This DREARY weather sucks!

[severine]

More rain. The basement is perpetually wet. The ants are taking cover in our apartment. The living room flooded last Friday when the rain came down so hard that it got trapped between the window and storm window so it poured into the living room. Enough already.

I say we sacrifice GSS to the gods to get them to call it quits.

 

[Beetlenut]

I say we sacrifice GSS to the gods to get them to call it quits.

Nah, That would just piss em off and cause a locust plague!

 

[billski]

More rain. The basement is perpetually wet. The ants are taking cover in our apartment. The living room flooded last Friday when the rain came down so hard that it got trapped between the window and storm window so it poured into the living room. Enough already.

I say we sacrifice GSS to the gods to get them to call it quits.

Carrie,
I don't claim to be Bob Villa (though he doesn't do any REAL work anyways!) but we did have similar problems which we have now abated. I would caution you to make sure you not only get rid of all the water, but be absolutely sure the wet surfaces are treated to prevent mildew. Otherwise you could have huge health issues with mold spores and other yucky things I'm sure you don't want the baby exposed to.

We had really bad basement flooding due to a high water table and extremely flat neighborhood terrain. Our basement first time had 2 feet deep water throughout, lost many things including a lot of books. Second time, the water was about 2". Third time, the basement door drainage failed, built up in the well and poured in. We now have french drains, double sump backup with battery backup, water alarms exterior door cover, and roof drainage rerouting. It was expensive both in terms of loss and abatement. First get water out by pump and vac, , then get the moisture out big honkin fans, extricating the carpet, etc. We then had to treat all the basement walls (inside and out) with chlorine and scrub off any accumulating spores. The worst is that is grows where you can't usually see, that is the most work. To be extra sure, we installed a dehumidifier in the basement and drained it into the pump.

A few years later, our old house had huge ice dam issues and the water poured above the window frames on the first floor - I was dumping five gallons every half hour for a while. Had to tear out walls and ceiling, and do the whole mold and mildew thing, in the late winter of all times. It was cooooooolddddd in the house!

Since one of our kids is moderately asthmatic, we really had no choice; mold and mildew will totally ruin an asthmatic's day (along with us normal-breathers).

So I'm sure you don't have it that bad, just be sure that you don't have an unseen health hazard lurking. Google on mold and mildew and you'll find tons of stories about health issues. Needless to say, I have a love-hate relationship with water...

 

[severine]

Not my house--we rent. There's a sump pump down there and that's all I can ask for. I understand the dangers of mold & mildew (I'm highly allergic to mold and I have asthma). But in our area, it's not unusual for multi-family dwellings to have wet basements; many were built about 100 years ago and have stone foundations, which are sponges for moisture.

As for the living room, it's an old pine floor (not wide-board though) with nothing underneath it. The water drained right into the basement. I dried up the what was left ASAP and notified the landlord. His handyman drilled some drains in the window, thankfully, because it would have happened again in the last few days with all that heavy rain we've been having. They really need to clean the gutters. The water is skipping right over them and sheeting down one part of the house, where it ends up hitting our window in the living room.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I say we sacrifice GSS to the gods to get them to call it quits.

not funny..

 

[severine]

not funny..

Took you long enough.