May I please whine?

I'm SO disgusted. Many of you who know me know the house is for sale. Well, we have a deal coming today that I think just blew apart. The overnight heavy rain dumped a lot of water into the basement, which is now flooded.

Fortunately, I found the problem, but if these people come back a third time today with an offer, which they said would be forthcoming, they will have a heat attack when they see the basement.

All along the inside of the wall I just had dug up and waterproofed, there are drilled holes in the concrete floor 2" away from the wall, and about 1/2" in diameter. They were bubbling up like fountains, bringing in more water!

They look the same size and spacing as some holes up the wall (but below the outside dirt level) that had been drilled for termite treatment long, long ago. The ones on the wall are all filled with a concrete patch, but these must have been overlooked. I put plumbers putty in them for a temporary wet patch and it stopped most of the influx of water for now. When it finally gets dry, I will have to patch them properly.

I'm certain there are more I didn't find but so many packed boxes line the walls. Some may have been filled, either intentionally, or with dirt. These were behind the furnace and had scavenged windows stacked over them until a couple of months ago, which is why I never saw them until now.

It certainly shows our installed drainage works... we just had a path of lesser resistance for the water that collects in the drain pipe, LOL.

Sending you big hugs Darius...just sent you an email....and like I said...when it rains...it pours....LITERALLY...

darius - of course you can whine! What a mess for you to deal with; such wish I was there to help!!!

Do you have a dehumidifier? And you're right on the path of least resisitance. We put inside french drains in our basement many MANY year ago and it works fantastic. We tapered the ground to a low point and had purchased a sump pump to eliminate any accumulated water but we never needed it once so we sold the sump pump.

If they still come burn a good smelling candle in the basement...ummm...let me think, what else could you do. I'm still trying to think of more.

Thanks, Vic and Dea.

I'm not generally a whiner... but this has me feeling SO defeated. Maybe I'll feel better when the water stops seeping in from more unseen holes... and I go get some "comfort food"!

Thats not the kind of water I meant darius. LOL OH and that new glade apple and cinaman(yes spelling stinks!) actually DOES make the whole house smell good.

Poor Darius...I feel for you. I hope it all works out. BTW..would you like a nice piece of cheese? LOL just trying to make you laugh a little.

I feel better already. I had a Big Mac... first one in years. Boy, have their patties shrunk... both diameter and thickness. The fries were still good, however.

Ginger, you must have read my post on the Health Forum where I said I could eat my weight in cheese, LOL. : )

Oh Darius, if you were closer to me, we'd go get a hot fudge cake or cheesecake or key lime pie or something! Whining is only whining when it goes on and on. I call your post "healthy venting".

But it sounds like you are taking this in stride. It goes to show that you can't keep a good woman down. Nat

darius, did they come today? hope you are feeling better. It will work out. love ya

tiG, no... haven't heard anything yet. When they left yesterday they were going to look into financing before making an offer. I suspect that takes time, esp. with working people. I am really hoping they don't get back to us until Friday.

Thanks. : )

get you some tuff stuff expandable foam ( at walmart walgreens target) fill the holes it comes with an adapter
go get you a wet dry vac before they get tehre and suck up the water some oe had made a bige pump out of one of these with a water hose i can't remember how but any way good luckk hope all goes well

whin i think i would be down right crying and probably a few other words. yes i must admit when i get upset or mad i do tend to lose it. best of luck with all and prayers your way

Update: I've had a neighborhood boy moving boxes after school today, and sweeping the water that was still slowly seeping in towards the floor drain. The dehumidifier is on, and we've used the wet-dry vac. 24 Hours should show an immense improvement!

Thanks, everyone. I'm over my whining.

Darius, did you hire somebody to do the waterproofing? If so, call them and get them to come and look. If they didn't do the job properly then they should pay for any damages as well as finishing the job. Meanwhile, it sounds like things are better, at least until it rains again.

Darius, proud you have everything under control.

Wow, I was going to say you've been through the wringer, and that's not too far off! Gosh!

MaryE, Yes, the waterproofing was a contract job. However, the water that came in could not have been prevented by the fine job they did, which is no reflection on them. The job was done to my specifications and I supervised it. (I used to be a licensed general contractor, and know lots about waterproofing.)

These holes in the concrete around the perimeter go down under the slab floor, straight to the water table when it rains hard. (We had over 3" of rain into an already saturated ground.)

Plus, they only did one side, and the water came in on all 4 sides.

The thing that aggravates me is that had I ever seen those holes in the 6 years of living in this house, I would have filled them long ago and saved the bundle I spent to have a backhoe dig up the side of the house recently.

The holes had been filled with dirt from sweeping the floor over many years so did not appear as holes when I started putting my packrat stuff in the basement, naturally putting all that stuff along the walls.

darius - can you stall a day or two on an appointment for them to come to the house?

sandra, that's exactly what I am planning, even though I've not heard from the. Some Buyers like to play games. . Legally, I have to disclose the water problem, or risk being sued, and I will. However, I will also feel confident that I have finally solved the problem, despite the mess it caused.

I don't know how much stuff will have to be thrwon away, from recently packed boxes that were sitting in water.

Darius, you have my sympathies. We built our home 13 years ago in a dry summer in the middle of a cornfield. How would I know that all the farmer's drain tile would end up unloading next to my basement walls??? We have 2 sump pumps in the well plus tiled under & around the basement. I have built up the beds around the house & the downspouts have 10 foot extensions away from the house. We still get water across the floor most springs---pumps just can't keep up!

Darius, you have my very understanding sympathy, been there-have to make changes and it always come at the worse times!!
Hope that everything goes well.

Darius, what a terrible thing to have happen. I'm sorry you had to go thru this. hope all is taken care of. hang in there.......

Darius, it will work out. Just have faith.