Water water everywhere
I had plans for a good post on Sunday night showing you a picture of rain falling into my kitchen through a window.
A closed window.
And I'm not a contractor, but my instincts tell me that rain is not supposed to pour in through a closed window. So that's a problem.
Since Sunday's rain was a real gullywasher, I walked down to the basement to check another spot that gets some moisture during hard rain.
Luckily, that spot was bone dry. But the basement felt a little damp, so I rounded a corner to get the dehumidifier. As I turned the corner, I noticed a stream of water in a place I'd never seen it before - on the floor under the dead center of the house.
I was relieved (I guess that's the right word) to find out that the water didn't originate under the center of the house. It was seeping under the wall from a different room.
Then I discovered the big problem.
As I stepped into a storage room, I heard the squish-squish of my shoes on soaked carpet. Every inch of the carpet was wet.
And not just wet - saturated. I'm surprised I didn't find ducks and lilypads in there.
I took a run at the water with my shop vac and two dehumidifiers, which ran overnight.
When I got home yesterday, exhausted from a long day playing golf (pause for your smart alecky remark) the drying wasn't working.
So after the kids were in bed, I headed to the basement and started pulling up carpet.
That was the right decision.
As I pulled up the padding, I saw that it was acting like a sponge. Water poured out of it as I carried it out.
There's no way I would have ever dried that room out with my little dehumidifiers and shop vac.
When I finished up last night, I collapsed into my chair next to Wife.
We had a chuckle about what a pain in the rear old houses can be. And we laughed about how none of what happened Sunday will be cured by the new roof (or The Lexus That Could Have Been) we'll be getting in a week or so.
Good times.
As of this afternoon, the room is dry.
The old house punched, and I punched back. This round is a draw.
As much trouble as it can be sometimes, we're still pretty fond of this old house.
A closed window.
And I'm not a contractor, but my instincts tell me that rain is not supposed to pour in through a closed window. So that's a problem.
Since Sunday's rain was a real gullywasher, I walked down to the basement to check another spot that gets some moisture during hard rain.
Luckily, that spot was bone dry. But the basement felt a little damp, so I rounded a corner to get the dehumidifier. As I turned the corner, I noticed a stream of water in a place I'd never seen it before - on the floor under the dead center of the house.
I was relieved (I guess that's the right word) to find out that the water didn't originate under the center of the house. It was seeping under the wall from a different room.
Then I discovered the big problem.
As I stepped into a storage room, I heard the squish-squish of my shoes on soaked carpet. Every inch of the carpet was wet.
And not just wet - saturated. I'm surprised I didn't find ducks and lilypads in there.
I took a run at the water with my shop vac and two dehumidifiers, which ran overnight.
When I got home yesterday, exhausted from a long day playing golf (pause for your smart alecky remark) the drying wasn't working.
So after the kids were in bed, I headed to the basement and started pulling up carpet.
That was the right decision.
As I pulled up the padding, I saw that it was acting like a sponge. Water poured out of it as I carried it out.
There's no way I would have ever dried that room out with my little dehumidifiers and shop vac.
When I finished up last night, I collapsed into my chair next to Wife.
We had a chuckle about what a pain in the rear old houses can be. And we laughed about how none of what happened Sunday will be cured by the new roof (or The Lexus That Could Have Been) we'll be getting in a week or so.
Good times.
As of this afternoon, the room is dry.
The old house punched, and I punched back. This round is a draw.
As much trouble as it can be sometimes, we're still pretty fond of this old house.
posted by Leighton @ My Best Investments at
6:23 PM
6 Comments:
Oh, ick. I'm having a basement flashback.
We're in a nice shiny new house now with NO basement and it is lovely.
But good for you for laughing about it all!
Oh, I'm having water seepage pains for you. We had the same thing happen last summer and it was awful. I'm glad you caught it early. We didn't find ours for DAYS and it was a mess!
Our rule of thumb is, if the house is older than 30 yrs., NO CARPET IN BASEMENT!!!! Old houses have wonderful room sizes, oddball storage, and lovely old wavy windows, but rarely do they have a completely dry basement!!
Hopefully, you can figure out what is causing the stream in the basement soon.
Watch out for the uppercut that's sure to come next! How's your HVAC holding up?
In my best Cliff Clavin, "Uh, what I think you have there, is a total failure of exterior waterproofing."
Part of the problem with us handymen, is that we often purchase things (Like, oh...say...houses) that we know aren't in the best condition, but which our pride tells us we'll be able to "improve" and "perfect."
What our pride does NOT take into account, is the inconvenience and expense that these little projects cause.
Luckily, it sounds like we both have understanding wives!
We owned and rented out a townhouse nearby. The previous owner never disclosed the flooding problems she had with it. (suing wasn't worth it) In other words, it was a mess. We had everything taken care of, and by prayer and might, we sold that place!
Don't you LOVE homeownership?
Emily
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home