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Flooding in basement

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Deacon92

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So we had flooding in the basement of our new house in GA. Had a contractor dig a ditch and add a French drain where the flooding happened. Paid to have the gutters cleaned and new drain pipes away from the house. Replaced carpet etc. No issues for a month, then really heavy rain Monday and we had flooding again. Not as bad but new carpet wet now.

Am I missing something? Will I need to look at a sump pump? House is new few months for us but built in 70's.
 
Move to higher ground?

No but seriously, I was in your position last year around this time. We were up to our knees down in the basement after our town flooded, and spent all night on bucket brigade/wet vac and eventually had to replace the carpet. Our landlord/the homeowner paid for a sump pump, so we're prepared for next time, but I don't know what else there is since it sounds to me like you've made better preparation. All I can really suggest is keeping a wet vac around and in case of minor stuff like you described.

Sorry for the troubles, man. Hopefully others will be of more help.
 
when I lived in WA we had a basement that would flood during really really hard rains, twice a year or so. And we were high on a hill. It had to do with the water table. Our basement was old as hell and wasn't finished so the first two times I shop vac'd that shit for hours and hours to dry it out thinking it was a big deal. Then I was told and learned that it's not a big deal as long as it drains and has air flow. The basement never smelled or molded at all and the house was 60 years old. Not sure if that applies at all to your sitch but good luck
 
It's not cheap but I can tell you Tom DiGregorio at Aquaguard is the guy to call. Forget the commercials he's doing. The guy knows his technology and has a proven system and solid guarantee.
 
What's the grade of land look like around your house? You need to slope it away somehow, the french drain will still get overrun if your whole yard is angled towards it.
 
Yeah, you will need some professional water proofer for sure. Did the guys who put in the french drain give you any sort of warranty?
 
The contractor will pay to put in some additional downspouts and angle away from the house. My thing is, we put in the fix, had no issues, put in new carpet and then the rains in Marietta yesterday just did a number... Damit.

He thinks the carpet will dry out and not be lost...
 
Is there any padding under the carpet? The carpet should dry out fine, but the padding is more worrisome for mold.
 
He seems to think if we can dry it out today we can save it all.
 
Find out how deep the French drain was installed. A friend had the same problem and learned that the contractor that installed them didn't put them down deep enough.
 
Cement floor in the basement under the carpet? Is your house built on a hill? Likely coming in the upside of the hill side, easy fix is to trench the inside along the wall into a sumb pump in side a 5 gallon bucket. Other issues are what it is doing to the walls behind the sheet rock. Was this problem disclosed at closing? Check with neighbors if previous owners had the same issue, you might just get some help preparing for the problem.
 
Cement under the pad and carpet. On a hill backing down to a creek... Dug the ditch with the plastic (no sump pump), but did add the drain.. Like I said, we've had rain since "fix" and no issue. So either this is something that builds over time or it was just the volume of rain...

The house was a foreclosure that was refurbished.. The seller is a SOB who says it never happened when he was updating the house.
 
Deacon92 said:
Cement under the pad and carpet. On a hill backing down to a creek... Dug the ditch with the plastic (no sump pump), but did add the drain.. Like I said, we've had rain since "fix" and no issue. So either this is something that builds over time or it was just the volume of rain...

The house was a foreclosure that was refurbished.. The seller is a SOB who says it never happened when he was updating the house.
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Check the depth of the drains. Also check to see if they have clogged, which does occur.
 
The waterproofing needs to be on the outside of the foundation wall. A waterproofing company will remove the dirt from around the outside of the foundation down to the footing. They will apply a sealant to the wall and a drain at the footing to carry the water away. The waterproofing should be up to the orginal grade. Gutters are very important and should be kept clean. Make sure the downspouts are piped away from the house. Make sure the ground water is not running towards the house when it rains. If it is you will need to change the grade. It's a basement not a boat. If the water gets next to the foundation it will usually find it's way in.

For the carpet a dehumidifer will really help. Like someone else noted above, you need to be concerened about what is going on behind the sheetrock on the walls.
 
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