Peter_Suciu
Well-known member
Well, I've written a couple of articles in the past about preparing a basement to house a collection. My bunker has air purifiers, dehumidifiers and is pretty secure. I painted the walls to reduce moisture coming in, and the floor was sealed.
However, last night after a light drought with no rain for several days we had a major downpour. It rained for nearly eight hours and was very heavy throughout the night. I went to my "bunker" this morning to find my carpeting soaked. I stupidly left three Japanese uniform books on the floor but everything else was pretty much off the floor. I had displays on mini-risers so that any water wouldn't be a problem.
I thought at first it was just some water seeping in, but soon realized it was a bigger deal. The carpeting possibly could be cleaned but it was so wet I pulled it up and threw it out. I have so much stuff that I will have to repaint/seal the floors in sections. It is just a matter of moving stuff around. My prevention efforts paid off.
I couldn't understand how so much water seeped in since the basement is usually around 32 percent humidity year round. Then I realized... the downspout in the corner of my house failed. The elbow broke off and all the water from the roof on that side of the house was funneled directly to that corner and probably for the better part of eight hours. My house was built in 1958 and stupidly has cinder block walls for a foundation. This absorbs water like a sponge and most of the time isn't an issue but in this case all the water went to one corner and overwhelmed it. The water is seeping in from the corner where the cinder block is on the concrete floor. I had sealed it and overpainted the sealant but enough water will overwhelmed anything.
So while I'd like to get to the painting, figuring out if I'm going to replace the carpet for the next day or so I just need to dry everything out... and go to Home Depot to buy a new gutter downspout extension and make sure this never happens again!
However, last night after a light drought with no rain for several days we had a major downpour. It rained for nearly eight hours and was very heavy throughout the night. I went to my "bunker" this morning to find my carpeting soaked. I stupidly left three Japanese uniform books on the floor but everything else was pretty much off the floor. I had displays on mini-risers so that any water wouldn't be a problem.
I thought at first it was just some water seeping in, but soon realized it was a bigger deal. The carpeting possibly could be cleaned but it was so wet I pulled it up and threw it out. I have so much stuff that I will have to repaint/seal the floors in sections. It is just a matter of moving stuff around. My prevention efforts paid off.
I couldn't understand how so much water seeped in since the basement is usually around 32 percent humidity year round. Then I realized... the downspout in the corner of my house failed. The elbow broke off and all the water from the roof on that side of the house was funneled directly to that corner and probably for the better part of eight hours. My house was built in 1958 and stupidly has cinder block walls for a foundation. This absorbs water like a sponge and most of the time isn't an issue but in this case all the water went to one corner and overwhelmed it. The water is seeping in from the corner where the cinder block is on the concrete floor. I had sealed it and overpainted the sealant but enough water will overwhelmed anything.
So while I'd like to get to the painting, figuring out if I'm going to replace the carpet for the next day or so I just need to dry everything out... and go to Home Depot to buy a new gutter downspout extension and make sure this never happens again!