59 Comments - John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 12:47 pm: Garage Floor Epoxy, a favorite flooring material in central Illinois. Also, that fancy mildew resistant carpet “as seen on TV” that they use in “million-dollar yachts”. - 47th Ward - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 12:55 pm: So far, we’ve only gotten some seepage, and our house is a block from the North Branch of the Chicago river. The ground is pretty saturated though, so more rain isn’t going to be welcome. A few years ago after a particularly heavy downpour we had the sewers back up and fill the basement with a foot of pretty gross “water.” Use a lot of bleach when you mop that stuff up. And if you’ve ever gotten water in your basement, do not even think about storing anything valuable on the floor. Once you’ve gotten water, you’re going to get it again. These 100 year rains seem to be happening every other year. - Slick Willy - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 12:57 pm: Epoxy or tile. What about some green astro-turf? That would look sweet. Problem is that your little scoob would not go outside, creating a different moisture issue. - Fair Share - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 12:58 pm: Never, Never, Never - carpet a basement. Always, Always, Always - have a “back-up” pump with battery power. - Amalia - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:03 pm: a bit of water here. an inch in part of the basement went down in half an hour. friends with problems much worse. basements flooded for no apparent reason other than lots of rain….not near a body of water. friend in the far NW Chicago suburbs with 4 inches of water in the basement, which is surprising since he’s one of those Fox River folks. but he is a champ at keeping things away. but it is a good excuse to figure out what to do with a basement. in my opinion, no carpet in the basement, ever. but then I am not a carpet fan for any place in the house. everything up on risers. plastic boxes. learn to live with less. take pix of things and let those be the memories. figure out how your property fits with surroundings and whether landscaping can play a role in protection. - Mason born - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:03 pm: There is a product called thermal dry. They are tiles that have different finishes parquet, carpet, etc. They are raised so that the water flows under them and to your sump pump. If this is a recurring problem i’d try that. - wordslinger - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:03 pm: As usual, friends in River Forest in low-lying areas near the Des Plaines got whacked pretty good. Village is picking up debris from basements at the curb. Madison, Chicago and North were closed for a while through the weekend. North Avenue west of Harlem is always a mess after a big rain. - wizard - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:04 pm: no problems 30 miles west of aurora. rich, jjjs is right on with his suggestion. can be a diy project if you are inclined. also, good tile works; however, the adhesive must be epoxy (as noted above) to prevent water erosion. also grout encourages fungus growth in dark damp areas. that is why i believe jjjs’ plan to be the best, and requires the least amount of maintenance. lots of color choices and texture also. - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:06 pm: Rich, Mike Brahler has a Concrete Ink he has done some pretty cool work to basements and such. It might be a better option than carpeting. I have family that own a resturant/bar on the River, it is closed right now due to flooding. - Boone Logan Square - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:08 pm: wordslinger is right about River Forest. Friends pumping black water out of their basement YET AGAIN. This is an annual event. The eastern side of the continental divide is faring better now that the manhole covers are back on. The flooded yards in Logan Square are draining, but there’s opportunities a-plenty for landscapers to clean up that mess. - Jasper - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:11 pm: 1. Get rid of the carpet 2. Install 6″ vinyl flooring (looks like hardwood) 3. Install a water driven backup pump. It connects to your city water supply and kicks on during a power outage. Not very efficient but it works without power. - OneMan - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:12 pm: We were dry had a few neighbors with water, only looks like one guy on the street has carpet out for pickup. Just a bit south of us two retention pods decided to consummate their love and become one across 4 lanes and a median of a major road in the area. For the most part the drainage infrastructure were able to deal with it, barely but they were able to deal with it. - wordslinger - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:16 pm: –wordslinger is right about River Forest. Friends pumping black water out of their basement YET AGAIN. This is an annual event.– And when the wind blows harder than a whisper, the ancient ComEd infrastructure goes out for days at a time. That’s a whole lot of fun when you’re sitting on an $800K mortgage. I was lucky my neighborhood’s electrical got wiped out in a microburst about 13 years ago. Since the unavoidable upgrade, have never had a problem with electric. - RonOglesby - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:18 pm: Neighbors had some basement issues. 