Water!
I don’t know about you but water scares me. It’s such an essential part of life but when we talk about it in reference to a flood in a basement, or large puddles overwhelming a yard, or coming in windows, etc. it’s rather frightening.
When I was buying this house, the home inspector shared concerns about the number of sump pumps in the basement (three) and the fact that there was no battery sump pump backup. I knew I was going to have to deal with the issue soon after moving in but found myself overpowered by things beyond my control during the move.
Moving was a crazy business - the planned move date was forecast to be snowmageddon and we were in the middle of another pandemic lockdown. Due to incredible friends and family members, a mother who is even more organized than me, strict protocols, and everyone’s willingness to come a day early, the majority of the work NOT being done by the moving company happened the evening before. Thank goodness, as the weather forecasters got it right and the roads were snow covered and unsafe the next morning. Two days later when the movers arrived, it was a perfect, sunny day with clear roads - phew! This is what can happen when you think that moving in the middle of January is a good idea!
Fast forward to the beginning of March and I was still tripping over boxes and nowhere near organized and I had not bought a battery backup sump pump. One morning while I was working from my home office, I heard the sound of water. Lots of it, gushing. Peering out the side window, I could see it pouring from the hoses into my side yard. Well, that was a relief - the pumps were working. It was going to be okay. And a week later I remembered to buy the battery backup, as required. What an eye-opening experience that was! I had no idea how expensive a visit to the hardware store that would be and of course, we’re in a pandemic and there are supply shortages everywhere! Took me awhile to find somewhere that had the supplies I needed!
A few weeks later and we’re hit with a ton of rain. One colleague figured he could kayak in his front yard! On a Friday, while working, I kept getting up from the desk to confirm that water was still coming out through the hoses. I figured it would be okay when the temperatures dropped overnight and the rain slowed down. No such luck. I had water in the basement. At least a couple of inches. I could hear the pumps and I could see the water coming out of the hoses. When I stepped outside to check on things, I discovered at least one of the hoses was so full of holes, the water was spraying everywhere. There I was, outside in very chilly weather with very cold water, duct taping the hose. For anyone who knows the reference, I was channeling Red Green. (If you don’t know the reference, look it up - it was a fun Canadian skit show and he’s famous for his use of duct tape!) By that evening, I was on the phone with the best friends anyone could have as they tried to calm me down.
Anyway, I eventually went to bed and hoped to sleep. The one good thing about this house is the basement isn’t finished and isn’t meant to be finished. It’s got the original cistern still down there (too bad the water wasn’t going there), a dirt floor with a couple of layers of gravel on it and even the furnace doesn’t sit on the floor. (The furnace is hung from the ceiling, horizontally above a cement pad.) Back to the story - not a lot of sleep was had that night. At 7 am when I got up and headed downstairs, I opened the basement door and peered down in the hopes of seeing no more water than last night. Unfortunately, it was at least double the amount. I grabbed my rubber boots and cautiously headed into the water to peer at the sump pump hole. What was going on? I could hear the pumps but there was so much water, it was as though it wasn’t going out. Yet, when I checked outside the hoses were still spewing water nonstop. ARGH!! I called a 24 hour plumbing service right away.
The plumber thank heavens arrived a couple of hours later and figured it out. The hoses were in such bad shape that the water was barely getting outside; at the spot where the hoses were leaving the basement through the foundation one was completely cracked. The water was coming right back in. Of the three sumps only two were working with any strength. So, he sloshed around down there, fixing hoses and replacing with a heavy duty pipe and installing another heavy duty sump pump. An hour and a lot of money later, there wasn’t anything else he could do. The pumps were going to have to keep working and eventually, the water would recede.
I’ll be honest. At this point, I wanted to sit down and cry. Or erase the previous few months and pretend I hadn’t bought the house.
The next thoughts that came to me were filled with gratitude. I’m lucky - I haven’t lost my job during this pandemic and I was able to pay for a plumber. There are so many that would not have been as lucky and I work hard to remember, I’m blessed.
So now, a month and half later, I still check on the basement. The water has been gone for ages but I don’t completely trust that it will remain that way when we’re getting a heavy rainstorm. After the plumbers came back to do a permanent fix, I was left with a long, heavy black pipe in my side yard. It’s across the pathway in through the gate. I’m working on a plan to reduce it’s impact on the look of the yard and the pathway. I’m thinking some kind of slope that comes up each side of the pipe and that can be covered with dirt and grass. As I’m learning, that idea may change many times before the work is done.
I forgot to take pictures of the water in the basement - too much in a panic to be honest. I do have some of the growing puddles and the new pipe addition.
Spring has never been my favourite season and I can honestly say this one hasn’t changed that opinion.
Top picture: the final solution
Bottom pictures: rainstorm in March