Flooding...again

gunlovingirl

gunlovingirl

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This year we've had more rain that I've ever seen since I've lived here. We're lucky if we go three days with no rain. So the ground has been saturated for months. Many of you remember my experience with the flood of 2010. Yesterday I had to relive it all over again. Except in 2010 it took two days of steady rain and yesterday it took four hours. I have never seen it rain so hard. I have a rain gauge that monitors not only the total rainfall, but how much per hour is falling. It started at about 3 a.m. It was a very hard steady rain. And it get worse. Between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. we received 7.18 inches, with a total for the day of 7.49 inches. At one point it was coming down at 4.26 inches per hour. I have never seen rain that heavy. And never want to again. Needless to say, over 7 inches of rain in four hours is going to cause flooding. My basement had over three feet of water in it. Thankfully I was able to get it pumped out before it got any higher. The water heater floated until the water lever got low enough during the pumping to cause it to break the water lines. Again, thankfully, I heard it when it happened and was able to reach the main shut off valve coming into the house. I called a different plumber this time, and he got the water heater back in place and replaced the broken water lines and said he believes the water heater will work fine. But he suggested I use a wet-vac to suck as much of the water out of the foam insulation as I can before I turn the breaker back on. I was too exhausted, emotionally and physically, to do it last night, so this morning I'll go buy a wet-vac and do what he suggested. Then, hopefully, I can turn the power on to it and have hot water again. What a day. And what a mess. But my mess doesn't compare to a lot of others' in the area. There were a lot of water rescues yesterday. Some people had three to four feet of water outside their homes. One home three blocks, away near a drainage creek, washed off it's foundation. There were news stories of the flooding in Madison on the Weather Channel, so some of you might have seen it. The damage yesterday was pretty much in my area, but it brought back too many memories of May 2010. Memories I'd like to forget. Storms and more rain is in the forecast every day through next Tuesday. A friend suggested I leave the pump hooked up and plugged in so that if we do get a lot more rain, it will start up and be able to keep what happened yesterday from happening again. I'd appreciate your prayers. And I know my neighbors would too.
 
Good luck Misty. It's certainly been a wet summer to remember. Keep the faith!
 
my thoughts are with you ,sorry about your home. its the one sanctuary we have and when that is compromised, stress builds fast .
dont forget to oil your guns up, there will be a lot of humidity in your house for a while.
 
Prayers sent, hang tough and keep positive thoughts. Stay as proactive as you can in this bad situation and keep that pump hooked up. Good luck and keep us updated.
 
Hi Misty

Wishing you and your neighbors the best possible outcome. I have been thru it and lost a house to flooding about 10 years ago when the Susquehanna decided to change course thru the living room. It is a nightmare I don't wish on anyone.

Best to all......
 
Thanks guys. Whenever I'm in a situation like this, I look around, and I always see people who are going through a lot worse than me. I've been through flooding twice now, but I'm blessed. Why? Because I'm still here, in my home. So many people aren't able to say that. As an update, after vacuuming water out of the water heater insulation, it kept cutting the breaker off when I turned it on. And I'd hear a loud bang. The plumber came back and found that the power wire had gotten damaged when the heater had tipped over and the wire was shorting out. So he fixed that and replaced the thermostat and said it should be fine now. I'm giving it an hour or two to heat up, then I'll hopefully turn on the hot water faucet and have hot water again.
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Misty, hang in there. I am sorry to hear about the flooding. My goodness that is a lot of water! I think you should try to have another pump as a backup just in case the first one fails. I am speaking from experience. I always had this sinking feeling when I got water in the basement. I had mine fail in the middle of the night once. I had a heck of a mess. I live in a new house with no basement now! Best of luck to you and others down there.
 
First let me say sorry for your water problem and prayers that you don't get flooded anymore.

Now the criticism.

I called a different plumber this time, and he got the water heater back in place and replaced the broken water lines and said he believes the water heater will work fine. But he suggested I use a wet-vac to suck as much of the water out of the foam insulation as I can before I turn the breaker back on.



The key words here are "I Think", Lots of houses have burned because someone thought a electrical problem was OK. Just make sure the foam around the electrical connection are dry, take the plate off both and leave open for a couple days, (and don't poke your finger in there when energized), watch for rust on the screws it's a conductor, CRC spray will displace the moisture on the connections we used it all the time on ships, and remember the golden rule "When In Doubt, Throw It Out" water heaters are not cheap but you might be able to get your insurance to pay for it, just be careful how you tell them how it happened. Remember if the water rises up it's flood insurance, if it comes down homeowners sometimes pays. Course my daughter had here sump pump stop working and got several inches of water in her basement and homeowners wouldn't pay for it, said she didn't have sump pump coverage whatever that meant.

A friend suggested I leave the pump hooked up and plugged in so that if we do get a lot more rain, it will start up and be able to keep what happened yesterday from happening again. I'd appreciate your prayers. And I know my neighbors would too.

Why would you just not leave it pluged in all the time sump pumps only come on whe the water level lifts the float and throws the switch. It could have saved you this problem.

Also open windows when you get a chance to air out the basement, fans to help dry, dehumidifier would be best, and watch out for mold.
 
gdnagle said:
First let me say sorry for your water problem and prayers that you don't get flooded anymore.

Now the criticism.


Why would you just not leave it pluged in all the time sump pumps only come on whe the water level lifts the float and throws the switch. It could have saved you this problem.