1 the sump burned out and the other had his check valve and hose clamps holding literally pop off… The pump was shooting water straight into the air I have found that the backup sump with the battery (will run on house power if its on) is worth the investment in money. There are also those water powered backup sumps that are even good when power is out… - Peter - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:23 pm: My in-laws and aunt/uncle in-law along I-55 just north of the Raymond exit had their basements flooded quite thoroughly. Advantage = hopefully no hauling water to fill the well this year. After the drought last year no one is complaining. My house in Crown Point, IN received similar amounts of rain but sits on a high point in the county (thus the town’s name) and we have naturally slanted drainage (no sump pump needed) to a very low sewer system. Gravity = a permanently dry basement. (*knocks on all the wood*) - Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:25 pm: The most tragic incident I’ve heard of happened just south of La Salle. A lady had driven around the barricades on Highway 351 and got her car stuck in the water. A news reporter in a copter spotted her, took a pic and supposedly relayed the info to the police, it appeared on FB and went viral, the daughter id’d the car and her mom, and they eventually found the car but not the mom. I understand it has turned from a “rescue” to a “recovery” operation. http://newstrib.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=29&ArticleID=28359 - Aikaterine - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:26 pm: Cork flooring is incredibly reisistant to moisture and water. . . and the water pressure back up pump also a good idea. . . - Chavez-respecting Obamist - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:32 pm: I borrowed the Rav-4 instead of the Honda Fit from I-Go while I was out Thursday. I thought if I had to drive through standing water, I’d rather be in a larger vehicle. I don’t like the Rav-4 but I’ll drive it in a pinch. - soccermom - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:34 pm: Downturn Abbey had an interior moat for a couple of days — about four inches of (thankfully) clear water at the height. - MrJM - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:38 pm: Have you, your friends or your loved ones been impacted at all by the recent flooding? Everyone else on my block has water-damaged stuff out on the curb, but my home dodged this particular bullet. – MrJM - Cincinnatus - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:40 pm: I am relying on Wordslinger to let me know when Gene and Jude’s is open again: http://www.examiner.com/article/gene-jude-s-closes-temporarily-due-to-chicago-area-floods - Chris - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:43 pm: I 2d (or 3d) the hardwood-look vinyl flooring–it’s reasonably priced, and an easy install. Tile (again, wood-look) is great, too, but a lot more expensive install, *especially* if you floor isn’t perfectly flat. - Plutocrat03 - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:46 pm: I vote for some sort of epoxy. Protect yourself (from the fumes) Its a pain and not pretty, but whatever else you use, cleanup of the mud will be made more difficult by the cracks and crannies. Besides, if you use tile, the adhesive will likely get loose. Throw down some cheap area rugs if you need to for ambience. If the get wet they will be easy to throw out. - wordslinger - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:54 pm: Cincy, Gene and Jude’s always takes in on the chin in a heavy rain. While it was still down the street, the Thirsty Whale was the preferred spot for TV reporters in waders to do their live shots. - Ken_in_Aurora - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:54 pm: Pretty soggy in my neighborhood, but once again height makes might - we’re up higher than our neighbors and don’t even have a pump in our sump, and the sump never got more than a scant inch of water in the bottom. We did have some seepage due to two small foundation wall cracks and because I let a gutter get clogged up, so I’ve been spending my time dewatering the carpet that the prior owner installed. At least it’s just groundwater and not sewer backup. Only about 10% of the basement was affected, so we got off lucky. - Arthur Andersen - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:55 pm: From painful experience, not last week: If your house has a sump pump, have it checked by someone you trust and replace it if shaky at all. Battery backup pricey but worth it ($500 iirc) and add a water alarm to your security system if you have one. The only kind of carpet to use is the “no-pad” or boat-type carpet as mentioned above. Depending on what you use the basement for, that stinky epoxy paint is hard to beat for general use. - Ken_in_Aurora - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:55 pm: Man, the Thirsty Whale - I wish I could get half of what I spent there back, I’d be able to afford a nice used car! - bigred - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:55 pm: we had industrial carpet glued downed so you dont have a pad to soak up water. when you got water, we used a shop vac