Groundwater in the basement: what to do if flooding occurs

Water in the basement: how to remove
“What to do: the basement is drowning!” – this call for help cannot leave anyone indifferent. After all, rescuing drowning people, as we know, is often the work of the drowning people themselves.

Only residents of apartment buildings can count on help from utility services. How to get rid of water in a basement located under a private house, garage, barn, or even standing apart?

In this article we will try to give answers to these questions, offer a video on the topic, and really hope that our recommendations will help you cope with the current situation.

Why does the basement flood?

Flooding occurs during summer rains or due to sudden melting of snow in spring. Water also seeps into the basement due to leaks in the wall or foundation from groundwater or storm drainage. There are several factors that influence indoor flooding:

1. Basements that are built below ground level are prone to flooding.
2. Groundwater is located above the level of basements.
3. Sanitary, storm and storm drains are usually located in the ground below the foundation, but above the floor level. Water can seep into the basement, for example, if there is a crack in the foundation.

The sewage system has two directions - from the premises and to it. Usually the water flows away from the building. It can go inside due to several violations:

• cracks appeared in the foundation, which opened the way for water;
• Pipe defects have appeared: socket, depressurization, etc.

Deformed foundation Source faneraosb1.com
Flooding most often occurs during rains and downpours. But you also need to know what to do if groundwater appears in the basement of a private house during dry weather. There are three main reasons for this phenomenon:

1. Disturbances or breakdown of the sewer system. Pipes wear out and fail. Over time, tree roots penetrate the pipes and clog them. Normal drainage of water is impossible, drains are inhibited. Due to damaged structures, the basements of houses are flooded with sewage water. The solution to the problem is to replace the pipes and carry out subsequent maintenance throughout the year.
2. Clogged plumbing fixtures. Residues of food, grease, rags and personal hygiene products are often dumped into the toilet. The sanitary sewer is blocked. In this case, it is better to contact a plumber and use the toilet only for its intended purpose.
3. Failure of the drainage system. When laying the foundations of houses, drainage is installed in the lower sections of the basements, which automatically regulates the groundwater level within normal limits. When the system fails, flooding occurs.

Old plumbing is the cause of many floods Source uo-perspectiva.rf
Floods often occur due to heavy summer rains, which overload drainage systems and sewer pipes. Water leaks into the building due to high surface water levels or flooding in the streets. It accumulates around the foundation and flows into driveways and roads, from where it penetrates inside for several reasons:

1. Cracks and deformation of the foundation. Most often it is destroyed in old houses or due to fragile materials. In winter, when there is a lot of water in the ground, flooding will not be long in coming.
2. Drainage system or pump failure. Due to annual floods, land owners find the answer to the question: how to get rid of water in the basement of a private house, and install a sump pump. The water from it is directed to the storm sewer or to the street. If the system fails, the water level rises and the basement floods from the septic tank.
3. Clogged sewer. Filled pipes raise the water level, causing the sewer system to become overloaded and release liquid into the building.

Sewer pipe clogged with soil and roots Source bricknews.ru
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in water supply, sewerage and foundation repair

Repair of structures after a flood

There was water in the basement, which means that the waterproofing of the structures was damaged in places. It needs to be completely updated, even if you successfully managed to drain the water using drainage.

You should be guided on what needs to be done based on the design of the basement itself:

• As we have already said, there is nothing more reliable than concrete for a basement. Perhaps it was flooded only because you have an earthen or wooden floor there. In this case, you need to start by pouring a concrete base.
• You tamp the sand cushion, cover it with roofing felt overlapping the walls, gluing the joints of the sheets with bitumen mastic. To fill the base you will need M-300 concrete with the addition of a plasticizer. Polymer additives improve the elasticity of the mixture and give it water-repellent properties.
• The thickness of the concrete screed usually does not exceed 15 cm. Fill it halfway, lay the steel reinforcing mesh, and lay the remaining concrete. Now you need to wait for it to completely harden, this will take at least a week. Only after this can you begin further work.

Sealing floor wall joints

• First you need to seal the joint between the walls and the floor. Above we described how the joints between blocks are sealed. Here the work will be carried out similarly, only the reinforcing tape should completely cover the seam, with an overlap on both the horizontal and vertical surfaces.
• Further actions will depend on what material the walls are built from. If it is plank cladding, it should be dismantled and the walls should be laid out in half brick. A plasticizer should also be added to the masonry solution. Brick and block surfaces, as well as the concrete base of the floor, should be primed with water-repellent impregnation.

