Hmm, it must expire or something because it worked earlier. It was just a map showing the flood zone which crosses the tip of my land, and my basement is under ground so...

If you live that close to a flood zone area, I would advise against penetrating through the cement floor of your basement right away. If the water is running through the ground it could be running under your house as well. The weight of your house might force water up into the basement when you punch through the concrete. It probably won't rush in, but it will come in nonstop all of the time and making any kind of water tight seal after the fact could be very tricky.

ok then, what should I do? During spring, water comes up through the floor anyway. Should I just accept that and put on my bathing suit? :wink: The worst it's been is during last year's flood - normally, only bad springs put water in the basement. Otherwise, it's fine for the most part.

The first step for water treating a basement is to always find the source of the inflow of water. In most cases, it is because of a faulty gutter system around the house that either leaks down the side of the house foundation, or the gutter is draining water to an area that pushes the water right back to the foundation. If you know that the water is definitely coming through the floor and not from the walls (if you have a block wall foundation it is more likely for water to enter through the walls than through the floor), I think it would be wise to wait for a time when you know the ground is drier before penetrating the floor for your dry well. If it is coming directly through the walls they should feel slightly damp to the touch, moreso the lower you go (obviously more water pressure the lower you go). The walls can be treated with a sealant for concrete that actually slightly permeates the block and forms a water proof barrier (this doesn't work 100% of the time, but it's far less money and effort to try this). That should be available at home depot. I would advise you to try treating the walls first to see if that stops your problem and go from there. I hope this helps.

Yes, I have block walls, but poured floor. And I have already tried adjusting the gutters and building up the land around the house where it meets the basement to divert the water. However, I have seen water literally coming up from the floor. Since the floor is not perfectly flat, water collects in various areas until it gets high enough to clear the high spots, then drains into the floor drain. To help control where the water comes in the floor, I drilled a 3/4" hole in a strategic location, and it does work, but not good enough. During last year's flood, that hole had a small "fountain" of water coming from it (just high enough to see it). The walls are actually pretty solid. There is one wet spot on the walls, but that's under a window, which is understandable (gotta do something about the window "well" outside the basement.

My g/f and kids are going to Cali next month for a week, so that provides me with a decent window to make a mess. So, I'm hoping to have a plan in place so I can set up whatever rental I need.

What Doug said on the doors is what I have done. Little glue and a brad nailer. If you are going to be doing that be careful about cutting through the part that is hollow. It will have a tendency to splinter the thin paneling with out the backer on it. Taping the area with wide masking tape then put your cut line down. It will help minimize the splintering.

Another option is to remove it from the top and and drill new holes for the hinges. The new holes for the hinges will probably be close to the old ones. You will need to reinforce that section of the doors edge first. Takes some wood dowels the size of the holes (wooden golf tees sometime fit) and some wood glue. Tap them into the old holes with some glue and cut them flush. This will allow you to drill the new holes without fear of them breaking into the space left by the old holes.

We have a Habitat for Humanity store here in town that sells the inside doors real cheap also. Everything they sale is donated (new and used items) and the procedes goes back into the community. Actually they sell everything at a really good price. Check around your area for one. You can get stuff at 1/3 the price of a Lowes or similar store. Caulking, tiles, electrical outlets, plumbing, paint, pvc, door handles, mirrors, nails, screws, nuts and bolts, light bulb, outlets boxes, windows, blinds, flashing, shelving, etc....

Hate pluming myself. Had to fix a copper pipe in a wall to the washer. I could not get solder to flow up into the coupler. I could of broken several things that frustrating weekend.

Yeah, I will probably just add more wood to the bottom. The problem is that I already re-glued the bottom and you know how solid wood glue is; I'll probably break the wood before I break the bond. Relocating hinges would work, but there is already a recessed area made for the existing hinges, which means I'd have to use wood putty or something to fill in where they were. Getting new doors is another option, but I noticed none of my doors are the same (or standard) size; they are all slightly different dimensions. Man, what a PITA it is to fix anything!

I used masking tape when I made my cuts, so splintering was minimized. I just sanded off the little splintering there was and use a little bit of wood putty to clean it up.

We do have a Habitat place in town, but they tend to not have enough of whatever I'm looking for. Seems a good place to go to replace a one-off item, but not good enough to replace a set of anything.

Man, what PITA it is to fix anyting! Spoken like a true homeowner. Still laughing about the parasite comment.

Didn't think about the recesses in the door for the hinges. Habitat is a hit or miss place. I've gotten a lot of lighting stuff from there. Street light and some halogens to turn my little track into Daytona at night. LOL

I call her the parasite (even in my phone that way) because the definition of a parasite is (the bold section in particular):

Feel your pain.
 

Yea I feel your pain BG. I can share stories that would really piss you off about my EXes. As for the house, well I bet there are a lot of us who wish some act of mother nature would remove what is there so we can start over and do it right. Builders really do some crappy work when they are in a hurry to please their boss, and we end up with the dirty end of the stick.

Carpeting is a PITA no matter how you slice it. I am like you, as we prefer carpeting for the comfy feeling on the feet, and the sound proofing it gives to a house.

Doors these days are really cheap unless you spend some bucks and get solid doors. Hollow doors are just not worth messing with at all.

The basement problem is one of those areas that you really want to make sure you get good advice to start with. If you punch through the floor to relieve one problem you will more then likely create even bigger problems if you already have a water problem to begin with. YOur best bet is to find some contractor who does that kind of work and take him out for a few beers. Once you have a few in him, then spring some questions on him about how to handle this issue. He will either give you great advice and probably want to see the issue at hand, but even offer you a great deal to fix the problem since you got him all schnockered up for the afternoon.

Good luck with your DIY project old timer.

re-your basement

If you get water coming up thruogh the ground and leaks in any way, go ahead with a quick-cut (conc. saw) and jackhammer. You can make the weak point where you want it. To go one step further you could spray the entire basement with 'Speedliner' or something similar. It's a very hardy waterproof lining but of course has a price.

Liner.
 

I would think that this is much like putting a new bed liner in an old rusty pickup truck. It may give you a nice look for a spell, but it really does not fix anything. If there is water already comming through the floor, then anything that one might spray or attach to the floor will never stick properly. Think about what would happen if you spray some kind of waterproof liner on the inside of a leaky boat. How would this help? We are talking about someones home. This is a large investment that you want to fix correctly once and be done with it. Talk with a professional and get the right advice BG.

yeh I retract the coment about the speedliner. Get advice.

I think I would talk to a basement company that specializes in this area and have them come take a look. Seeing as this is your foundation your house sits on I would be very careful before taking any steps to fix the problem. The foundation being to core of your house, I would hate to do anything to make things worse.

Exactly.
 

That is exactly the point that I am trying to make. Yea I know we are all looking for ways to save a few bucks and cut down on overspending, but when it comes to your home there are just some things that have to be done the hard way. Just hearing some of the points of view on this subject should really make you think closely before jumping into using a cement saw, or jackhammer. The thought of your foundation shifting, or having even more water come into your basement would scare the hell out of me. Like I stated earlier a few beers can go a long way in getting good advice.