and aired it out. no mold or mildue. - Sunshine - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 1:57 pm: Rip out carpet and give to OW for his boat. Before you tare anything out call your insurance agent and see if you have sump pump failure coverage. It is usually either $5,000 9r $10,000. You could go back with hard tile or just paint the floor with epoxy paint using a square tile design. Keep in mind that if you have drywall in the basement, that might need to be replaced up 4′. Stick-down tile will come loose, stick down carpet squares are okay but a hassle to dry out. The problem with sump pump failure is that if you aren’t there when it happens, a second pump won’t help unless it’s installed higher than the first? - Liandro - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:00 pm: Friends in Westchester had a couple feet in their basement; threw out all the basement appliances, water heater, etc. I just had a little seepage, but the pump was putting in some serious overtime. - Norseman - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:08 pm: No problems, we built on a crawl space. Too many bad memories of the flooding in the basement of my parent’s Aurora home. - Grandson of Man - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:27 pm: Our flooding problem was mimimal, thankfully. We just had our pipes repaired. We had a little bit of a backup that soaked only a part of the carpeting, but it was not sewage. My friend said that his home had 2-3 feet of water. I have had floods in my house, but never 2-3 feet. I’ve had two sewage floods at another house, and that was nasty. After the second flood I got a check valve and that helped keep the sewage and water out. - Bemused - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:28 pm: I have been trying to follow something of a “Read don’t Write” policy on this site but will make an exception on this topic. A few things to address here. The types of water problems you have depends on basement construction. Brick and block walls can have seepage issues that are almost impossible to stop. These are mostly older structures and your job then is to try and channel the water to a point it can be pumped out. Most newer poured concrete foundations already have drainage systems in place that channel water to a sump. The challenge then is to keep the pump working. I have seen systems with all the bells and whistles fail, so as someone else said do not keep what you cannot replace down in the basement. My sump has been pumping it’s heart out the last few days. As long as it works I have a dry basement. I have two types of floor covering downstairs, 12 inch commercial VCT (Vinyl Composite Tile) in storage areas and laundry room. Other areas I used 18 inch Commercial Carpet Tiles. I like these because you can pull up one or two if the pets have an accident. My older brother always said there are two types of basements and flat roofs. Those that leak and those that are going to leak. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:34 pm: I live along the Upper Illinois River Valley. Lots of damage in Marseilles; a section of town not in the 100-year flood plain was seriously damaged as were several sections of Utica and the Spring Valley sewage treatment plant. On the plus side, the levee in Streator was not topped (thanks to sandbagging); the levee around Ottawa HS held; the old Central School in Ottawa flooded (good because it is no longer occupied); a new flood wall around the sewage treatment plant in LaSalle was plenty high. As a geologist who studies floods, I was pleased that recent efforts to protect critical infrastructure had worked so well. There is more to do, but the successes help point the way for other communities. The Gov was here yesterday pledging support; my hope is that at least some of the money will go toward more prevention. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:38 pm: You can monitor all of the river gauges and forecasts here: http://water.weather.gov/ - WhoKnew - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:44 pm: I had Creative Concrete of Springfield cover my concrete Patio with a thin layer of stained concrete – looks like a real stone patio now. Still looks gorgeous after 8 years. His brag book had several basement floors in it. Nelch’s Concrete has several examples in their show room on 9th Street in Springfield. - Jake from Elwood - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:47 pm: Agree with Jasper. We took water a couple of years ago (old pump died). We installed the water powered high float backup system. This time, neighbors on both sides of us got water and we did not. Not cheap but it was well worth the investment. We helped out the neighbor we like bail water from their house and move carpet. They are going to switch to this backup system also. - Jake from Elwood - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:48 pm: Note: haven’t seen the water usage bill yet so I may amend my support once that comes. - Amalia - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 2:56 pm: @pot calling kettle, thanks for posting that link. I’ve been wondering about a good water map. you are a very valuable source with the current doings and what to do!!!! I’ve heard tale that there are underground springs that run all over the Chicago area, vestiges of swamp. is this true? if yes, does this affect flooding? some areas that seem to be away from rivers and creeks flood and there seems not to be an explanation. would like your professional opinion. - wizard - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 3:09 pm: many municipal ordinaces forbid check valves as they can cause a pipe to burst on the municipality’s side and cost them money. still better to ask forgiveness than permission and not have sewage in your basement. