It started with a clogged toilet on a Tuesday. I had used the bathroom in the basement and ended up clogging the toilet. I worked on this with a plunger for quite a while, finally resorting to the interwebs for advice. It was conflicting, of course, but the addition of dish soap seemed like the least dangerous option. Late in the evening, it finally cleared with some sudsy plunging and I called it a night.
Wednesday morning I went downstairs to check and give it another test flush. And it overflowed – with clean-ish water, at least. I swore, spread paper towels on the floor to keep the fortunately minimal water contained, and figured I would get it sorted when I got home later. And I went on into work.
At lunch time, I came home to let the dogs out and feed them – then went downstairs to check on the bathroom. As soon as I turned on the light to the basement I could see there was a problem.
There was water on the carpet.
I raced downstairs, my feet squelching as soon as I hit the bottom. There was a huge flood and water everywhere. But, it didn’t seem to be connected to the bathroom or the toilet. The water was deepest – literally – in the middle of the furnished family room.
I texted Jim at work, then emailed my office and let them know I wouldn’t be coming back to the office.
Then I changed clothes and set to work.
I moved a few things up to the garage to start drying, then tried the shop-vac with no luck.
Jim called and I bought him up to speed. He then called the insurance company and got a referral for a restoration company – and called them to get someone dispatched.
I made a hurried and unsuccessful trip to Lowe’s for some kind of water pump – getting back as the restoration guy arrived. I got things opened up for him and he got started – and I called a plumber.
The plumber couldn’t arrive until after hours and I went ahead and booked an appointment, then went back down to help move things out of the restoration guy’s way – and carried more things up to the garage.
He had to dump the tanks in his truck 3 times and estimated that he had pumped out over 400 gallons of water. When he finally wrapped up for the day he set up fans and dehumidifiers.
Jim got home a little later and we ate, then waited for the plumber – who didn’t arrive until after 8.
The plumber brought in his equipment and set to work clearing out the main drain line – eventually finding that it had been clogged by tree roots.
And tampons.
The plumber looked at Jim and I – and we looked at each other. Noting that we have lived here nearly 4 years.
WIth the main line cleared he had us test all the drains and toilets in the house and everything worked. He also noted that we needed to replace the sump pump – which was failing – but that it could wait until the next day. And if we waited, it would save us about $150 since we wouldn’t be on overtime.
I still had a lot of anxiety that night – having trouble getting to sleep. I got up around 3 am to go down and check the basement again just to make sure we were okay.
Thursday I worked from home and the restoration guy came back to check on the equipment and seal the basement with a zippered plastic door to improve the heat and evaporation. He said he’d be back on Saturday to shut things down and pick up the equipment – but that the floor was drying well.
The plumber was back not long after that to install a new sump pump. In the meantime, Jim and I had been working with the insurance company to file a claim. We had good coverage, but it wasn’t going to cover the cost of the plumber’s work or the sump pump.
The fans ran 24/7 until Saturday when the restoration guy came to get the equipment and Jim and I were generally pleased with the work – though the carpet wasn’t in great shape anymore.
It was, at least, dry.
Jim and I reviewed the items that had been in the basement and there was only minor damage. A metal table leg rusted and a bag with art supplies was ruined, but that was the worst of it.
We got mostly back to normal after that and it was about a week later that the insurance inspector came to look at the basement.
Took him about an hour and his determination was that the carpet would need to be replaced. He emailed his report and the company sent us a check.
We’re trying to decide if we want to turn this into a bigger renovation project in the basement by taking out the bar – or just replace the carpet. For now, the garage is still packed with the stuff from the basement.
We keep telling ourselves and each other – and anyone that will listen – that it could have been much worse.
EDIT: We’re still trying to figure out the scope of the changes we want to make in the basement – just carpet or a full-on remodel.