Oh no, not again! Flooding

[jimnyc]

So with a french well and an outdoor system with professional industrial pumps, which lead to the sewer system for drainage.... Well, inundated. Then we have a sump pump in our basement and one in the garage. Another 2 sumps purchased and one extra placed in flooded yard and the other just along the garage entrance and driveway - and we're still getting hammered. Our whole area is having issues but especially our dreaded home.

It rained 5 inches overnight and 7 more expected today. Rain won't stop until 1ish tomorrow afternoon.

I took these less than an hour after it finally started getting into our home. All them pumps and simply couldn't keep up. 5 yards surrounding our backyard all drain into our yard. So basically 5-7 backyards of rain coming here. City couldn't care less. I want to put like 20,000lbs of dirt in my yard to prevent any water from reaching ours. That would get their attention!

We bought a brand new furnace (AC/heat) earlier this year, and it's submerged right now. We also replaced our hot water heater and had them raise it off the ground. Well, water reached anyway and the pilot light and guts of the unit are flooded.

Our Backyard:



Front of house and driveway to garage:



Backyard prior to inundation:



Front garage:



Basement:



And now, no more rushing in water like that, but only because it has no risen above that mark, by a lot:

My poor workbench, and everything I could quickly get off the ground, and some into our sinks down there...



And video:

[fj1200]

We bought a brand new furnace (AC/heat) earlier this year, and it's submerged right now. We also replaced our hot water heater and had them raise it off the ground. Well, water reached anyway and the pilot light and guts of the unit are flooded.

Wow, that's just horrible. Any chance that they can hang a new furnace from the bottom of the 1st floor joists? Same thing with a water heater? Do you have tankless water heater? They're pretty small and can hang them about anywhere.

[jimnyc]

Wow, that's just horrible. Any chance that they can hang a new furnace from the bottom of the 1st floor joists? Same thing with a water heater? Do you have tankless water heater? They're pretty small and can hang them about anywhere.

They said they couldn't hang the furnace, perhaps because of the current makeup surrounding it? Plus it's pretty damn big. Wifey and I had trouble finding anything that would work for us, and the size needed. I wasn't fully involved in that one so need to ask her why it is the way it is. We also spent a damn fortune over the years building that outdoor well system, and all the labor... they had to open the backyard a large amount with a tractor to install some massive system under their which when the water seeps into it - it then transfers to the huge hole where the pumps are at. It was supposed to fix the issue..... but no way to stop the rain, and no way to force all these neighbors from draining into our yard. And right now, just way too much rain water and water is saturated and overflows. Then when it did flood in past few years, it never made it into the home at least. But luck hit here in the NY region and the amount of water is just too much.

It is a tankless hot water heater from what I recall. Does that mean we'll be ok once she dries out and relight things? Same issues there where we couldn't find a sizeable heater that hung from the ceiling, and apparently the way the gas gets to it is piping at the 12 inch level or so.

That's all I know for sure. I'm better with damn computer questions than I am with fixing home problems! Gotta see if my wife recalls details better. My brain still works wonderfully well, just has a limited amount of memory apparently.

[jimnyc]

Ok, spoke to her. NOT a tankless system and couldn't find a sizeable tankless for ceiling. And the furnace cannot be on joists in our basement, not unless you have 6 feet of clearance underneath, and nothing remotely large enough to support our home will leave that kind of space.

[fj1200]

It is a tankless hot water heater from what I recall. Does that mean we'll be ok once she dries out and relight things? Same issues there where we couldn't find a sizeable heater that hung from the ceiling, and apparently the way the gas gets to it is piping at the 12 inch level or so.

I'd say it's the electronics that might not be OK after drying out. You would think if these are insurance claims that they would have an interest in avoid future claims but as you say, tough telling without knowing all the details. Good luck man.

[jimnyc]

I'd say it's the electronics that might not be OK after drying out. You would think if these are insurance claims that they would have an interest in avoid future claims but as you say, tough telling without knowing all the details. Good luck man.

Lookup flood insurance in NY, and we're in a flood area, so we only get covered IF a product fails... if sump pump breaks and it floods for example. Otherwise they deny any and all claims.

Now, IF your vehicle gets totaled while sitting in your garage it will be covered by auto insurance. Happened and I know too well. Now my truck is far away at top of our driveway and wife's car parked in the street.

[NightTrain]

Would a couple of feet of topsoil to raise your borders do the trick? This isn't the first time you guys have been swamped.

Or how about some sort of watertight fencing? You're already fenced in, would 24" of barrier prevent this?