Basement after renovation

• If you finish by plastering the walls and making an insulated floor, you will get a completely comfortable basement. Repairing basements in apartment buildings is carried out in a similar way, only the reasons for the appearance of water in them are usually associated with leaks of water pipes and their connections.

Internet users often ask: “The basement is flooding, what should I do?” Emergency services will arrive when called - they will patch the pipes, maybe even pump out the water.

But in order for drainage, disinfection and repairs to be done, residents need to write an application to the management organization. Maintaining the technical condition of the basement is her direct responsibility.

Flood prevention

When a room is flooded, it is important to maintain the integrity of the foundation. Over time, stagnant surface water not only acquires an unpleasant odor, but also threatens to destroy floors and walls. Due to moisture, mold appears and defects occur in the roof. When choosing how to get rid of groundwater in the basement of a private house, they usually choose one of the two most effective methods.

Drainage system

The drainage system consists of a wide pipe, a trench and a deep well. It collects groundwater that enters the room and removes it through natural drainage or a pump. The constructed system prevents liquid from penetrating into the basement and maintains normal water levels in the area. The easiest way to build drainage is during the construction of the basement.

Laid drainage Source ghard.ru

The drainage system operates using a wide pipe with a diameter of at least 90 mm. Holes or oblong holes are made in it through which excess water flows. For proper operation of the system, it is important to comply with the following conditions:

1. dig a trench with a slope around and below the basement floor to effectively collect liquid;
2. protect drainage with crushed stone or other filter material;
3. lay a pipe to the central sewerage system, where the bulk of surface water flows.

The drainage system is installed according to the following algorithm:

• A trench is dug around the foundation . It should be below the level of the basement floor and on a slope for efficient drainage of water. Nearby, at a distance of 12-15 meters from the building, a deep well is being dug, into which the water flow flows through laid pipes.
• A geofabric sheet is laid in the trench . The structure is covered with a 10-centimeter layer of crushed stone.

Geotextiles and coarse crushed stone in the pipe system Source vival.ua

General recommendations

A home is a significant and valuable investment. As such, you should always provide him with the best possible care. It is very important that you use the services of a professional company that can ensure that your basement, foundation, walls, roof, balcony, roofing and other structures are protected from leaks in the long term. Today the problem is not to order waterproofing work in principle, but where to find and order professional and high-quality performance of this work, so that you don’t have to redo everything later.

Please note: A large company always has an office where at least 10 people work, its own fleet of vehicles, advertising brochures, business cards and other attributes of a serious company.

Video description

For a clear overview of the main stages of creating a drainage system in a private house, watch this video:
In spring or autumn, leaves should be removed from gutters. Blocked ducts cause liquid on the roof to flow down the walls and into the foundation, increasing the likelihood of basement flooding. You can also run a gutter outside the house or install it in a pit. The structural parts are securely fixed with concrete mortar.

Also, to prevent external surface water from flowing into the basement, it is necessary to close the ventilation surfaces and empty the room of property and food. During heavy rains, look at how liquid accumulates around the building and observe the main flow.

In case of floods, the house may be left without electricity. Installing an emergency power system will help. The installed generator must provide electricity to vital equipment for the home: furnace, heating system, refrigerators, drainage pumps, etc. It is important to choose the right place to install the generator; it must be dry and isolated from groundwater.

Basic information

According to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and Article 36, the basement of a multi-storey building is the common shared property of the residents, and therefore if it is flooded, then it is necessary to take measures, first of all, to complain to the management company. After all, a flooded basement is one of the most unpleasant situations that can happen in an apartment building.

It contains equipment, technical equipment and equipment that is responsible for the supply of heat, water, hot and cold, heating, which, if flooded, can deteriorate, as a result of which the utility supply system in the house will be disrupted. The technical floor of apartment buildings is often used as additional storage space, warehouses, storerooms; the basement of old houses is often a cellar. And when the basement is flooded, the property stored in it will be damaged or completely destroyed.

Briefly about the main thing

During heavy summer rains, after winter, or due to sewer defects, water penetrates the foundation and floods rooms below ground level, and you have to decide how to remove water from the basement of a private house.

