doreen: Yep, I’ve got the stuff up off the floor now, just in case, like you said. It rained again today. The basement did not flood this time, but my backyard was so saturated from the last few days it once again looks like a lake.
Kinsey: I have many, many of those bins! I love 'em. I didn’t have clothing in them, though–the clothes I lost were in plastic bags, and some of them were open & had tipped over, due to me searching for stuff & being a slob & not picking them back up. K Mart has them on sale pretty much all the time, I think. I don’t think I’ve paid more than $5 for the ones I have.
bio-brat, I don’t want to toss cold water (no ten inpunded) on your idea of building up a subfloor over a flood-prone basement slab, but didn’t it occur to anyone that there’s still flooding going on down there under the floor??!! You have to remedy the problem, not just cover it over. It’s nice that your mum can have carpeting and stuff down in her basement, but sheesh Louise! it’s all gonna rot from the slab on up if it’s wet under there. Not to mention hidden problems like moisture-loving insects (which includes termites, a subject I’m the SDMB’s resident expert at, at least according to Wally). You have to remedy the situation or you’re gonna get some nasty surprises one of these days.
Persephone, hie thee to a general contractor. I don’t know if he would do it, but at least it’s a contact, and you gotta start somewhere. Also, I say, hang the expense. This is your house you’re talking about. Protect your investment and have the best one you can afford installed.
Ironically, I had a flood in my basement today, sump pump notwithstanding. I threw a load of clothes in the washer, turned it on and went upstairs. Something didn’t sound right, and I went down to investigate. The connector hose for the hot water had split! The Dave-Guy hot-foots it to Home Depot and buys new connector hoses. Good thing I thought to replace them both, 'cause when I got behind the washer, I saw an alarming bubble in the cold water hose. Aah, the joys of homeownership.
And Doctordec, you’ll be proud to know I followed your advice before I even read this post!
Well, I talked to my uncle today, the guy that sold me the house. He said it’s happened before, but only once or twice in the whole time he lived here, and that was over ten years. My husband talked to my great-grandmother, who owned the house prior to my uncle. She said pretty much the same thing–that it had happened a few times, but so rarely that she hadn’t thought to mention it to us. Each time it happened, though, was for the same reason it happened to me–the city lines backed up.
I checked with my insurance agent too–I do not have flood insurance. Oh yeah, it also costs between $600 & $800 year, and it’s only available if you actually live in a flood plain, which I do not. My homeowner’s does have what they call “backup” insurance, specifically to cover line backups, like I had. BUT, there’s a $500 deductible, and I don’t think I lost that much stuff.
Sigh. Oh well. Guess I’ll be checking in to getting a sump pump. 