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They predicted alot of rain today and yesterday I went into the outside stairwell (which leads to the basement door) - to remove leaves, etc. - a plant had fallen off my deck railing while I was on vacation and dumped the dirt down there - tried to get as much up as I could but we've had drizzle/rain for days. Anyway, after an incredible downpour today, I find water in the basement which has to be coming in from under the door - last time it happened after a heavy rain and flooding I had a plumber come who snaked it out - he said make sure to clean up the leaves. Now it's happened again and I'm on my own now and have some health issues - after putting down tons of newspaper, cardboard, rolling up rags to block the door bottom, etc. I'm worn out. The house was built in the 50's - any thoughts on what to do? I am going to need to sell next year as I can't afford to keep it (let alone upkeep). Appreciate any ideas.
Depends on where the drain leads. If it goes to a gravel bed and you have charged it with dirt, you have problems. If it is just dirt in a trap removing the covering and using a shop vac and some spritzes from a hose could clear it.
Thanks harry chickpea - I don't know where it leads - I assumed the storm drain but in googling I've read that they don't always. I don't know that there's a trap - last time it happened a neighbor lent me his portable snake thing - you unwind it - I did get up some dirt and small stones - the plumber used a mechanical one and did run the hose through it. This is a walk-up (again, learned from google) outside basement stairwell. I wonder if I should invest in a shop vac? (if so, can anyone recommend one that won't break the bank?)
You also need to check that all the concrete is intact where it meets the house. If not, ground water from behind the wall you face coming down the stairs can be seeping/running into the stairwell faster than it can drain.
You might be able to test that yourself by running a hose into the ground at the top of the where the stairwell wall connects to the house and watch to see if water comes in.
If the drain is a drywell which means it just goes into an oil drum or rock lined hole in the ground, you may need to have all the debris dug out after 50 plus years. We had so much trouble with one we had that's ultimately what we did and we also had the floor of the stairwell lowered a few inches so it was much lower than the door threshold.
Another cheaper option if it doesn't ruin the look of your house, is to have an awning built over the stairwell so it slopes away from the house and less rain/snow goes into the drain.
BTW the easiest way to keep the water out of your basement until you get it fixed is with a swimming pool cover pump and a garden hose.
Costs about 50 dollars or so. Make sure you get an automatic one that will only come on when the water touches it.
Has a flat bottom. Take the grate off the drain and tilt it into the drain. When the water rises the pump comes on and the water will pump through your hose. Run the hose up the stairs and away from the house.
BTW the easiest way to keep the water out of your basement until you get it fixed is with a swimming pool cover pump and a garden hose.
Costs about 50 dollars or so. Make sure you get an automatic one that will only come on when the water touches it.
Has a flat bottom. Take the grate off the drain and tilt it into the drain. When the water rises the pump comes on and the water will pump through your hose. Run the hose up the stairs and away from the house.
Back again - we've had tons of rain storms AGAIN!! last night we had a couple doozies - water in my basement - I tried research one of those pool cover pumps and it appears they need an outlet (there isn't one down there).
I tried to block in front of the door w/a wall of HEAVY concrete blocks but apparently they were overwhelmed. There is a bunch of mud/guck on the floor of the concrete stairwell, I tried to get up as much as possible (I also, as another temp fix, put some 12x12 ceramic tiles behind the concrete blocks as we're supposed to get heavy rains again tomorrow. I now have water in the basement (extends further than usual) - trying to clean up but I'm worn out. I'm afraid the entire drain is clogged and/or maybe has tree roots?
Should I call the plumber guy again? waste of money? Am I looking at big $$$$ to fix this?
Perhaps a slanted tarp covering the stairwell would keep some of the rain out? (Being as you plan to move...)
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which has to be coming in from under the door - last time it happened after a heavy rain and flooding I had a plumber come who snaked it out - he said make sure to clean up the leaves. Now it's happened again and I'm on my own now and have some health issues - after putting down tons of newspaper, cardboard, rolling up rags to block the door bottom, etc. I'm worn out. The house was built in the 50's - any thoughts on what to do? I am going to need to sell next year as I can't afford to keep it (let alone upkeep). Appreciate any ideas.