You can protect your premises from groundwater flooding by installing a drainage or automatic water pumping system. Installation is simple and does not require special skills - just follow the recommendations and control every stage of installation.

To prevent floods, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures that will help find the causes of flooding and eliminate them.

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Where to file a complaint

The drawn up flooding report must be kept by the injured party until compensation for the damage caused to it. If, after the inspection, the decision of the expert commission and the drawn up inspection report, the management company does not take any action to resolve the situation and eliminate the causes and consequences of the flood, complaints should be filed against the housing and communal services or management company to higher authorities:

• The State Housing Inspectorate, which will inspect the activities of the management company.
• Rospotrebnadzor is an organization that protects consumer rights.
• The prosecutor's office, if the situation requires judicial intervention in order to identify and punish the perpetrators.

Flooding of a house and basement is an unpleasant situation that requires action primarily from the interested party, that is, the residents themselves. Company managers very rarely solve such problems independently and in a timely manner.

Even if the management company admitted their own guilt in the incident, an additional, independent examination should be carried out to assess the causes and consequences of the accident. In a situation where the property located in a flooded basement was insured, but the required insurance does not cover the damage caused, it is necessary to go to court to recover the missing amount from the person responsible for the incident.

What to do if the management company drains water into the basement?

We have already told you, let us only remind you that it should be written and, preferably, collective. Also, be sure to ensure that the complaint is officially registered.

Supervision over the execution and safety of the housing stock, regardless of its form of ownership, as well as compliance with the rules for maintaining common property is carried out. Therefore, the next step should be to contact this body.

In addition, you can file a complaint about violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules and regulations in.

Finally, the decisive step may be to contact the Prosecutor’s Office, which is called upon to monitor compliance with legislation, including housing legislation.

Please note that applications to supervisory authorities must be accompanied by the initial complaint, as well as a written response to it (if any). As a result, an inspection should be carried out and, based on the violations identified, the management company should be brought to justice.

Determining the groundwater level

If in swampy or low-lying areas the close passage of groundwater does not surprise anyone, then flooding of the cellar in dry areas can be an unpleasant surprise for the gardener.

Groundwater is a rather unpredictable thing: it can not only accumulate in lowlands, but also flow down from the mountains or rise to the surface when the snow cover melts.

Therefore, so that the funds and effort spent on construction are not in vain, it is necessary to check their availability in advance.

Finding out the level of groundwater is not at all difficult, and the verification operation must be carried out during the flood period, when they come as close to the surface as possible in order to protect against unexpected spring flooding.

To work, you only need an ordinary drill no shorter than two meters (the average depth of a standard cellar) or, as it is popularly called, a brace and a rod made of any material of the same length.

With this drill, a simple hole is drilled to the maximum depth, which is left for a day, after which it will be necessary to determine the result.

After the required time, a rod is immersed in the hole, the moisture content of which at a certain length from the ground will indicate the depth of the flooding.

If the rod remains completely dry, this is a great success, meaning that the site is completely dry and ideal for construction, however, more often than not, water is present at some level.

When assessing the result, it is necessary to remember that also in a day, like a test well, the pit dug for the cellar will be filled with groundwater to the same depth.

We recommend watching a video on the topic:

Therefore, in order to avoid diving during construction when the water level is too high, you must either choose another location or purchase a special drainage pump (not to be confused with a regular water pump) for the duration of the entire construction.

How to mount and install an iron box for a cellar at a high groundwater level

It is not necessary to make a container the entire height of the cellar. It can be made in the form of a trough with low sides, the dimensions of which depend on specific conditions and the extent of flooding. On the sides of such a container there must be fastening wings, by which the “trough” can be removed from the cellar and lowered into it.

Construction of a cellar in places with a high ground level: 1- trough-type box made of sheet steel; 2 – a piece of half-inch pipe; 3 – tap; 4 – mounting wings; 5 – fastening the box to the ground.

At the bottom of the box, in one of its corners, you need to weld a pipe with a tap built into it. This locking element of the structure must be located at the end of the pipe, the height of which must be at least half a meter. Next, they begin to disinfect and paint the box. To do this, it is first treated with orthophosphoric acid, then coated with red lead for iron.

On the outside, additional waterproofing is carried out to prevent rust: a layer of bitumen is applied to the surface of the box. If everything is done correctly and carefully, such a container will last for many years and will not give a single leak.

