Water Up The Kazzoo!!!

[rwcarpet]

Anybody out on floods today? We had about 2 inches overnite, ontop of frozen ground, and a gazzillion flooded basements. First one I went to today was at least 2 feet deep. I had to turn her down. Needed a big pump just to get to the carpet, and enough stuff floating around that I just didn't want to spend the day on it. The rest were sump pump failures, or overwhelemed pumps that couldn't keep up.

More tomorrow and probably the rest of the week.

 

[dealtimeman]

Buy a trash pump and make lots of money!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Rent a trash pump and make even more money.

Seriously though we had one but sat around so much it wouldn't work when we needed it.
We found renting them actually worked out better. They keep their equipment serviced and ready and inventory many sizes. We already had an account so often we invoice the loss and are paid before the rental bill is even due.

 

[tmdry]

What Richard and Mike said, I would've gotten the floating river one over the others.

 

[Jim Morrison]

With a trash pump in a resi setting where do you discharge to?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Jim if it's not freezing weather we pump to the curb and down the storm drain. If it is cold enough outside to freeze before it dries, we will pump out into the yard.

Never once been asked about the water source. Since it doesn't go in your machine I think everyone can see it's just ground water, no cleaning chem or fiber. you won't get much of that stuff until you begin extraction, the trash pump will only take it down to an inch or so.

 

[Al]

We have a gas and an electric trash pump but to get a bunch of jobs when the basements are flooding it's nice to have a pump to leave at the jobs that have large amounts of standing water, that way you have your foot in the door and can go get another job.

We have a dozen 1 hp electric pumps that do 3400 gallons per hour, i think they were 49 bucks each at Harbor Freight.

Sometimes water is still coming into the basements and you could be there for ever pumping out so we just let the pump do most of the work then come back to finish the job

 

[kmdineen]

I have always been reluctant to pump large volumes of water out of basements, a few feet not a few inches, for a couple of reasons. Nature likes to equalize things, so if there is several tons of water in the basement there are several tons of water on the outside of the basement walls. It is my understanding that rapid removal of the water inside the basement could lead to a pressure imbalance and damage the structure by cracking or collapsing the walls or floor.
Another issue I have found when large amounts of water have seeped into basements, is as you pump down to the floor I usually see more water coming in.
By waiting a couple of days until the water table drops, usually the water in the basement will also drop significantly.
If the homeowner insists you do something immediately, I like Al's use of smaller, float controlled pumps. Leaving a pump on the site secures the job and can prevent the water from rising over electric outlets or furnaces.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Agree it could be a concern, I've heard the stories, but never seen it happen.
Wouldn't want to be responsible either! :shock:

I would be cautious depending on where the source of the water came from.
If indoor plumbing and a drain was clogged I wouldn't guess you wouldn't have the outside pressure you would from ground flooding.

Good point Kevin!

 

[rwcarpet]

I have always been reluctant to pump large volumes of water out of basements, a few feet not a few inches, for a couple of reasons. Nature likes to equalize things, so if there is several tons of water in the basement there are several tons of water on the outside of the basement walls. It is my understanding that rapid removal of the water inside the basement could lead to a pressure imbalance and damage the structure by cracking or collapsing the walls or floor.
Another issue I have found when large amounts of water have seeped into basements, is as you pump down to the floor I usually see more water coming in.
By waiting a couple of days until the water table drops, usually the water in the basement will also drop significantly.
If the homeowner insists you do something immediately, I like Al's use of smaller, float controlled pumps. Leaving a pump on the site secures the job and can prevent the water from rising over electric outlets or furnaces.

Good point, Kevin. If a wall did collapse, it would be when you least expect it. And I'm sure the insurance company would come to your rescue if that did occur!! I generally just do the up front water removal, and another company comes in and drys the structure.

I've got an hour break or so, and I'll be back out extracting basements.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Robert we've got get you some drying equipment.

You're doing the hardest work and giving away the easier money.

 

[truckmount girl]

With the title of the thread, I thought you got an enema.



Take care,
Lisa

 

[Desk Jockey]

Sorry, no match sticks this time!

:mrgreen:

 

[Hoody]

We faired okay up north here. though the rivers have risen, and a lot of the smaller towns are under water right now. Sump pumps failed pretty frequently as well.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Man that's some water!

 

[steve g]

what do you guys do for payment on these?? insurance does not cover outside water. with rising water from outside the walls are supposed to be demoed to the studs.

 

[rwcarpet]

what do you guys do for payment on these?? insurance does not cover outside water. with rising water from outside the walls are supposed to be demoed to the studs.

Most of the jobs I'd seen like that are failed sumps with no basement drains, or sewer backups into house. Those should be covered. No insurance.....no work, unless cash up front.

Most homeowners don't realize how much a few simple inches of water can cost in WD repair, especially if their walls are finished.

 

[steve g]

ok with sewer backup unless it came from the house IE stopped line between the house and the street then insurance pays, if it came from the street no coverage. if it is flooding from rain, it came from the street. basically around here unless the rain came through the roof somehow then we never get damage from rain covered.

allstate will not cover outside water period, they say if it touched the ground no coverage. these issues are important because drying out basements gets expensive and the older I get the less inclined I am to just suck the water out and leave the rest.

 

[Hoody]

ok with sewer backup unless it came from the house IE stopped line between the house and the street then insurance pays, if it came from the street no coverage. if it is flooding from rain, it came from the street. basically around here unless the rain came through the roof somehow then we never get damage from rain covered.

allstate will not cover outside water period, they say if it touched the ground no coverage. these issues are important because drying out basements gets expensive and the older I get the less inclined I am to just suck the water out and leave the rest.

Wanna bet ??

I worked with Allstate a lot in Ohio. We were on the Alacrity Program.

The one thing that folks from out of the area don't know is there are different insurance coverages here. Ohio use to be a swamp, and the majority of it is a flood-plane. In most areas in Ohio the insurance companies have additional coverage you can have for this type situation(cheap too) under your homeowners policy. Availability is based on the counties you live in.

The damage inside the home is covered, but the repair to keep the damage from happening in the future is usually not whether it be foundation repair, or a waterproofing system. That has been the case 90% of the time here.

Most of the insurance companies build the additional coverage in automatically. Its only a few bucks extra a month. Some companies will refuse to insure you property if you don't have the additional coverage, and live in a flood-plane area.

 

[steve g]

well you guys know your situation, the point I was making is be aware of coverages and what is and what isn't covered. last week I landed a job at a condo because I had the right answers for the people on what was and wasn't covered. another company got there before me and actually had their hoses rolled out, but I still got the job anyway. sometimes image, professionalism, and knowledge do pay off.

 

[Hoody]

Maybe that's why you piss off adjusters by telling the homeowner what is and is not covered. :?:

EDIT:

I don't disagree with a good knowledge base of what may and what may not be covered. It helps in deciding whether to accept the work, and weighing the risk you want to take with the job. A big part of restoration is risk management, and communication. Good communication will lessen risk management and show due diligence, as well as help you get paid faster, if not get paid period.

 

[dealtimeman]

Maybe that's why you piss of adjusters by telling the homeowner what is and is not covered. :?:

Ding ding ding!!!

We have a winner!