12 inches of water snuffs the furnace and water heater end of December.Luckily no blizzard or extreme cold.
Due to a 1 day storm through the entire midwest that melted snow and dumped several inches of rain.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=12_27_08
27 December 2008: Severe Weather and Flooding Event
SIX TORNADOES OCCURRED OVER PARTS OF EASTERN MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS LATE SATURDAY MORNING OF DECEMBER 27 2008
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/12/27/news/doc495640ff2c2af572598254.txt
Central Illinois received a reprieve from ice long enough for severe thunderstorms to pummel the area Saturday afternoon, damaging buildings and trees, knocking out power and toppling semitrailer trucks on interstates. About 2 inches of rain fell in the storm that packed winds of up to 65 mph to 70 mph in some parts of Central Illinois, said Patrick Bak, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Lincoln. The rain on top of melting ice and saturated or still-frozen ground Saturday left Central Illinois watching for flooding, especially along the Mackinaw River at Congerville and the Vermilion River at Pontiac.
What do you do with a foot of ice cold water in the basement and all your stuff floating around like the Titanic going down? And you're afraid to turn on lights because it might electrocute you. I look in the yellow pages, and call the 24/7 number for Peerless. They say nothing they can do on a Sunday night. Plus, you got to get the water pumped out before they start. That means an electrician and a plumber. Bummer. I had shutoff the water and drained the pipes before going on vacation. How to turn the water back on? Water's really cold for wading, and not sure if there are outlets under water. No longer have fishing waders.
I grab two 5 gallon buckets, using trash bags->double bag my legs, and try walking in the buckets. Too much buoyancy, need some ballast. Wade over in the dark to turn on the water and kill the breakers to the basement.
Go to bed in a cold, silent house. Electric blanket works. Microwave works.
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Next day, go to Menards and try to rig up a sump pump to pump out of the basement window. Pumping 1 inch takes around 20 minutes. Going to take all day. Plumber comes in the afternoon. Peerless won't come until the sump pump is working again. Leave the pump running unattended over lunch.
By afternoon, finally get down to around 2 inches. Sump pump can't suck that low, and is overheating unless I cool it manually with a bucket. Found some rubber boots to walk around in--much better than the buckets. Binder's plumbing replaces the sump pump and cleans up the water heater and gets it to fire up. Halelujah--hot water tonight, at least.
Furnace guy won't come out until I blow air on the circuit board on the blower for 8-10 hours overnight. If it's wet, it will just fry.
Peerless guys come Monday evening, start extracting water from the carpet.
Still no heat that night. I ignite the gas log fireplace with forced air blower, and turn on ceiling fan. Temp rises from 48 to the 50's. Better than nuthin. Gas fireplace is a good backup heating system.
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Tuesday, Air King furnace guy comes out. Puts power to the furnace, board is fried. He has to go back to get a board, and then install it. Furnace is running again. It will run continuously all day and night to warm the house back up. Peerless guys warn that if the pipes froze, it might start leaking after the house warms back up. and they hate when it refloods, once they start the drying out process. Sump pump is starting to take breaks.
Start hauling out wet cardboard and stuff. Make a pile outside in the driveway.
Peerless guys say carpet is ruined, they want to haul it out. Carpet dumping involves a hefty dump fee. They had to pretty much dry the carpet before dragging it out of the basement because of weight and dripping.
Cannot remove baseboards until the drywall firms up. In after thought, it would probably behoove the insurance company to approve tearing out the lower part of the drywall to speed up drying. 19 blowers, 2 dehumidifiers, and 1 hepa air filter cost almost $800/day to rent. Opening up the lower part of the wall would definitely speed up drying if the insulation got wet.In the meantime, I keep pushing water into the sump hole with a squeegee. In after thought, I should have used a big shop vac to suck up the puddles. That would have dropped the humidity and sped up the drying process.
Tuesday had mild temperatures, so we opened up the upstairs windows to ventilate some.
Wednesday, 19 turbo fans running in the basement. Sounds like jet plane taking off.
House ducting is like a speaker system, you can hear it from the 2nd floor. Hard to sleep with that din. Sounds like water downpour, or a waterfall.