Upon completion of the work, they begin to lower the box into the pit that was dug to construct the cellar. In conditions of high water and high groundwater level, the pit will always be filled with water. If formwork was not installed along the walls of the pit, the height of the iron container should be greater than the depth of the pit. Otherwise, if the groundwater level is high, the walls of the pit will quickly be washed away by water. The box is lowered into it after opening the tap. It will gradually sink and sink to the bottom, as water will flow into its interior.

After the container is firmly in place, its position is fixed by concreting the outer wings. After this, the water is pumped out using any powerful pump. Upon completion, close the tap. All that remains is to complete the simplest work: make a cellar lid and install a staircase. In a similar way, you can make a viewing hole for a car if the garage is located in an area with a high groundwater level.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=eKg24j5LKg8

What to do if water appears in the basement of a multi-apartment building?

The required work of the management company includes pumping out sewage, cleaning the premises and carrying out disinfection work in the basement. In this case, the culprit can only be determined after the cause is determined; Exclusively force majeure circumstances. As a rule, groundwater rises closer to the surface with regularity, especially in the autumn-spring periods.

It is impossible to predict the level of their rise, the only exception being houses in areas where groundwater is initially very high.

The management company has an administrative unit in the state, whose responsibilities include monitoring the state of water in the soil, pumping out incoming water and maintaining pumps for pumping out groundwater in good condition. If water penetrates into the underground of a multi-storey building, you must immediately contact the emergency service, as well as call locksmiths from the management company.

As soon as employees arrive at the scene of the accident and stop the leak, if possible, a commission of at least two people is formed to sign the flooding report.

What to do if the management company does not fix water leaks in the basement?

Application to the Criminal Code In accordance with 2.2.6.

Rule No. 170, applications for pipe failures must be considered by management company employees on the day they are received. And the next day troubleshooting should be organized.

So in this case there can be no talk of any delays or waiting for summer.

Therefore, you must contact the management company first by phone.

If they refuse to accept your application, then you will have to go and submit your application in writing in duplicate and register it.

The basement in an apartment building is flooded: what should residents do in this case?

The city emergency service operates around the clock, so the house will not be left without help.

d.) must draw up a corresponding act within three days.

It must reflect:

1. place,
2. the culprit of the accident.
3. time,
4. cause of the accident (if identified),
5. degree of damage to the basement,

After 10 days from the date of drawing up the first act, a repeat act is drawn up! It describes what damage was caused to the premises when the water receded and the basement dried out.

Prevention of re-flooding

To avoid re-flooding, you need to waterproof the basement after draining . The materials used depend on the characteristics of the room. If its walls were made of concrete, it is necessary to use a special impregnation that penetrates deep into its structure.

Roofing felt has good waterproofing properties. It can be used to cover the floor in the basement. Sheets of roofing felt are laid on top of mastic, which itself has insulating properties.

Going to court for damages

Based on the act drawn up at the initial stage, further work is carried out related to identifying the perpetrators and direct compensation for damage. Both homeowners and their legal “representatives” - members of the HOA, employees of the management company, and the municipality - can go to court. Before going to court, the amount of damage is determined by recording the flood and conducting an independent examination, analyzing the cost of damaged property and the necessary repair work.

If there are still controversial issues, you can also consult a free chat with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; ext.480 Free call for all of Russia.

Semi-buried cellar

If the groundwater level is very high, and there is little money to build a cellar with your own hands, then it is better to build a semi-buried cellar.

1. The top fertile soil is removed, then a hole up to a meter deep is dug.
2. The bottom is leveling out. Sand is poured 10 cm thick and compacted well, after which a 15 cm layer of crushed stone is laid and also compacted.
3. Reinforcement is laid on the crushed stone and formwork is built.

   Layout: semi-buried cellar

4. Concrete is poured in a layer of 8 cm.
5. Waterproofing is laid on the floor surface and a screed is made.
6. The walls are built of brick. Wall height 2 m.
7. The roof is made monolithic.
8. The walls are sheathed on the outside with extruded polystyrene.
9. Additionally, the entire structure is waterproofed with rolled bitumen materials.
10. The cellar is filled with earth, leaving only the entrance open. The land can be planted with grass or ornamental plants.

Semi-buried cellar in a summer cottage