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 3:12 pm: Water starting to recede in Kendall, Tap House Grill was opne for business on Friday in Oswego, and man was that river high. Quite a bit of curbside basement stuff, but a little less than I would have thought. Many “junker” pickup trucks removing what is left on the street before the garbage man gets it… Always sad to see Gene’s and Jude’s under water, but it is like a Spring ritual of sorts, and I remember The Thirsty Whale TV shots, and the reporters in their wading boots/overalls. - wizard - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 3:13 pm: pot calling kettle: a friend of mine lives in sheridan and the home had no damage he spends a lot of time in ottawa and noted that martucky:) had problems and he had to take an alternative route (dayton dam maybe?) - wizard - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 3:17 pm: having a generator hooked up to natural gas that starts automatically when electrical fails powers both primary and secondary sump pumps. total cost for installation is under 10k and no charges for extra water usage to power those kinds of pumps. and my village gouges for water usage. - Cook County Commoner - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 3:48 pm: Few hits in Skokie south of Howard St. However, was walking the dog Saturday and noted most of the newer mcmansions had water logged stuff at the curb. What’s up? Would figure these had double sumps, drainage tiles around the foundation and whatever else is out there. Didn’t anyone mention to the builders that they were constructing in the Skokie Valley? - dupage dan - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:05 pm: I have 2 high capacity Zoeller sump pumps each on their own discharge line. Each pump has a back-up. 1 pump has the battery back up and the other a low cost Zoeller water powered pum. During the height of the storm, 1 pump worked continuously and the other came on as needed - it did so for about 1 hour during the worst of it. The water powered and battery back up pumps do not have the capacity as the big primaries but could hold their own for a time. I had an addition built onto my old house in the western burbs. The original cellar gets some water in it but it is the newer, deeper “man cave” that I have the monster system in. I also have a high capacity Zoeller injector pit pump that could handle alot if either of the primary pumps died. All of this is backed up with a GE whole house generator in case the power goes out. As I said, the battery back up is OK if you get a little rain but I doubt it could run continuously for more than an hour or 2. - b - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:09 pm: Took me 7 hours to get home from Springfield on Friday. Not fun. But, not as bad as folks who lost everything. Driving around the state on business today, the creeks seemed as bad as some of the big rivers. If not worse in some cases. - Rod - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:22 pm: Yes, my basement took on about 2 inches of water with both a utility pump and a sump pump working from 4am to 6pm on Thursday. I had to dry and restart the water heater, I had to do the same with the washer and dryer. The basement is totally not finished and most storage is well above flood level. None the less in order to avoid mold a lot of cleaning was done over the weekend. Our heating system was not impacted. Because our home in Chicago was built in 1888 it has what is called a brick rubble trench foundation. These old rubble foundation walls eventually give way if water infiltration is an issue. When enough of the rubble foundation material crumbles away, it will compromise the integrity of the upper foundation and cause cracks, settling, or worse partial collapse. We have owned this home for 30 years and I with the help of friends have rebuilt about 45% of the foundation. I think after this last flood I will have to break down and put out the money to have the rest professionally rebuilt. I am not looking forward to additional rain this week. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:27 pm: Amalia: Chicago was built on a swamp. Much of the city has been built on fill; especially near the loop and lake front. The drainage is very poor because it is built on deposits left by a glacier that retreated appx 12-13,000 years ago. Efficient surface drainage never had a chance to develop on those glacial deposits. Deep Tunnel is an attempt to engineer a remedy and provide the excess water a place to go. - Anonymous - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:31 pm: I had my basement done a few years ago. The cointractor put down Van Gogh flooring. It comes in planks and looks like wood or ceramic tiling. He suggested it, disuading me from carpeting. It’s commercial grade, looks great and if installed correctly, will not be damaged by water. