Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Well it seems my basement flooded this evening and I've been cleaning a lot of water up. Nothing was hurt too badly but the carpet is still wet and if I can keep it from mildewing it should be fine too.

Unfortunatly it was mostly by my main PCs so I'm stuck using my laptop which sucks, so I probably won't be around here much until the dust has settled...erm....well you know.

Worst this means I probably won't win that AR15!

Mine flooded too about 2 inchs deep, i lucked out and moved my computers off the floor last week, so i still have computer. I am heading to lowes as soon as it opens to get a Dehumidifier to pull water out of the air to see if i can keep it from molding.

I rented a house in the Fort Hunt area for six years. The basement flooded often. I'm sure the new tenents are dealing with lots of water about now.

Is there a basement system that really works at keeping it from flooding, or is that just something basement owners realize will happen in heavy rains?

Just curious, I would like a home with a basement, and need to prepare myself for this.

Reverenddel, i have lived in this house since 1983 and this is the first time it has flooded. If they do a good job when they built the house and use rubber membrane bellow the ground with weeping tiles you should not have to worry about flooding.

Reverenddel wrote:Is there a basement system that really works at keeping it from flooding, or is that just something basement owners realize will happen in heavy rains?

Just curious, I would like a home with a basement, and need to prepare myself for this.

+1 I'm also wondering the same thing. What kind of maintenance can be done to prevent it?

graybeard321 wrote:Reverenddel, i have lived in this house since 1983 and this is the first time it has flooded. If they do a good job when they built the house and use rubber membrane bellow the ground with weeping tiles you should not have to worry about flooding.

+1
Add to that a proper grade to the yard...sloping away from the house on all sides. Finding yourself in a house with flooding issues, a sump pump on a generator backup circuit can be a cure.

Years ago, I buried PVC pipe from each downspout to carry water down the hill and away from the foundation. That, and covering the basement walls with a masonry sealer, helped to keep the basement dry.

If water is coming up through the floors, then digging a pit with a sump pump might be the best option.

You can have the exterior walls waterproofed, but that requires digging a ditch around the house, then install good drainage to flow surface waters away.

I used to run a boarding house in college. I was away one night when we had a big thunderstorm. The basement usually got a little water in it. This time I come home and found 4 or 5 inches of water, one of the house residents had helpfully unplugged all the appliances in the basement, including the sump pump

wally626 wrote:I used to run a boarding house in college. I was away one night when we had a big thunderstorm. The basement usually got a little water in it. This time I come home and found 4 or 5 inches of water, one of the house residents had helpfully unplugged all the appliances in the basement, including the sump pump

Oops!