We’ve had quite a bit of Rain in the last day or so, Coupled with a lot of snowmelt. It appears my finished basement is leaking. I’m not sure what to do but a friend of mine has given me some advice.
He suggests cutting the carpet and pulling it up off the floor so that I can dry out. He says to pull the molding off-the-wall then make linear cuts from the wall to the center of the room then pull the carpet up and fold it over (laying it on something to keep it off the dry carpet area, and to get air circulation on both sides). He also says to pull the backing up and just throw it away, it can be More easily And cheaply replaced then the carpet.
I have two general questions: Is what he says reasonable? And what else do I need to do immediately To minimize the damage?
If it’s stopped raining, open the basement windows and get some fans blowing air out of the basement to try and get the moisture out; also, after doing what your friend said, get some fans and have them blowing on the carpet so you can dry it out faster.
First thing to do is get a wet-dry vac and suck out all the water you can from the carpet.
What your friend advises is a reasonable solution. It would be better to put the carpet outside and let it dry in the sun and fresh air, but if it’s still too cold or wet where you are, you’ll have to make do. After it dreis out, you may want to shampoo it (which means letting it dry out again. You’ll need to replace the padding under the carpet, because it never dries out right, but you can use carpet tape to reattach the cut pieces, then brush the nap to cover over the new seams.
Whether you find this easier than simply replacing the wet carpet (and remember, you will have to replace the backing either way) is your call. But I have to agree with Si Amigo. It isn’t worth the effort if your basement is going to leak, so make sure you get that fixed.
You also asked what to do to minimize further damage–
You’ll need to find out why water is getting in the basement; the most likely cause is either a backed-up sump pump or rod holes in the walls that need plugging. My bet is the latter (especially since I went through this 2 years ago!).
And like yours, my basement is finished. This is the part that stinks. You may have to cut through the drywall to find out where the culprit is, and there might be several. They are usually 4 or 5 feet from the ground and a foot or two apart, all around the basement (not all of them would need to be plugged; you can usually tell).
The rod holes that I’m referring to are used when they pour the concrete walls in a basement (none of this applies if you have cinder-block walls in the basement).
If you’re pretty handy you can get corks of the right size and pound several of them in these holes, followed by a urethane caulk. The bummer part is that your wall is pretty much ruined and will need to be re-drywalled and painted.
Google “basement rod hole repair” or something similar.
I believe your friend’s advice is reasonable. Discarding the pad is good advice along with removing the wall trim but you may want to go a step further and remove at least a portion of any base trim to check for possible wet wall insulation (if it exists). If you have wall framing, removing base molding should aid in allowing the 2X4 bottom wall plate to dry properly and possibly prevent some mold. Place fans at any wet areas to accelerate drying and consider a dehumidifier as well.
Allowing the carpet to dry and reinstalling is an “iffy” proposition because the carpet may shrink to the point it cannot be properly stretched and reinstalled.
Future loss prevention should be considered because this could become a seasonal event. It sounds like the exterior of your home may need a French Drain and/or the exterior walls at and below ground level may need waterproofing.
Use the wet vac and fans first to see how dry you can get things. The carpet may need replacing anyway, but you might as well see if it will dry out first and take your time figuring out what the next step will be. If you have to remove it, you may as well throw it away. If it’s on padding that’s probably ruined, but if you’re replacing it there is padding meant for wet basement environments that’s more waterproof.
Do you have homeowners insurance? If so they can get a remediation company in the handle it. I don’t know if renters insurance covers that sort of thing but suspect not.
My insurance says it won’t cover stuff like carpets and walls. Only appliances and hvac damaged by water in the basement. I think my agent said there wasn’t a policy with them I could even buy to cover carpet.
You should also check the soil around the outside of the finished basement this spring. Make sure it slopes away from the house, not level or sloping towards it. Also, make sure any downspouts have an extended piece to deposit the water away from the house, not right near the foundation.
This has happened twice to me and I haven’t replaced the carpet or taken it up. It’s glued down on the concrete. I don’t know what it’s made of. It’s low pile. Not as low as indoor-outdoor or office carpeting, but low.
Both times I called a pro. The water was sucked out and big fans were left blowing for a couple of days. There’s no mold or mildew. Well, there might be some in the pad, but there’s no moldy/mildewy odor. The water didn’t sit for long, which might have helped.
This wasn’t just a leak – it was standing water. Clean water though.
Seriously. Carpet can get wet under normal circumstances. If you can get it dried out quickly, you might not have to replace it.
My insurance says it won’t cover stuff like carpets and walls. Only appliances and hvac damaged by water in the basement. I think my agent said there wasn’t a policy with them I could even buy to cover carpet.[/QUOTE
That seems odd.
When my basement was flooded mine covered the cost of a company to come in and suck the water up, lift the carpet up, put large fans blowing under it and leaving a huge dehumidifier ruining 24 hours a day. Then they re-stretched the carpet.
When my sister in laws house was flooded from a frozen pipe bursting while she was gone for two weeks, her insurance covered replacement of carpet and laminate flooring, plus repair of walls.
I think I would investigate changing insurance companies.
Or changing agents. It’s hard to imagine how you end up with a policy like that. That doesn’t mean it’s worth making a claim for something minimal like carpet, because like car insurance, your rates could go up when you file a claim.
My insurance says it won’t cover stuff like carpets and walls. Only appliances and hvac damaged by water in the basement. I think my agent said there wasn’t a policy with them I could even buy to cover carpet.
[/QUOTE
That seems odd.
When my basement was flooded mine covered the cost of a company to come in and suck the water up, lift the carpet up, put large fans blowing under it and leaving a huge dehumidifier ruining 24 hours a day. Then they re-stretched the carpet.
When my sister in laws house was flooded from a frozen pipe bursting while she was gone for two weeks, her insurance covered replacement of carpet and laminate flooring, plus repair of walls.
I think I would investigate changing insurance companies.[/QUOTE]
Most insurance policies are written so as to differentiate the source of the flooding and what they pay out for. If the flooding is caused by source internal to the house (burst pipe, toilet overflow) most policies will cover it; if it’s cause by a leak in the foundation or the sewer backing up most will not cover it. YMMV; read your policy and talk to your agent.
I actually have FEMA flood Insurance and they have two levels of insurance; one that covers only items fixed to the home like the furnace and electrical (very expensive) and another that covers contents such as furniture and carpet(very, very, very expensive). When the sewer backed up neither policy would cover the damage; I had to actually sue the city for damage. I won, but it took two years for them to settle.
Your friend’s suggestion seems very reasonable. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the cost of replacing the carpet will pale in comparison to the cost of waterproofing the basement. It sucks but much digging will be done…
As ZenBeam pointed out, the solution is often much simpler. I’ve had two houses now that were purchased with known water problems in the basement. In the first one the problem was all due to surface water runoff. The second was primarily that, but I had to plug some holes also. Costs were about an hour of my time with a shovel in the first case. In the second case I hired a backhoe (and it’s operator) to do some grading. That cost $1000 for the day, but the work related to water in the basement was less than half of that. Now if the problem is ground water coming in through cracks, holes, and unsealed foundation, well, then it can get expensive. But sometimes a coat of waterproof paint on the interior is all that’s needed.