Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Dripping, soaking, floating etc.

Just a few words to describe our basement. Tonight when I got home from work I was putting the baby to bed and the water softener guy was here. He yelled something to me up the stairs about water in my basement and I was like "No, we don't have water in our basement!" He told me I better come take a look. I quickly put Tony to bed and down the stairs I ran to find this.


I quickly called Todd to come home and help me figure out what we were going to do at 8 O'clock at night with all this water. I got on the phone with our insurance company first, who was happy to help me file a claim over the phone and then would have an agent call me in 24 -48 business hours. So then I called the company that dried our basement 2 years ago which cost a small fortune and if I'm not mistaken gave a lifetime guarantee of their work (I'm fairly certain I'll soon find out that doesn't mean a whole lot). Yet when I called them, all I got was an answering service that asked me to leave one message and someone would get back to me in the next 24-48 business hours. They even stated that leaving multiple messages would not get my call answered any sooner and to please leave just one. I then called several companies that are 24 hour water damage removal companies, only to get similar messages. I'm sorry but what is the point of 24 hour service if all you get is someone who answers the phone and tell me it will be 24 - 48 hours before anyone can help you.


Todd checked the sump pump and it was full and over flowing and not working at the time. At some point it had shut off, maybe over heated, who knows, but Todd was able to get it working again but there was way too much water for that pump alone, so he brought another pump from the farm to help pump out the water.


The worst part is, we don't know when all this happened because neither of us has been in the basement since Saturday. Even though we had all this rain over the weekend I never once worried about the basement flooding because we spent so much money having it fixed 2 years ago that I thought we never had to worry about it.

All my furniture down there is new within the last 2 years and lets just say it was a bit of a splurge getting it. The water came up to the wood legs on all of it, and after wiping it off, I think it will be okay, maybe just need a little refinishing of the wood, but the fabric is damp and will need to be cleaned. I don't know if you noticed in the picture the TV sits on the floor and was 4-6 inches under water. Along with the Bose stereo system, the Wii, the Sony Playstation II, and all the remote controls and guitar Hero and many DVD's and video games. Also the mini fridge is probably ruined and probably the wall cabinets. When I went to start picking up the stuff and getting it out of water I noticed that the outlet strip with all the electronics plugged into was floating under water. I was standing in water up to my ankles at the time and it sort of freaked me out. I decided Todd should unplug it, and just to be safe, I got out of the water as fast as I could and put my feet on dry ground.

I called Kim and Francie and Jason over to help with the mess and we were able to haul most of the small stuff out of the basement and put the furniture up on cement blocks. Now Todd is down there with a wet vac vacuuming up the water. He will be there all night if he tries to get it all out. We have someone supposedly calling in the morning to set up a time to come suck out what is left of the water and start the drying process. He is how it looked when we finally called it a night.


The clean up process will be a mess. The insurance situation looks grim as well, there are so many loopholes in insurance policies I don't know why we even bother having it. This is going to be an expensive little misfortune we have encountered. I just have to keep telling myself, that there are worse things that could happen, it's only stuff.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about that! Ours flooded too, but we were home when it happend. We had water 2 inches above our ankles sitting in our front lawn b/c it's slanted. Luckily ours isn't finished but we had a TON of storage/boxes down there. Not fun lifting, pulling, unpacking stuff when you're 40 weeks pregnant! I feel your frustration, good luck!! Kimberly

Elle J said...

I am so sorry to read this news! It looks like you and your husband have done a great job so far; a lot of work. I hope the professionals can get you put back together. Best wishes ...

Paula said...

Oh my gosh, what a shock to go into your basement and see that. You guys have handled it really well, it sure looks a lot better now than it did in the first picture. We have a storage basement that can flood too, so I know all too well about sumps and all that. Hope the ins. helps out and Yes you have a good attitude, it is just STUFF and can be replaced.

Amy said...

I can't believe how many basements have flooded around here with all the rain! Rick found one house near Michelle's that the entire walkout basement was washed out and took a whole wall with it! I hope it all dries well. You guys must have been busy! Have you tried the TV or anything, or is it all too wet still?
We used to have water in our basement all the time, even with just a little rain. I am SHOCKED that ours didn't flood this time. Our backyard still has a little mini pond in it.
Good Luck!

Tina in CT said...

What a mess but hopefully your things aren't ruined. You're lucky to have so many cinderblocks. Hope the co. calls you today about coming out.

Shanna said...

That is awful. I can't believe the 24 hour disaster companies did not call right back. The ones here have people on call all day long every day and they call right back (at least the local ServiceMaster). Hope everything turns out.

Anonymous said...

oh that stinks!!! what a horrible way to have to spend your evening!!! glad you didn't get electrocuted or anything in the process!!!

Unknown said...

I was going to call you last night just because but when I was getting off the phone with Rachael, she advised me to wait... That really stinks.

Heard from the insurance company yet?

Francie said...

I'm glad you got the before pictures with the furniture floating in the water... it sucked so bad! And if you just need to get new furniture... let me know! I'll take your semi-wet stuff! Let me know if you need more help later!

Lori said...

Dream on Francie, the furniture might just be the only thing that is salvageable. If you'd like a wet TV or DVD system, a Wii, or a playstation or even a Bose stereo system your welcom to it. You just might need to hang them verticle for a few days to get all the water out. :)