On Dec 13, 12:10 pm, Speedy Jim wrote:
wrote:
Finishing my basement. Regardless of whether I put carpet or
engineered hardwood, I don't want the flooring to be ruined (or be a
bed for mold growth) if the water heater decides to go, which will
eventually happen (10 years old now). I've heard horror stories of
several inches of water flooding the basement when these systems
fail. My water heater and furnace are going to be in a separate
10x14' room as I finish the basement, so is there anything I can do to
mitigate the risk of ruining the flooring in the main room should the
water heater fail after the basement project is complete? I was
thinking along the lines of some caulk or sealant along the floor
plate to isolate the mechanical room somewhat - although a long enough
leak before noticing it would still rise above the floor plate and
into the adjacent room. Any ideas? How do others deal with this?
Proactively replace the water heater? Deal with the wetness and just
try to dry out wet carpets/wood flooring? Thanks

10 year old heater?? Replace it now.


eh, maybe not. Mine is about 18 years old and the anode when I pulled
it was probably good for another year or two, but I replaced it anyway
"while I was in there."

And install a pan:http://doitbest.com/Water+Heaters-Oa...tbest-sku-4869...
under it if you have a floor drain.

Or even if you don't. Better to contain the flood than have it spread
over a large floor area, if you can shut 'er down in time.


I would also consider some form of flood alarm
that will detect excess mositure on the floor
in the mechanical room (burst pipes, etc.).

Absolutely. It is possible to tie one into a solenoid valve that will
shut off the water to the house if it detects moisture, so no more
than 50 gallons or so (assuming a 40 gal. tank and 10 gal. of water in
the pipes) could ever leak and flood your basement.

I would also consider a raised threshold in the doorway into this
room, combined with vinyl baseboard, well caulked. Thus if you do get
a full 50 gal. dump it will still be contained.

Along the same lines, anyone have any recommendations for a moisture
alarm/solenoid valve? I've got a similar issue to the OP where I do
not have a floor drain in my basement, and I've already had one
flooding incident due to a failed T&P valve. Last time I left for
more than a day I completely shut the water off, but even so, a lot of
water can dump in a day with a real catastrophic failure.

All of the kits I've seen recommend placing the solenoid valve at the
inlet to the HWH but I was thinking it would simply be safer to mount
it remotely and shut the whole house off just past the stop valve
where the line enters the house.

(my shop vac got a workout after I discovered the mess...)

nate