Rec-room/basement saved from flooding

[bitburn]

This is why my next house er rec center is only going to have a basement for tornado, panic room purposes only. I have a walkout basement currently and I mostly had a problems with just mildew forming on the outside of the games due to the cold concrete floor. That and not enough air circulates as well.

I don't know if putting games on a concrete floor in a finished first floor would do the same. I am planning on using an open well lit floor plan and stained concrete for the gaming area. Less flammable than carpet and easy to clean.

Its also pretty amazing how much just moving the water away from the house also helps with water seepage problems. In the past I had water collect in the front of the house and leak into the basement. Some corregated pipe and drains, and problem solved.

The key is not to put games in a basement unless a tornado is going to hit.

 

[SuperGunGuru]

Glad to hear you were able to keep things dry!

I had some water in the basement almost 2 years ago from a leaking washer. It managed to get into the duct work and into the basement. My Red Baron cockpit suffered the worst water damage, but not horrible and it still works. My X-Men 6 player and Cruisn' USA also got a bit wet. I was up til probably 4am after getting home from a Halloween party around midnight....spent that time drying the games out as best I could.

 

[Mike Doyle]

If you're getting so much water in your perimeter drain that it's overwhelming the pump, then your exterior grading probably isn't done right.

Extending the downspouts underground away from the foundation will help, but ultimately you should have a grade angle sloping away around your entire foundation. It also helps to use window well covers since those are usually tied into the perimeter drain too.

Get that corrected and you can laugh at the next storm.

 

[TheBasement]

I actually have both kinds of drains, including a french drain. Basements are typically 6 to 8 feet in the ground and at the bottom there is a footer foundation. Water likes to collect there and then seap in. A french drain typically is a pipe with holes in it, and then rock on top of it. So water goes down the foundation, some (not all) will seap into the french drain and then the french drain runs it away from the house.

I have a french drain, and then also tied my rain gutter downspouts directly into non-perforated pipe which then runs the water 30 to 50 feet away from my house. Neither were there when I bought the house. I just went crazy with that to solve any water problems.

Again though, props to trickman to do what it took to save those classics!

 

[trickman]

I was ecstatic to have saved not only the games from getting wet, but 98% of the carpeting (a little got wet, but dried the next day), a wooden bar, a nice wood table with glass that I use to put mixed drinks & food and snacks, 2 entertainment centers and more. I spend time in all of my house, and the basement is my rec-room/entertainment spot. So it would have been a tragedy to lose a place I hang out all the time.

I do have window well covers, so that helps a lot. Still, water is draining too close to the foundation and I need to rectify that. I'm going to look into contacting a handy friend and see what I can do about it...whether it be french drains or another solution.

Ironically, I picked up a Dig Dug two days later (a different thread coming when I get pics) from a lady who got water in her basement as well. Luckily, the game was unaffected.