Also open windows when you get a chance to air out the basement, fans to help dry, dehumidifier would be best, and watch out for mold.
Click to expand...

The reason it's not plugged in all the time is because I have to run an extension cord (yes, heavy duty outdoor type) from the garage down the driveway and in the cellar door down the steps to the pump. I have no outlets in the basement. And it wouldn't have saved me this problem, because I just got the pump when this happened. This is a partial crawlspace and partial basement .Thankfully, I don't have my furnace down there. I have a heat pump in the attic.
I unplug the pump and run a fan during the day, to help air it out and dry. So I'm doing the best I can under the circumstances. Right now I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of mother nature.
Almost forgot...I now have hot water!
 
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Prayers sent for immediate relief. I'm no stranger to high water. Living on the Texas Gulf Coast I've stacked furniture a time or two myself. Having water in your home is a real bummer.

But just now I'm having the opposite problem. I can't GET it to rain. :y water bill has been running 4 times the usual rate and that is just barely keeping the grass alive. I googled "rain dance" but didn't see anything that would help. Guess that's the way it goes. It seems like it's always too much or not enough.

Anyway my thoughts, prayers and understanding are with y'all for the duration. Hope it turns around for you sooner rather than later.
 
Sorry to hear of your problems. Here in Georgia we are going through the same problem with rain. We have had 22 inches more than normal so far this year. I wanted to let you know of a way to avoid your basement flooding in the future. I used to live along a river and just about every spring my basement would flood. I installed 2 sump pumps which I had to cut 2 holes into the floor at the lowest place in the basement. I poured new cement in these holes which ended up being about 18 inches deep. They were about the size of a 5 gal. bucket. I put the pumps at the bottom of the holes and hooked up float switches. I used 2 pumps just in case the water was pouring in but most of the time I only had to use 1 pump. Plumb the outlet to run out of your basement away from the house. After I hooked these up I never had a flooded basement again. It's floor got wet but that was it. Good luck.
 
I'm an East Tennessee native, Misty. That much rain goes way beyond what folks in that area used to call "a frog strangler" when I was a kid.

It was also called "a flat rock special", and that's the nice version.

Positive thoughts and prayers coming your way from Louisville.
 
shouldazagged said:
I'm an East Tennessee native, Misty. That much rain goes way beyond what folks in that area used to call "a frog strangler" when I was a kid.

It was also called "a flat rock special", and that's the nice version.

Positive thoughts and prayers coming your way from Louisville.[/QUOT

Oh yeah, I do believe i remember that one. Something about a fat cow and high cliff waddn't it. :D :D
Click to expand...
 
And no conspiracy theory remarks yet about HAARP--High-frequency Active Aural Research Program. HAARP--:eek:

Man where are all the foil hat people.:D:D

Gotta go hear a black helo overhead.:p
 
Prayers to you ma'am...It's been flooding here where I live in Tampa non stop.
 
Sad to hear Misty. As you learned the last time, this to will pass. Keep positive thoughts and I know you'll make it through! You're a tough lady. :) I hope you get it all back to normal soon. Chin up girl. Prayers up!!
 
Hoping everything works out for you, your a veteran at this and something positive just has to be coming down the boulevard in your direction.
 
How goes it down there today Misty?
 
Sorry about your flooding problems, do you have flood insurance?
We got flooding this spring in the basement due to roots in the drain tiles and sucked up tons of water with a wet vac. We got tile replaced but damage was done and flood insurance paid out a partial sum for repairs as they don't cover furnishings in basements. Drywallers finished up last week and left a mess to clean up. Poor wife has to deal with it as I just had back surgery on top of it all.
You may want to invest in a permanent sump pump for your basement. I have one and an identical unit as a back up should it fail. I also put in a 12 volt battery back up in case of failure of main one or power failure.
 
Sorry to hear about your problems, Misty. Lot of rain here in Western NC with serious flooding around us but not right here. Looks like we are going to be in a rainy pattern for at least the next week.

Tom
 
pace40 said:
How goes it down there today Misty?
Click to expand...

Hi Mike. So far everything is ok. Wet, but ok. We got a little rain last night, about a half inch, and it just rained a minute ago, but only a short shower. The pump now sets inside a plastic bucket in a hole at the lowest spot in the basement. I'm going to have an outlet put in down there so the pump will always be plugged in. They're still saying we could get some heavy rain on and off all the way through Tuesday. But I think I'm prepared now. I just wish we'd go about 6 weeks without a drop of rain so the ground could at least begin to dry out. This has been the wettest spring and summer I've seen since I've been here. The mosquitoes love it, but I don't!
 
Misty,

Sorry for your troubles. We have had mucho rain here in SW Virginia too. Luckily, my house sits way above the spring branch that runs through the holler.

If my house floods, look fer a really big boat and a feller herding animals two by two!
 
sorry about your troubles...

It's been pretty bad in eastern SC, too. More flooding than I've ever seen. Roads that I thought were on pretty high solid ground have been washed out, including in my own neighborhood. My roof is leaking.:(:(:(
 
This seems to be a really wet year for a lot of areas. My thoughts and prayers for those of you going through the same thing. Yesterday, except for the quick shower in the morning, we didn't get any more rain. In fact the sun was out on and off all day. But the humidity will choke you! No rain last night either, and the latest forecast has a lower rain chance for today, tonight, and tomorrow. Then back up again on Tuesday as the front finally gets pushed through. I very much appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!
 
Prayers sent for you Misty. I live near Bowling Green, KY and we have been having similar weather.

Regards
 
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