Does your house have a basement?

Published on August 26, 2006 By Question of the Day In Home & Family

I HATE my basement...sometimes...

especially when the big black hole in the corner starts gurgling. The sump pump was replaced a month or so ago. Today's rain is the first good one since then. Heavy rains and stong thunder (so strong that the dog won't go out for his evening dump).

So what happens just before bed? The high water alarm in the sump goes off. I go down to check it and find that the level switch is stuck. I give it a little poke and it starts pump. I've been staying up and keeping an eye on it since then. It caught up with the water flow relatively quickly.

So what's next? A horrible gurgling sound that I know means the switch is now stuck in the high postion and is pumping dry. Great! I've fixed it at least five times since starting this article.

DAMN! THERE IT GOES AGAIN! I guess this is the better alternative to having all my crap sopping wet. And there is a lot of crap down here now that my husband's moved in.

This is the first basement I've ever had and I don't think I'll ever have another. It's such a pain.

It's too easy to just throw stuff down the stairs and forget about it. I lived perfectly well in 950 square feet until I moved in here. Not any more. For me, my stuff seems to expand to fill the space I have.

Within a week of moving in the basement flooded and ruined a bunch of stuff that was still boxed up. Ugh! And of course when I called the builder he didn't call me back because his vacation was more important than my stuff. I have one of those egress windows down here and the well around it fille up with water. It was about six inched above the bottom of the window so the water was just gushing through the frame.

Of course, my office is now set up in said basement. My husband got the second bedroom upstairs. I spend a lot of time down here now that he's moved in. My husband calls it my cave. Even during the summer there are days that I don't even come up for air.

I just need my own place and preferably it will be above water!

So JU, do you have a basement and what's your expience with one?

Comments

Question of the Day

on Aug 26, 2006

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle....

Tova7

on Aug 26, 2006

Nope, not now. Had one in Alaska, it was ok, but with so many earth quakes there were lots of cracks in it and every spring break up we expected it to flood. Sometimes it did, sometimes not. Replacing drywall and carpet...ugh, what a mess.

Locamama

on Aug 27, 2006

I don't have a basement. When I grew up in Ohio every house we lived in had a basement. It was weird to me that they don't have basements here. I really don't need one but wish we had one whenever a scary storm hits. If I had the moola, I would put in a storm cellar. That would give me some peace of mind. We just have to camp out in my walk in closet.

Orionsbelt77

on Aug 27, 2006

Question of the Day.
I have a basement, in fact I am in it now. There is no sump pump here, nor have I had one in any house I have lived in and have never had flooding due to rain. On July 23rd, 1987, we had 16 inches of rain within a few hours.....a record breaker rain, and not a drop of water found its way in.
I am in the third house that I have owned, the one I owned in 87 was my second home.
The reason why these basements do not have a water problem is that they were not built in an area prone to flooding by being located in a low lying area, the ground around the home was pitched in such a way as to provide good water run off, carrying water away from the foundation, and last but not least, they have all had drain tiles around the perimeter of the foundation, with sub-basements (a concrete wall under the walls that you can see in the basement) Like having a basement under the basement, but it is filled in with rocks and sand to allow for water to easily flow through downward away from the basement by way of gravity. Newer homes do not have these.....no sub basements, no drain tiles, for it is much more inexpensive to simply put in a sump with a pump. Regardless of what builders say, sump pumps are not the way to go, and unfortunately you and many others have had to find this out the hard way. Keep yer powder dry.

AngelaMarie88

on Aug 27, 2006

Yes, I have a love / hate relationship with our basement. I love it because we can stash stuff down there that we don't feel like dealing with. And since only the walls are finished, we can play sidewalk chalk down there on too hot days with our little boy.

But the sump pump. It's one reason I rarely go down there alone. In order to do laundry I have to go past the sump pump. It has no cover on it, and sump pumps have given me the creeps ever since I saw a documentary about a certain murderer who hid his victims' remains in his grandma's sump. *SHIVER*

Anyway, back to my reality, our basement is always a nice cool place to retreat to on hot evenings, as we have no air conditioning. But I only go down there with my husband. And I make him do the laundry a lot!

Dr Guy

on Aug 27, 2006

No, no basement, but we do have a sump pump. We have a split foyer.

msladydeath

on Aug 27, 2006

We have a basement, I'm in it right now, and when we bought the house 10 years ago, it had a sumb pump, the little hole is still in the floor (I sooo need to get the cement laid in there, ug). There really shouldn't have been a reason for it, we put a truck load of dirt in the yard around the house, and the basement has been dry ever since. We don't have Egress windows yet, but if they are leaking, that's your builders fault. Normally there is some sort of partial cover to keep the rain out of the window wells to prevent the water from leaking in the windows.

The first house my parents owned flooded, but I was to young to remember if it has a sump or not. I just know all my baby pictures were lost when that basement flooded : ( Sorry your having all them problems.

Question of the Day

on Aug 27, 2006

the ground around the home was pitched in such a way as to provide good water run off, carrying water away from the foundation, and last but not least, they have all had drain tiles around the perimeter of the foundation,

Yeah, the grade around my building is definitely an issue. I bugged the builder and then the association (I live in a condo). There's a little hill about six feet from the foundation that causes all the water to flow back to the house and the gutters all drain inside of this.

I know that there is a drain tile because there are two pipes that drain into the sump. When the sump fails water backs up around the basement and leaks in at the corners between the walls and floor.

We don't have Egress windows yet, but if they are leaking, that's your builders fault. Normally there is some sort of partial cover to keep the rain out of the window wells to prevent the water from leaking in the windows.

The issue with the egress window was definitely the builders fault. The contractor came back and removed the stones and put in two more drain pipes. That fixed the problem completley. There never was a cover on it, but I use it to house my turtle in the summer so I don't put a hard plastic cover as I'm afraid it will get too hot. I did have my husband make a wood framed cover that has a screen top on it. At least this keeps critters (besides my turtle) and other debris (trash and leaves) out.

Question of the Day

on Aug 27, 2006

We have a basement, I'm in it right now,

Me too!

It's not finished or anything official like that. But I did paint the walls.

They were formed with a brick pattern so I took some paint and rollered over them so it really looks like a brick wall. I also painted the joists, wiring, ducts, piping, and "ceiling" black. I think it looks pretty cool.

My "office" is "walled" in by some roll up bamboo type curtains. It's comfy for me.

I definitely like how cool it is down here in the summer.

Shovelheat

on Aug 27, 2006

Yes. My house has a basement.

BlueDev

on Aug 27, 2006

Yup.

Trudygolightly

on Aug 27, 2006

No, I live in an apt.

no basement to keep us safe in the tornadoes that Mn. grows like Texas does cattle.

whosyurdaddy0417

on Sep 06, 2006

as a parent of 4 I have no problem with someone politely reminding my children to abide by basic courtesies. I will not tolerate, however, unsolicited advice or disapproving looks. I have been through both scenarios and I can say that you were probably in line if you were thinking of their (and others) safety.

MasonM

on Sep 06, 2006

Nosy bugger aren't you?

Nah, here in Florida we call them sink holes.

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