[Chicago] Rain

[Carl Karsten]

Rob Kapteyn wrote:
> I went to check my basement at ~8:30 AM on Saturday and it was fine, 
> just a small pool of water around the floor drain.
> I had fashioned a very effective plug for the floor drain as a defense 
> against sewer backups.
> 
> Then, while I was down there - during the most intense rain, I saw every 
> little crack in the concrete starting to ooze water.
> After about 10 minutes, all of the joints between the basement walls and 
> floor started gushing water.
> During the next 30 minutes, the basement filled to about 6 inches.
> 
> Since I was there, I was able to save most of what was not already in 
> plastic bins.
> Some plastic bins floated and tipped over though :-(
> 
> My floor drain plug did help considerably -- when I pulled it, I saw 
> black sewer water come up, so I closed it again.
> After another hour, I opened the floor drain and it all drained out.

I have the same thing.  plug, ooze, few inches of water, mostly ready for it but 
get lazy and put some stuff on the floor, which now gets thrown out like it 
should have been instead of being pack ratted away.

> 
> I have a big mess to clean up, at least its all rain water -- sewer 
> water would have been much worse.
> I've been meaning to put some more dirt around the foundation of the 
> house -- that should stop it from happening again.

I doubt more dirt will do squat.

rain falls on dirt, soaks in and travels downward into various strata. 
eventually it hits clay or something less soak friendly, where it goes sideways 
till it hits the hold that was dug before your basement was put in. the dirt 
that was filled around your basement is more soak friendly, so down it goes 
again.   normally, there is some other downward place for it to go, but when the 
system gets overloaded, it starts filling up that hole, and finding places to 
go, like the cracks, and out it comes.

If I cared, I would jackhammer a hole in my basement floor, dig down a few feet 
and install a sump pump that ejected water into the street.  but I don't care 
enough, and the next owner will probably just replace my whole house with a 
McMansion so there is no reason for me to invest.

If you care, I will be happy to live out my dream of operating a jackhammer as 
described under

  She says, ``where did you get a jackhammer?''

http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2000/07.html

If you cover the costs I'll even do my house first.

Carl K


> 
> -Rob
> 
> On Sep 14, 2008, at 10:36 AM, Jordan Sherer wrote:
> 
>> How is everybody holding up with all of this rain? 
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