Community› The Bump Message Boards› Parenting
Parenting
New Discussion

NPR: Wet basement question

joy143dhjoy143dh
in Parenting

Sorry, I really just have no idea who to ask. I'm hoping one of you or your DHs may have advice...

We finished our basement 3 yrs ago - 30' x 20' wall to wall carpet-  ? pool table lounge, ? playroom.  Not a single drop of water has ever come in.  But, thanks to the epic rainstorm this weekend, the entire carpet is wet.  DH thinks the water tables were so high, the water may have leaked through small cracks in the foundation floor.   Today, I removed everything (but the pool table), wetvaced the entire carpet, then pulled up most of the carpet, wetvaced the hell out of the underpad.  (I?m a bit exhausted.)  It's all still wet and DH bought an industrial fan.  We're hoping it dries up to avoid mold/mildew.

I'm afraid that due to new construction next to us, the original water flow of the area changed and now we may be susceptible to moisture during storms.  There is a parameter drain and we are on higher ground than the rest of the neighborhood.  The chances of another rainstorm like we just had are slim.  But even if we can dry it out, I am considering just getting rid of the carpet all together on the chance that it could happen again.

Should we rip out the carpet based on one rainfall?   If so, what is the best flooring option for a basement that could possibly get wet?  I have no idea who to even ask....? I?m thinking tile, but where does the water go if it?s tile?   What do you have in your basement?

Thanks ya?ll J Joy

 

image

David "BD" 2/8/07 Spencer 9/12/11
Report Reply to Post

Re: NPR: Wet basement question

  • championmamachampionmama

    My dad owns a bunch of rental houses in a college town and one of the houses had that problem when they redid the street in front of the house.  It was all concrete and not finished like what you're describing.  I'm remembering a drain in the floor, but I assume it was put there when the house was built.  Probably in the early 80's.  Dad didn't buy it until late 90's.  I just don't remember him having work like that done.  I can't begin to imagine how you would even do that for an existing basement - but I'm not in construction, either.  As Rachel's boss said in Friends, my response has probably "passed the point of completely useless".

    Hope it's not recurrent problem.  My friend has tile in her basement, but I don't know of them to have a water problem. 

    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • goodheartedmommygoodheartedmommy member
    I'd look into a sump pump and see if it's a possibility for your house (not sure about the age of your house). It may be hard to get rid of the mildew smell, but you should be able to get it to go away. A dehumidifier is a great thing to use, if you know someone with one. Our washer broke and flooded our house recently--we used the dehumidifier, along with a wet-vac and carpet cleaning machine to suck up the water. The smell lingered for a few days (and then we shampooed the carpets). If we owned the house, I would rip up the carpet and replace with ceramic tile. You might consider contacting a contractor to get some ideas on how to avoid the problem in the future--we looked at a few houses that had flood problems in the past--drain spout extensions (not exactly sure what they're called, but the big black tubes to route the gutter drains from emptying right next to your home) and sump pumps seemed to be the common thing we saw.
    Report Reply
  • Mrs.TonyMrs.Tony

    Hi Joy,

    I am so sorry this happened - it sounds miserable!!! We have rugs in our basement but we went two years of living there before we finished it. We never got any water. We have a french drain around the house that was put in when they built it.  Have you guys checked your gutters and all that? Did any of them get moved? Our neighbor got water after never having any before and he thought it was due to a gutter. 

     Friends of ours finished there and they have had water now several times. The last time, they did not replace the carpet but now it's a necessity.

    imageimage
    Report Reply
  • DandelionMomDandelionMom

    Running a dehumidifier will help.

    We had a wet basement after every bit rainfall for months and it turned out we had to have a plumber come and fix our storm drain.  Some debris got in there and they had to send a power auger down it to clear it.  $50 and half an hour later, no more wet basement. 

    .
    Report Reply
  • 424424 member
    save to read later,
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"