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:32 pm: Wizard: Many of the roads in the area were closed Thursday because of surface runoff that was making its way toward streams and streams that were overwhelmed. I was not able to drive to work until around 11am Thursday and my normal route was still flooded that afternoon. The roads were clear Friday, but by then the Illinois was over IL 89, IL 251, IL 351, and IL 178. The I-39 bridge has been very busy! - Brian - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 4:39 pm: “Normal” amount of water in the basement for us in Wheaton. Sump pump was running about every 5-7 seconds during the height of the storm @ 430am Thursday. We’re at a lower level of elevation compared to other houses on our block, so we get a fair amount of runoff from those properties during a heavy rainstorm. A few years ago we got the back and side yards regraded to route that around the house; we had quite the “river” flowing at times. Our neighbors in a brand new house across the street from us disposed of what looked to be all of the carpeting from their basement. Not sure what flood control systems they had, but they obviously didn’t work, and they couldn’t have had nearly the amount of water running by their foundation that we do. - Excessively Rabid - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 5:04 pm: Had significant seepage in the workshop, which is “normal.” I think some of this must be penetrating to the subsoil, which is great news. I didn’t like the idea of following last year’s drought with a crop planted in topsoil that was sort of OK but with the subsoil still bone dry. - Gregor Samsa - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 5:35 pm: We just got a thin trickle of seepage, not the full Niagra of sewage effluent that destroyed everything in the room twice. The trouble is that a check valve or even a screw-down vent stack is very expensive, as is busting the floor to add sump pumps. The in-laws added an aftermarket system that’s essentially a decorated trough around the perimeter, guiding the water to a central collection pump point. Cheaper than real sump pumps but only for light seepage. Shy of addingthat, we’ve done all we can to improve drainage to slope away from the house. I’ve added 30 foot extensions to the ends of my downspouts, taking the water to the farthest ends of my property. In the basement, we went with an epoxy paint floor and a few plastic-based throw rugs that can be laundered. Everything is now in sealed tubs and on wire shelving above the high tide line. I have to testify to the awesome power of UGL Dry-LOC powder and paint: I applied this to the joint between floors and walls, and anywhere there was a crack, and nearly eliminated all the seepage except for the very biggest rains. Stuff is miraculous, it’s that stuff they demonstrate in the store with the cinder block full of water. Really DOES work… up to a certain hydrostatic pressure. - Boat captain - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 5:52 pm: Roads closed both north and south. Only one way out of town across the river. Johnboats and hip boots are the rule of the day on the lower Illinois river. - railrat - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 5:56 pm: so comforting having a generator and back-up sump and hose setup,going to interesting to watch the townships clean up the corn cobs in the road ditches,the shoulders that are washed out, the culverts that are plugged and the 2 span bridges that are stressed from flow buildup of course some think we should do away with township govt. bodies…argue another day…one thing for sure morel hunting should be outstanding in the next week or so……may need swim fins to get to ‘em tho ! - A Citizen - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 6:46 pm: 20 to 30 cubic yards of fill sand is a sure cure. - Sully - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 7:52 pm: Try Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring that looks like wood. It is about 2 dollars a square foot and is completely waterproof - Shemp - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 10:03 pm: If you still want carpet and 1) the water is just groundwater and 2) flooding is limited to that once in a blue moon 5″+ of rainfall, I would consider this: http://www.kangaback.com/kanga.htm No glue or professional install, just cut to fit. If it does flood, just roll it up. It shop vacs and dries easily. - RNUG - Monday, Apr 22, 13 @ 10:39 pm: Back after the 19 inches of snow, during the melt I got water flowing in through the underground electric feed and through the main breaker panel. Not a nice sight to see. Luckily, whoever put the box in originally brought the line into the bottom of the box. Just this past week we replaced the underground feed with an overhead, changed to a new box with 200 amp service, and mostly plugged the old line off … couldn’t totally plug it because the wiring to a free-standing garage also went through the wall there but it’s down to a weep, not a flow … which is more than I can say about the outflow from my wallet to pay for the repair. Rich, as far your floor I’ll second, etc. the proposals for either epoxy paint or a raised grid plastic type garage mat material. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.