What We Learned During Tropical Storm Lee

Four sump pumps are not enough to handle ten inches of rain in ten hours.

Ten inches of rain in ten hours produces approximately three and a half feet of water in our basement.

The roof leaks.

The chimney leaks.

When you don't have any grass in your front yard because the sewer line was just replaced, it turns to a sea of mud. Red mud. Red mud that gets on everything. And when you have three dogs . . . well, you get the picture.

It really isn't as bad as it sounds, I promise. :)

We knew when we bought a 100 year old house that there would be issues. We knew the basement had extensive waterproofing work done in the past five years, and that we would likely have water problems with exceptionally heavy rains. (For the record, we have had several "normal" rains and thunderstorms in the past six weeks and have not had any water problems during those.) The roof was replaced five years ago and only leaked in one small spot, so we are pretty sure it is just a shingle loose or missing. Got to get up on the roof at some point and check that out. We were planning to have the chimney capped anyway, so that should take care of that. And grass is going down in ten days in the front yard, if it is dried out enough by then.

Time for round two of contractors!

So, to recap our Labor Day: slept in, worked on little projects around the house, my parents and our friend Josh came over. We were going to grill out but with the rain decided to cook in the oven instead. We let Annie try sweet potatoes for the first time (those pictures Friday). Just before sitting down to dinner, the Gent checked the basement and said, "the sump pumps are starting to back up." We thought we'd eat dinner and then see what we needed to do. By the time we finished dinner there was about six inches of water in the basement. All hands on deck! My parents went to Home Depot to buy anything they could find that would help. Aunt Tessie and the Gent started bailing. I put Annie to bed early so I could help. Uncle Richard and Aunt Rhonda came over. Aunt Tessie's boyfriend, Dwight, came, too. The men worked in the rain for a couple of hours, hooking up two more sump pumps (for a total of six) but the water was still rising. Tessie and I started calling Servpro and similar companies. Everyone was busy, of course. We finally found someone who said they could be at our house by 11pm. We thanked our helpers and sent them home. Then the power went off. Tessie, the Gent, and I sat on the couch and waited. And waited. We called the company to find out where they were. They showed up at 1am. Tessie and I went to bed and left the Gent in charge. After two hours, they still couldn't get their pump to work, so they gave up and said they'd come back tomorrow. The Gent tried to get some sleep. I don't think any of us slept much. By 4am the sump pumps were holding their own and at least the water wasn't rising anymore. At 7am we found a rental company with a big pump. The Gent went and picked it up. It wouldn't start. The Gent had to go to work. I called the rental company, they sent a mechanic and he got it started. Somehow by this point all our male helpers had disappeared. :) Tessie and Annie and I were left to get three and a half feet of water out of the basement. And with a little help from Honey, we did! GIRL POWER! Actually, the pump did most of the work. Poppa and the Gent hosed down the basement last night and cleared the mud. Now the dehumidifier and fans are going to finish drying it out. And we'll figure out where to go from here. I think this paragraph is long enough now.

Ohh!! But I forgot to say . . . the pump was gas and set off the carbon monoxide detectors (even though it was outside, just not enough ventilation I guess). So we had to call the fire department and have them come test the levels in the house. By the time they got there we had aired the house out pretty well and it was okay to go back in and get back to work.

I am tired just writing this. And our house is a WRECK. Oh well, we'll fix it later!

Here are some pictures of our lovely basement.