Where I live we usually do not get much in the extremes of weather. It's weather that I like to typically call "boring." Autumn colours only last a couple weeks, then we get dreary, boring, grey winters usually void of snow, which lasts a couple months until a wet spring slogs along and we splash through into a mosquito filled summer.
Even our storms are typically half-assed and lazy, too. Winter snow storm? Maybe three inches. Thunderstorm? 20 minutes, max, and maybe some water to go with it.
Blah.
Well, today was different. Today was the day that we were hit by a proper Tropical Storm - named Isaias - and today was the day the sump pump in my basement died.
Fuck.
The morning went something like this:
- For some reason unbeknownst to me, I woke up at 4.
- Not getting back to sleep, I got up. At least there was coffee.
- Child hears me, wakes up, plays on the Nintendo Switch with me. More coffee.
- Start the work day ~ 7:30.
- Coffee
- 8:00 meeting
- Coffee
- Tornado Warning. Whee!
- Wake up remaining children and begin to herd cats and dog into the basement.
- See water on the basement floor. In the room I just completely redid.
- Fuck.
- See water elsewhere in the basement.
- Fuck
- Discover the sump pump has died.
- Fuck
Others in the house grab every towel, face cloth, blanket, bath robe and the like and begin to wage battle against water.
Water continues to pour in. During the active tornado warning I high-tail it over to the nearest hardware store and purchase a brand new shiny sump pump. Thankfully they are not difficult to install.
I get back, enlist assistance to install the new sump pump and rejoice when it begins to work. I could literally see the water begin to recede.
Spent the rest of the morning doing damage control, getting items off the floor, drying, drying, drying, wetvaccing, drying, etc.
I may or may not have begun to daydrink.
For most other DIY repairs I would have taken pictures during the process. I did not this time; I was too focused on making sure the basement did not flood, and we did a really good job with it. I'm very happy to have been able to learn how to perform this type of work on my own; I don't know what would have happened if I had to wait for a plumber, or spend 30 minutes reading instructions and hunting down tools.
I'm also very proud of how everyone responded, from the 11 year old boy all the way up the line. There was no panic, gnashing of teeth or tearing of clothes; there was simply the attitude of 'what do we need to do next and how can we do it.' Bullet dodged, and I'm proud of the boys for it.
This is what my new basement game room looks like at the current moment.
The astute will see on the right side of the picture, right beneath the wooden cradle, two glowing dots. No, that's not an alien or a ghost-orb. That's one of the cats. That cat was freaked the fuck out.
Here's my old sump pump. In a grand stroke of luck, this appears to be the only item that I will have lost today.
Here's the new sump pump already having been at work.
It looks nice down there, doesn't it? It's nice and quiet too.
This is what it would look like if it hadn't already been pressed into service
And here's also the poor dog trying to figure out WTF is happening. Her bed was soaked and she had to resort to lounging on these mats (which, incidentally, were also soaked)
Ultimately the rain stopped. I went out for a walk and saw this in a nearby field between two houses. A person could almost wade in that! I can almost feel the mosquitos just be looking at the picture.
As of right now the office floor is dry and the dehumidifier is running full time. I'm happy that no water came in through the walls - I'm really happy about that; it really does seem that the only issue was the faulty sump pump. Part of my quarterly house maintenance now will be checking to ensure it continues to function properly.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
About Me
Amateur photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. I dabble a little in a lot. General all around problem-solver and creative type.
Founder of Photo 52 weekly photography competition.
Expert generalist. Jack of all Trades.
Dad.
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Que bien que hayas podido solucionar el problema en tu casa a tiempo y que pudiste hacerlo tu mismo, es lo mejor. Saludos
Fuck Oh Rooney! Bad, no question bad. But could have been so much worse. Nicely done to limit the damage.
One nice thing about the extreme temps I live in. Mosquitoes dehydrate and die right close to where they are spawned. I'll only get about two bites a year.
Holy crap, yikes & fuck all at once! @wwwiebe
Whew! Glad your family dodged what could have been a very costly mess and team F-[amily] Troop worked great together to clean up the water!
You never realize the importance and value of a working sump pump until you have a basement & see photos or hear stories about similar disasters.
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