My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you
have had
experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been
small. 3
times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the
rain water
that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal
one and it
happened again.

I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my
furniture is
fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement
again. I am
not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory
is the
grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.

What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many
Hp would
you recommend?

When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?

When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood
damage?
Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?

Depending upon where the water is entering the basement, different solutions
would be required. If it's coming through walls, proper grading and footing
drains will be required. If the water table is rising and it's coming
through the floor, sump pumps can prevent it from reaching the level of the
floor, if they pump faster then it comes in. Don't concern yourself with HP
of the pump but rather GPM or gallons per minute, which will vary depending
upon the height of the discharge pipe. What you may want to do is enlarge
the diameter of your pump pit. Don't make it to deep, as the ground water to
far below the floor line doesn't need to be pumped, and add a second pump at
a slightly higher elevation. This way if the lower pump, or primary pump
can't handle the load, the water level will rise until the second pump kicks
in. Keep in mind, unless you have a back up electrical system, this is all
moot in a power failure.



wrote in message
ups.com...
My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you
have had
experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been
small. 3
times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the
rain water
that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal
one and it
happened again.

I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my
furniture is
fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement
again. I am
not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory
is the
grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.

What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many
Hp would
you recommend?

When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?

When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood
damage?
Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?

On Mar 29, 8:40?pm, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:
Depending upon where the water is entering the basement, different solutions
would be required. If it's coming through walls, proper grading and footing
drains will be required. If the water table is rising and it's coming
through the floor, sump pumps can prevent it from reaching the level of the
floor, if they pump faster then it comes in. Don't concern yourself with HP
of the pump but rather GPM or gallons per minute, which will vary depending
upon the height of the discharge pipe. What you may want to do is enlarge
the diameter of your pump pit. Don't make it to deep, as the ground water to
far below the floor line doesn't need to be pumped, and add a second pump at
a slightly higher elevation. This way if the lower pump, or primary pump
can't handle the load, the water level will rise until the second pump kicks
in. Keep in mind, unless you have a back up electrical system, this is all
moot in a power failure.

wrote in message

ups.com...



My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you
have had
experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been
small. 3
times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the
rain water
that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal
one and it
happened again.

I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my
furniture is
fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement
again. I am
not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory
is the
grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.

What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many
Hp would
you recommend?

When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?

When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood
damage?
Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ANY chance of draining the sump to daylight say near a curb? It amazes
me how many peoples sumps could drain directly to daylight. Many
people DONT want to dig

Plus whats the diameter of your discharge line and where does the
pumped water go? a too small discharge line or one thats blocked or
crushed can lead to yopur trouble.

Does your sump have underground french drain?

On Mar 30, 7:49 am, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article . com, wrote:
My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you have had
experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been small. 3
times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the rain water
that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal one and it
happened again.

[snip rest]

The three most important things you can do to keep water out of your basement
a
(a) slope the dirt around your house to drain water away from the foundation
(b) use downspout extensions, splashblocks, or drainage tiles to carry
rainwater from your gutters away from the foundation
(c) discharge your sump pump as far away from the foundation as possible. [Are
you picking up a pattern here?]

Take care of those things first, and you probably won't have to worry about
what type of carpeting will best withstand being flooded.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.


To the above, I would add go outside during a heavy rain and see what
is actually happening. Sometimes what you think is going on and what
is really happening can be 2 diff things. But clearly the most
important thing is to start outside. You don't want water from the
downspouts pouring out 2 ft from the foundation. Get it 8+ ft from
the foundation. Make sure the gutters are clearn and flowing
correctly. And that landscaping etc, is not trapping water near the
house.

In article . com, wrote:
My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you have had
experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been small. 3
times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the rain water
that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal one and it
happened again.

[snip rest]

The three most important things you can do to keep water out of your basement
a
(a) slope the dirt around your house to drain water away from the foundation
(b) use downspout extensions, splashblocks, or drainage tiles to carry
rainwater from your gutters away from the foundation
(c) discharge your sump pump as far away from the foundation as possible. [Are
you picking up a pattern here?]

Take care of those things first, and you probably won't have to worry about
what type of carpeting will best withstand being flooded.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In addition to the above mentioned items, if you feel the need for a
sump pump, then I have to wonder what's going on there. Ideally you
want to keep the water out of the house in the first place so as to
not need the sump pump. A sump pump isn't a fix, it's a band-aid.
For all I know, what you really need is exterior waterproofing and
grading.

charrison:

I've been fighting a wet basement for 20 years. Most years I win,
some I don't. (Recently had a couple feet of snow followed shortly by
an 80 degree day.)

A couple of inches of heavy clay soil will really help.

I like the idea of a second pump rather than one bigger system. The
advice to check out the system when it is operating is also good. It
may not be installed very well and your pumped water may be
returning. My system pumps to a pipe that goes 20 feet away and a
foot down.

The floor in my basement is the old fashioned thick vinyl 12" tiles
put down with mastic. It has held up well to the occasional flood for
many years. Read the fine print and make sure it is guaranteed for
sub grade installation. Most of the thin self stick tiles are not. We
use area rugs that can be rolled up and moved in an emergency.

You may also want to leave a gap at the floor in the wallboard of a
couple of inches. Cover it with an oversized baseboard that stands up
to water. Just in case.

Good luck.

dss

wrote in message
ups.com...
| My question is about minor rain related floods. I know some of you
| have had
| experience with floods large and small. Mine thankfully have been
| small. 3
| times in the last year my Sump has not been able to keep up with the
| rain water
| that has been falling. I replaced the old one with a 1/3hp pedestal
| one and it
| happened again.


your house could be built around ledge rock forcing the water in/up.




|
| I lost the carpet and a foot of drywall to this flood luckily my
| furniture is
| fine with no major damage. No i am faced with redoing my basement
| again. I am
| not doing it until I have figured out the root cause which my theory
| is the
| grading of the lot and get a industrial sump pump.



is the water coming through the walls
or from under the floor?
a pump usually means high water table not grading problem.




|
| What is a good sump pump that handles a highly active well? How many
| Hp would
| you recommend?


1 1/2 hp




|
| When regrading the lawn what is the best soil to use?


4 in. top soil
8 in. below foundation top




|
| When I refinish the basement what flooring is most resistant to flood
| damage?
| Vinyl, laminate, Hardwood, Tile or carpet?


tile would be best


I would probably install a second pump in the opposite corner than the
one you have now (if the cause is high water table).
|

On Mar 30, 8:48 am, wrote:
In addition to the above mentioned items, if you feel the need for a
sump pump, then I have to wonder what's going on there. Ideally you
want to keep the water out of the house in the first place so as to
not need the sump pump.

Yes, that's ideal, but not possible in many cases.


A sump pump isn't a fix, it's a band-aid.
For all I know, what you really need is exterior waterproofing and
grading.


A sump pump is not necessarily a band-aid. In some areas the water
table is high enough that one may be required. They are common in
new construction in areas that need them and are signed off on by
building inspectors, home inspection companies, etc.