.  (There was a power failure on Friday, but power was back before the water started rising.)  And muni water is not free!

wonder if naturalized citizens sing the line about 'our [...] native land', or do you have different lyrics?
Immigrants are supposed to sing the same words as everyone else.  My daughter isn't the only one who thinks this is disagreeable: snark, ultra-liberal, etc.

[deffox]

Try and keep things dry. If your basement isn't finished, pallets are good for keeping boxes off the ground.

It seems weird to need a permit to install a sump. Usually a city complains if you hook one to the municipal sewer.

[pyesetz]

The basement came with (rotting, mouldy) pallets on the stone-floor area, but the concrete area didn't seem to need them (until this weekend).  From what I've heard, most older houses in this area have pallets on their basement floors.

It seems weird to need a permit to install a sump.
It's an "alteration to the house", same as building an addition or replacing a concrete floor.

Usually a city complains if you hook one to the municipal sewer.
My parent' sump pump was connected to the sewer, but that was years ago.  I've been told not to try that nowadays (the illegality would make the house difficult to sell, among other issues).  Also, I have a pipe running from the basement to an old well at the other end of the property, but I'm told they would hate it even more if I dumped my bilgewater into the well (mustn't mix water filtered by six feet of soil with water that's already been filtered by 30 feet).

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

It's a simple matter to have a timer relay set for 15 min on, 15 min off and switch between two pumps, back and forth. Then you have 100% runtime with 50% duty cycle for each pump so they don't overheat. Doubles the cost of the pumps, yes, but that also gives you redundancy should one pump fail at the worst time.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=Z1135-ND
http://www.ia.omron.com/data_pdf/data_sheet/h3yn_dsheet_csm93.pdf

[pyesetz]

I've run the pump for 45 minutes straight without incident.  If I wanted to use this pump as my final answer, I would add a float-sensor so it would turn on automatically when needed.

But I really want a sump because the trenches have water in them only in the spring, but the floor is always damp.  If I put a rug on it for an hour and then pick it up, there's a wet-spot underneath—the floor exhales vast quantities of moisture!  So I want to lower the water table more than can be accomplished without digging a hole in the basement.

When I was in the store looking for a pump, I saw an old sump pump on sale (new) for $35!  But it needed plumbing rather than using a garden hose, and I don't have a big enough trench to put it in.