water in basement (Lake Villa, Wayne: insurance, how much, townhouse)

[vipi]

We are about to make an offer on a townhome and we found that seller's disclosure says " there was water in basement in 2007 due to extended rain and sump pump not working due to electricity"....After this event, they did install battery backup but it was never tested because it never rained like that after that event. Do I need to be worried about it or is it just a natural problem and should be taken care of once battery backup is there. Any experiences and opinions will be appreciated. We are first time buyer and do not have complete knowledege about this.

[IbeDavid]

Originally Posted by vipi

We are about to make an offer on a townhome and we found that seller's disclosure says " there was water in basement in 2007 due to extended rain and sump pump not working due to electricity"....After this event, they did install battery backup but it was never tested because it never rained like that after that event. Do I need to be worried about it or is it just a natural problem and should be taken care of once battery backup is there. Any experiences and opinions will be appreciated. We are first time buyer and do not have complete knowledege about this.

REPLY: You need to ask, specifically, if any water came in/comes in thru the basement walls and get the response in writing -- I ran into this problem with a house i sold recently. If the basement flood occured due to a power outage , then the backup battery sump pump should remedy that.

[sgresident]

as stated above, you need to know if the water came in because of the rain and power outage. However, you should not assume that the battery back up will handle everything. We had a battery back up, but the water came in so fast, it didn't do anything. they do not have the same power to pump the water. We went to a back up generator for power failures. However, ours is not hardwired in, so it will only work as long as we are home!

[tcs1366]

Since we had an old house that used to flood .... DH is very vary of water .... we actually have 3 sump pumps.

in case of power loss... we have one that is a 'trickle charge' [i honestly have no idea what that means ] but somehow it is run off water. I do not believe we have a battery powered one because batteries tend to die at the worst possible times.... like during heavy rainy seasons.

I too would ask for specifics .... what town is this in? is there a creek or river nearby? It could be that they did just lose power, hence no pump, and the over abundance of water sent it coming up from the ground.

HOw is the foundation on the townhome? no cracks in the walls or floors?

[chet everett]

Here is the most likely scenario:

The sump filled with water and the power went out. If they had no battery backup sump the water from the sump spilled over into the basement and made a mess. If it was a finished basement they would've had to rip out the bottom few feet of DW and any flooring or else it would have been mold/mildew nightmare.

Technically they did the right thing by putting this on the disclosure becuase if they did not and then a neighbor or somebody would mention to the new buyer "you know they had quite mess down their after that storm a while back" the seller would be liable for hiding this fact. There are separate disclosures for homes located in a flood plain, foundations that are known to leak water and other seepage problems. No seller that is honest enough to disclose one situation would be stupid enough to lie about others -- all but the most incompetant home inspector can quickly spot evidence of more water problems.

It is probably NOT a material defect of any sort, simply a failure to have a sump that does not rely on ComEd -- big storms and power outages go together!

Your wife should rest easy. The presence of the well maintained battery back-up pump SHOULD be completely sufficient. It is even better to have a more sophisticated pump that runs on two HD 12V batteries ALL the time that way you KNOW the pump works and can handle the water with full power regardless of what happens to ComEd. You could upgrade to something like this for a few hundred dollars: "WAYNE WATER" PRIMARY AND BACK-UP SYSTEM ISP40 WAYNE WATER EQUIPMENT (http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/wayne-water-primary-and-backup-system-p-83250.html?ref=42 - broken link)

It may also be useful to have a back-up "water siphon" type sump 'pump', but you cannot rely on that for routine sump usage as it just dumps too much city water that you pay for out into the sump discharge and even the highest capacity is a fraction of the flow of a quality electric pump: Water Powered Sump Pump Catalog - Basementsaver HPA Water Powered Backup Sump Pumps With Integrated AVB

If you have the cash and fully automatic standby generator is a gold plated way to go, though honestly it is overkill for any town around here -- ComEd will never face the sort of situations that plaque area with hurricanes with power out for weeks...
Kohler Power: The Kohler Difference: Solutions: Residential Home Generators

[IbeDavid]

'If you have the cash and fully automatic standby generator is a gold plated way to go, though honestly it is overkill for any town around here -- ComEd will never face the sort of situations that plaque area with hurricanes with power out for weeks...
'

REPLY: Im in Lake Villa and have been down for as long as 10 hours in mild winter (40 f. outside) . Having a generator was nice during this power outage so food didnt spoil in the fridge, heat for comfort, and lights for security/reading. I was the only one on my street with a Generator and the neighbors had a few jokingly jabs at me for that. But its true...extended power outages are rare (in my area anyway).

[tcs1366]

we had a huge power outage 2 summers ago... and we were the only family on the block with a generator.

the next morning -- still out of power... 3 of our neighbors went and bought one.

they are cheap insurance for when you are without power.... especially if it is heavy rain and there is no power for your sump pump.

[sgresident]

the $400 to $500 it cost us for the generator is totally worth the comfort it brings! we have had to use the generator a few times in a storm when power has gone out. The one time that we had a power outage, and the sump quit, and back up couldn't deal with it, we had a foot of water in the basement and had to trash a lot of stuff. thank goodness the basement wasn't finished at the time! It is a finished basement now, but we did not carpet, did sheet vinyl and area rug. have the owens-corning basement system..not drywall.

[chet everett]

Folks, I have no problem with having backup power. It is good idea. If you get a little personal portable unit it is not that same as 'gold plated' auto standby generator from Kohler, Generac or the others -- these things are hard wired to automatic transfer switches and are typically fueled by natural gas. It is an expense of several thousand dollars and not necessary when there are far more effective ways to address the threat of a failed/inoperable sump pump. No seller is going to put a multi-thousand dollar auto standby in so that the OP's wife is comfortable with the deal.

In Illinois even though we have mostly reliable electric service it is close to a must to have back up(s). The OP is looking at a townhouse where is almost certainly a simple case of the previous owner (current seller) not having any backup or a poorly maintained backup that was overwhelmed during one storm.

The steps the seller has already taken should be sufficient.

[aamert]

Originally Posted by sgresident

have the owens-corning basement system..not drywall.

How do you like it?
I didnt know what it was, but i just checked it and seems like the way to go.
Do you have any specific setup?
how much did it approx. cost?