In some Madison and Dane County neighborhoods, it looked as if a dam had burst.
Recent winter storms have submerged backyards, raised rivers to the breaking point and caused plenty of other chaos. But for many local homeowners, it’s their crawlspaces and basements that have suffered the worst damage in what’s shaping up to be one of the wildest winter weather patters in recent memory.
Basements are in every home in Wisconsin. But very few homes with basements come equipped with sump pumps, devices to move water to higher ground – and away from the house. Usually dry, these subterranean spaces offer more than just an extra storage area. But lately, basements in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest are often renovated and used as extra living space. Some of them can be as much as 900 sq ft in size in a small three bedroom ranch home. So, when it floods, there’s a lot of damage in a well used living area.
For many, the cleanup process includes a call to the insurance company. But not all water damage is covered by insurance. I discovered this the hard way. Our insurance policy from State Farm does not cover flood damage.
During the recent rain, the frozen and snow-covered ground prevented the water from properly soaking into the ground. Many people were wworrried and questioned the management – What Causes Condensation on Laminate Surfaces?Snow and ice had built up from being thrown there by the snowblower as I cleaned off our patio. That mound of ice and snow caused the water to run toward the house and eventually filled up a nearby window well where water seeped through the crack of the aluminum framed window into our beautifully renovated “lower level. We don’t even call it a basement anymore. It’s now the lower level.
The other problem I had was that our backyard is fenced in with a 6-foot privacy fence where snow had built up and froze preventing any water from leaving the yard. Our backyard looked like a pond all caused by my clever design eye and a need for privacy. I solved this problem by removing (breaking) three boards and prying them away from the fence frame. The water from the backyard poured out the like it was Niagra Falls. It took two days to drain the backyard.
Let’s be clear – this kind of water problem has never happened before in the 30 years I have lived in the house. So, it’s a freak occurrence with that much rain in February but it’s one I don’t want to go through again next year.
This summer I plan to regrate the problem areas and I come up with a solution for the privacy fence as well.
I had to pull up the carpet and pad and it took a week to dry everything out with fans before I could put the room back together again. I’m so glad I got help from Carpet Cleaning Seattle. I had a plastic vapor barrier put in under the windows when insulating the walls during the renovation so the insulation would not get wet if this ever happened. I was thinking ahead when I did that as I noticed water stains on the walls under the window so it had happened in the past.
Not only that, I had a new roof and gutters installed several years ago and I had Exterior Renovations re-route the gutters so water from that side of the house to the front which is away from any carpet cleaning. The water drains down the driveway instead of in the backyard. I thought of everything to prevent this problem except one thing. Three inches of rain in February on frozen ground.
If you’re not as lucky as I was I discovered that water damage repairs can be expensive. According to Home Advisor, repairing water damage inside the house costs on average $2,270. Water can be particularly destructive to wood, plasterboard and other materials. At least I didn’t have that problem. I just had wet carpet and pad.
I didn’t have any standing water on the carpet and floor slope drained any excess down the sewer drain. Box fans can dry damp areas pretty quick to prevent mold.
I got lucky, sort of, but for all of you please take a look at your gutters and yard slope and if you have any questions please give us a call to come out and look to see if you have a potential problem if it rains again next February.