Name of the game is to dry the drywall and insulation, studs, furniture, etc. before mold sets up.
Treadmill was under water. Books and personal papers. Not tax returns.
House is warmed up. Kick it up towards 80F to help evaporate water. Trim the vents to direct most of the heat toward the basement and not so much upstairs.
Wednesday was frigid, and moisture was condensing on all the upstairs windows. I fired up a dehumidifier on the 2nd floor, and ran it in continuous mode, pulling a couple of gallons out of the air.
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Thursday, basement is really warm. Move wine bottles and some food stuff to the cooler area like the garage.
State Farm says they are swamped with claims from that storm and don't know when they can get an adjuster out. It will be a catastrophic claim, not an individual homeowners claim.
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I pry off all the baseboards.
Pressboard veneered cabinets cannot be dried, because the veneer doesn't allow water out.
Any place with a double layer of wood/drywall traps moisture and can grow mold. Open those up or drill holes through it.
Thursday, basement is really warm. Move wine bottles and some food stuff to the cooler area like the garage.
State Farm says they are swamped with claims from that storm and don't know when they can get an adjuster out. It will be a catastrophic claim, not an individual homeowners claim.
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I pry off all the baseboards.
Pressboard veneered cabinets cannot be dried, because the veneer doesn't allow water out.
Any place with a double layer of wood/drywall traps moisture and can grow mold. Open those up or drill holes through it.
IICRC S500 Storm Damage Restoration Recommendations
ReplyDeleteThe following information from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) as a public service to those who have suffered water-related losses due to storm damage (e.g., hurricane, tornado).
Whether insured or not, it is important for property owners to document damage with photographs or video, and immediately, to begin loss mitigation procedures themselves; or hire a qualified contractor to do this on their behalf. It is totally inappropriate to put off mitigation while waiting for an insurance claims representative to arrive on the scene to evaluate the loss. By that time, in all probability sufficient time will have passed to grow and amplify microorganisms, which may not be covered by insurance. Loss mitigation is defined by insurance policies as “reasonable and prudent measures designed to preserve, protect and secure property from further damage,” including microbial growth and amplification.
http://www.floodedbasementchicago.info/content.php?id=6
ReplyDeleteWater Damage
Do's
• If the outside temperature is above 60 degrees, use dehumidifiers if available.
• Use fans to circulate the air and assist drying.
• Remove as much water as possible by mopping and blotting.
• Wipe furniture dry.
• Lift draperies off carpet, loop through a coat hanger, and place the hanger on
the drapery rod.
• Prop up wet furniture cushions for even drying and place small wood blocks or
aluminum foil under furniture legs.
• Remove wet area rugs or other floor coverings.
• Open furniture drawers, closet doors, and luggage to enhance drying.
• Move photos, paintings, and art objects to a safe, dry location.
• Remove wet fabrics and dry them as soon as possible. Hang furs and leather
goods to dry separately at room temperature.
• Remove damp books from shelves and spread out to dry.
• If damage occurs during a cool season, leave heat on; if in summer, use an air
conditioner if available.
Don'ts
• Do not use an ordinary household vacuum to remove water.
• Do not use electrical appliances while on wet carpet or wet floors.
• Do not go into rooms with standing water if the electricity is still on.
• Do not lift tacked down carpet without professional help. Lifting the carpet
incorrectly could promote shrinkage.
http://dontdatethatdude.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/things-i-learned-in-the-basement/
ReplyDeletehttp://miamiflooddamagecleanupmiamifl.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteIf you have insured the house for water damage, then you can claim for reimbursement. But filing for a claim is not even half the work done. This is followed by a series of questions and inspection from the insurance companies. This can be a headache to you especially after suffering a huge loss in water damage. You need to know the nutty gritty of the insurance policies and be sure that you don’t fall in to the trap. There are various loop holes and the restoration company who is used to handling such cases before knows better how to handle the insurance companies. There is always a difference between a layman approaching the insurance company and a professional company representing the client for amount retrieval.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a situation like that can be rather hard to deal with. My basement just flooded and I do not want this situation to be this hard. I am going to make sure to check my house for leaks regularly. Thanks for all the help.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.b-suresystems.com