The TMTT Basement Saga

[ToolManTimTaylor]

It all started After Coffee nite and I got home at 11:30 and the Ol' lady said "I think the washing machine is broken"



O. K no biggie I am certified in plumbing , hvac , electrical , and just so happens in appliance repair as well from Kenmore , Kitchen Aid , Whirlpool. theese are whirlpools.



So apart the washer comes and lo and behold nothing is wrong. I bolt it back up and grab the shop vac and suck out the laundry room. I get the vac upstairs (BTW 20 gallons of water sucks to get upstairs without spilling) and drain it. I come downstairs and more water is showing up. this time ... alot. I start sucking it out and I can no longer keep up.



@ 1:30 A. M I run the ram off the rev limiter to milford (Set an all new EGT record BTW Of 1680* @ 48 lbs ) and grab the carpet machine.



Come back and wholly crap there is water and it ain't stopping!!!! Finished doing what we could at I dunno what time but it kept thru the nite with a sump. WE did 1300 Gallons by hand



Finally it stops and I can start assessing the damage.

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During



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Nice room carpeted heat . . ya know the works. Cats loved it.

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After



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Yep same place Picture was taken Saturday Morning . . I Dun Did some Demo

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This is the hallway on the other side of the wall Behind the cat



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But Ya Know I just don't think all that water came from that wall in that hallway



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Oh and where that Cat was ..... Yep water under the subfloor



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[ToolManTimTaylor]

AHA FRIGGIN FOUND THE WATER SOURCE!!!!



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Now I have no room or hallway ... . In just two days all by my self and the cat ... . Oh and the Ol Lady throwing food downstairs :{

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

So The water source you ask??????





Well Mr Butt Dart the contractor HACK That owned this house before me added a finsihed basement... What a nice hack. Well on top of crap wiring , crap workmanship , crap materials , crap installation I am left with a gaping hole in my foundation BEHIND a closed In wall.



Ya see the very first pic in the Series Labeled During with the cat. Well If I were to turn to my Right you would notice I was in my bathroom downstairs That Mr Butt Dart Installed. And to the right of the camera is the bathtu.



Well now with a Crap subfloor like that there is no room for a P-Trap. So Instead of building a Tub Base Lets Grab Some saws and stuff and cut a Shoddy Hole thru the foundation Floor so the piping will fit ... . and not ever seal it back in again.



On top of it all Let me NOT ice and water dam the back of the house where the porch meets the house so water can just flow down aside the foundation.

 

[Dl5treez]

Well Mr Butt Dart the contractor HACK That owned this house before me added a finsihed basement...

Well, technically he never actually finished it...



Sorry, bad joke at a bad time. Been there, sucks major.



We have a rental property that the previous owner ran 1" copper water line through the basement concrete, about 2" under the surface. Not knowing this was the case, we allowed the tenant to drill a bunch of holes for anchors for some stupid Nerf baseball batting cage (the fiance's father is a rather liberal landlord)..... Needless to say it's amazing how fast water can not only travel through 1/2" holes, but through 40+ feet of porous crappy cheapo quik-mix junk worthless low bid concrete.



Playstation 2's make pretty sparks when submersed in a foot of water, for the record... .

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Playstation 2's make sparks when submersed in a foot of water, for the record... .

And for the record the New Slim Ones do not as of 10/16/05 :-laf

 

[Dl5treez]

And for the record the New Slim Ones do not as of 10/16/05 :-laf

Hey maybe you can use Matthew Lesko's book to find a government program that will pay your reconstruction costs--"electrical experimentation for the greater good. " :-laf

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Damnit Dan ya just gotta make me laugh don't ya? I got this cut up inside my nose from a tack strip that came up flyin' when I used the chopper. Well that cut now jerks a tear every time I laugh :{

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Oh and to make things better guess what the Hose Nut did during his "Construction of Destruction" fit. He dead ended and did not terminate NOR pull from the panel live wires up in the ceiling. Yeah isn't that just fan-flippin'~tastic?

 

[SHobbs]

So suffice it to say the name says it all, lol. Tim Taylor household. I can just see an episode of Tool Time here.

 

[Signal73]

:{

Tim Lemme tell ya, I know exactly how ya feel. On Fri, I had all intentions of coming out and hanging out at coffee night but the night before when I came home and found the carpets floating downstairs, I spent the next 2 days doing cleanup. Thurs night entailed getting out the partner saw and cut a 2' round hole in the floor to make a sump. after I busted the 'crete out the water was right up to the bottom of the slab :{ Dug down about 2' in the mud and rigged up the pump. only then did the water stop coming in luckly there is about 4" of crushed stone under the slab so it drains off nicely to the sump. Insurance of course dosent cover it so... . Anyhow sorry to hear about your misfortunes as well. the water table was so dam high alot of people got water in the basements. Its still about 8" below my slab but thats better then it was so maybe next week ill be able to finish up the dry well.

 

[rbattelle]

Just so I understand - the water is ground water that's come up to the level where the hole in the foundation was never sealed up? NOT from a leak in the plumbing down there?



-Ryan

 

[Signal73]

Thats what I gather from it Ryan, He is only 2 towns over from me and we got a couple feet of rain last week, so if you have an opening like he did or cracks in the slab like I do, when the table rises it just comes through any opening it could find.

 

[TORQUE THIS]

Man, just witnessed the demo... WHAT A FREAKIN HACKER the previous homeowner was...



YES, the water table rose so high from all the rain, the water came up thru the hole in the slab...

 

[BigEasy]

Sorry to hear about all the misfortune you're having up that way, folks. Now, this is gonna come out all wrong and sound somewhat questionable ... but if a water pipe broke and did that damage instead of flood water, your insurance would cover it. Know what I mean?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

...oh man, I hate to add insult to injury...

Tim,



I hate to say this, but as your friend... I feel it necessary to inform you.



The date stamp on your digital photos is off by exactly 2 months! I know, I know... this is just the icing on the cupcake (no euphemisms implied... :-laf ) for this latest chapter in your life.



Matt

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

My anger management classes are really tickin me off!

:-laf :-laf :-laf



I think I just wet myself... . I didn't know somebody else's disaster could be so hilarious. Perhaps you could put on Bill Cosby's "Noah, build an ark" record... tape... whatever, whilst you are down there working. The cat might get a kick out of it.



Bright Side: Bet you haven't had to use the exercise machine for a couple of days. :-laf

 

[TORQUE THIS]

Tim,



I hate to say this, but as your friend... I feel it necessary to inform you.



The date stamp on your digital photos is off by exactly 2 months! I know, I know... this is just the icing on the cupcake (no euphemisms implied... :-laf ) for this latest chapter in your life.



Matt

Yeah, he'll probably be late for his own funeral also... :-laf

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Yeah, he'll probably be late for his own funeral also... :-laf

Better late than never. The gift of eternal life is one I'd gladly return for in-store credit. :-laf



Matt