"chbelfiore via HomeKB.com" wrote:
Details on my home include this...
My home is a block house. The basement has a concrete floor. No cracks in it
prior to this happening. So far I see no cracks in the exterior foundation.
It is all in the floor and the interior walls. I understand now from all fo
the comments that the pressure from the water outside is causing the inside
cracks and buckling. But...if we don't pump out the water...then we cannot
live in our homes as we will have no heat or hot water, not to mention the
rising water in the basement could eventually reach the first floor - where
the floors are all wooden floors (in my home at least) So..what do we do?
We had a city council meeting last night. Many of us attended to state our
concerns. The Mayor declared a state of emergency and proposed to the county
we be declared a disaster area. This goes to our County Commissioners for a
vote and then on to the State. They are not sure how long that will take.
This would bring in FEMA and from what I understand would offer us low
interest loans to help fix up our homes. I really don't need another loan at
this point...I have a home loan, a student loan and a car loan. Plus a loan I
had to take out the last 2 years when the city shut off my gas for leaks. So
I had to replace all of my gas lines running to my house, inside my house,
replace my meter, my stove and my furnace. I am still paying on THAT loan.
They shut me off in the middle of winter until I had it fixed. No help. Just
a fee for shutting off and turning back on once I had it finished.
When I purchased my home, (a single mother of two small boys) I do not
remember being explained the difference between flood insurance and the rider
which I bought. But I cannot prove that. I was just happy and proud to be
purchasing a home with a dry basement that we could use for additional living
space. Maybe I got taken. Maybe I should have dug deeper. We have been
through many rain storms int he past 6 years and I have never had a drop in
the basement until this past week.
Now that you all have informed me of what flood insurance is really all about
and how and where to purchase it, I will be better educated for the future. I
am not sure that I will be able to purchase anything at this point - but will
try. Our town is built over sub-terrainean streams. So you would think actual
flood insurance would be encouraged. But it isn't.
Part of the problem is that our town still relies on sink holes for getting
rid of water - from what I understand, the water table is so high - there is
nowhere left for the water to go. We need a new system for getting rid of the
water or this will happen over and over again. For some reason, the areas of
town that normally flood - did not flood this time and the areas of town that
usually don't flood - flooded. That points to a problem in the water removal
system. They are looking for a blocked drain and adding additional drain
pipes to extend the water disposal area. Not sure how long this will take or
if it will work.
In the meantime...our water has not moved on our street. We all continue to
pump. But wonder if we should stop due to the collapsing of our walls
(drywall and/or plaster) and our foundations. But...we all have children in
school - and jobs that we just can't sit back and ignore. So we pump out the
water to keep our furnaces dry and our pilots lit on our water tanks. None of
us can afford to go live in a hotel whie they figure out this problem.
Thank you all for your information and help. It has really been very
informative and has helped me more than what information I received from my
insurance company and/or the city.
By the way, we don't live in a "hole" as one gentleman put it. Bellevue is a
very nice town. I came to this site looking for guidance and help. Not
criticism. Thank you to those who offered that rather than simply criticize
our location and tell us to move. That would be the easy way out..but it is
not that simple to just pick up and go. Home loans don't just go away and
problems don't fix themselves. We want to be part of finding a solution. We
don't want to see our town die - we want to figure out ways to make it more
liveable. God knows the economy is not helping. Jobs are scarce everywhere. A
nice, safe community is really hard to find these days. We have that here. We
would like to stay.
Thank you all for being part of the solution. It really was helpful.
wrote:
I have lived in my home for 6 years. When I bought the home, one of the
biggest selling points was the dry basement. Neither the street I live on or
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
than the flood insurance. We are not in a flood zone - so most didn't even
have flood insurance. We are all at a loss. Please help.
I dealt with a flood once. You're probably doing all you can.
Sandbagging may help. More pumps might help more, but cracking walls,
buckling floors, etc.... What can you really do?
Anything is fixable, but at what cost....
What kind of walls are cracking? You left out the details?????
What is the basement floor made of?
IF you mean concrete block walls in the basement and a concrete floor,
I'd highly recommend getting the furnace, water heater, personal
stuff, etc out of there ASAP and let the basement partially fill with
water. Too much pressure against the walls could cause a collapse.
Letting the water inside will equalize the pressure.
If you're talking sheet rock walls and wooden floor, there isn't much
you can do, but it still could be a pressure issue.
Post more details so we all know whats going on. DO NOT hesitate if
concrete walls and floors are cracking, You're better off letting the
water in if this is the case. You could probably rig some steel beams
between the walls, but that's a big job in bad conditions.
I'd just remove the mechanical parts of the furnace, not the ductwork.
Remove water heater, plug the ends of pipes, shut off electric and
gas. If breaker panel is going to go under the water, see if you can
raise it on the wall, or keep pumps on top of weighted objects and
keep the water below that level.
Good Luck - you need it.
--
Message posted via HomeKB.com
http://www.homekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/repair/200803/1
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has a very useful website:
http://www.floodsmart.gov
You can get estimates of premiums and also local agents that broker the
federal insurance.
By the way, there are a lot of links on that website which allow you to
get quite detailed info. One of those links shows the communities in
your state which participate in the NFIP (a requirement for you to get
federal flood insurance). From what I saw, you're lucky; Bellevue, OH is
a participant in NFIP.
Best wishes to you.