Basement Leak (Who is responsible? Me or the City
My contractor just informed me that my basement is taking in water whenever there are heavy rains. So at this moment there is water in my basement. He seems to think that it’s coming from the street (my contractor said he will have his plumber check it out). If it does turn out to be…
My contractor just informed me that my basement is taking in water whenever there are heavy rains. So at this moment there is water in my basement. He seems to think that it’s coming from the street (my contractor said he will have his plumber check it out). If it does turn out to be coming from the street, is it the city’s responsiblity to fix it? If so, how do I go about notifying the city? Please help!!
Hey 10:54, if you are on a block that has rows of similar or same houses, that were built by the same builder, ask your neighbors where their sewer drain is. Yours will be in the same place.
I’m having similar problems. The drain in our partially cement yard refuses to drain quickly, pools up and eventually pours under the storm doors to our basement. The drain down there is fast, but not fast enough to keep water from spilling into the basement floor.
I have called a roto guy and he said that I needed to clean the building’s sewer drain — only it seems the prior owners covered it with cement. Does anyone have any advice on finding a “lost” sewer drain?
And when you replace your concrete yard and/or areawy, pitch the soil away from the house. All good advice above: definitely have your drains cleaned and the sewer line checked. The cap may be damaged and if so must be replaced asap to prevent vermin as well as water. If water is coming in from the area way, you may need to have the sills raised and replace the doors. Also, it ain’t pretty, but a sump pump (less than $150 at lowes, I believe) is super effective at draining water BUT you can’t drain the water into the street and you can’t drain it toward a neighbor’s house, as one is illegal and the other will damage their foundation and probably result in a lawsuit. You have to drain it into your own yard.
I agree with 12:41. An all-cement yard simply creates tons of runoff for yourself and your neighbors. And cement yards are a huge factor in creating more noise. Those kinds of yards should be outlawed in NYC with runoff and noise such serious issues. It’s like, hello.
There is is zero runoff law in nyc. Are you gutters and leaders attached to the sewer pipes….are your neighbors? As I posted earlier…we live in a city of cement…water has to go somewhere…and that usually is your basement…The city provides sewers (and you pay with your water bill) and you must use them to avoid maximum flooding…some flooding just happens because of cement….green up your property….get rid of cement.
What are the problems associated with check valves.
Also, I was told today by a sewage cleaning company (I also had a flood and sewage come into my basement today) that when the city’s sewage pumps get overwhelmed (the pumps that clean things), they just shut everything off.
We did call in the city. They very nicelt sent crews down our block and came to the conclusion that the city pipes are not large enough to handle the amount of water that runs off from these hard, farst rains. Off the record, they advised installing check valves — but some neighbors have had bad experiences with those. Bottom line: the city isn’t going to replace those lines anytime in our lifetime, and they are not responsible for any water damage done when the water backs up into your house. Agree with above: install a sump pump.
Tom is bitter, but it really is something to always remember, that we live in a wet, wet place. A flood zone.
Check out all the simple but obvious things first. Before letting a contractor tell you it’s something really complicated. Do you have drains to either storm sewers or to drywells outside both your front and back basement doors? Check to make sure those are working properly. A plumber will send a camera down to check them out. Also if the concrete in front of your house is slanting towards your house, and you don’t have a drain there, rain will come through the foundation wall into the basement more easily than you would think. Have you gone outside in a heavy rain and looked to see where the rain is pooling up, creating “lakes”? Are your roof gutters cleared out and draining into storm sewers properly? If the rain on the roof is just running down the walls of the house, then that will get into the foundation walls.
Does it matter? It’s not like the city is going to fix it for you. On a kinder note: I’m really sorry that your basement flooded. It sucks!