Sump Pump

[otisdogg]

I have a couple of concerns with a house I am about to purchase this week. I'll spare all of the drama on why the power has been shut off, but the power has been off for about 3 weeks now which means the sump pump has not been running. The basement has had about 1/2" - 1" of water backing up because the sump pump has not been running. Supposedly, the real estate company has had a plumber out there a couple of times to keep pumping the water out so it doesn't get too bad.

Once I can restore the power (hopefully immediatly following the purchase), what things should I be aware/cafeful of? I am going to throw out the carpet, remove the drywall (the basement is split into three room currently), and I assume I should bleach the whole area to be safe. The temperature has been below 40 degrees so I shouldn't be concerned about mold right? The sump pump is a non-submursible type. As soon as the power turns on, is it going to still be ok? (The water is about an inch above the whole in the ground for the pump)

Sounds like a hassle and I'm sure I am within my rights to walk away, but I really do want the house. I don't think the water sitting there for three weeks is a big issue but I wan't to make sure I am not walking into a hornets nest either. Any help/advice would be appreciated!

[LazyPup]

The extent of the damage will depend upon how deep the water actually got and how long the water stood before it was pumped out. If the water only reached an inch or two the overall extent of the damage may be a lot less than you imagine.

Most carpeting is made from synthetic fibers that are in and of themselves impervious to water therefore the decision to remove the carpet would depend primarily upon the type of carpet and installation. In many cases basement carpeting is a variation of the indoor/outdoor carpets or the thin commercial direct glue down type that has no padding. If this is the case you may find that all you need to do is have the carpet cleaned with a professional truck mounted water extraction/carpet cleaner.

If you have padded carpet the decision to replace the carpet would require an on the spot accessment of the type of carpet and padding. In some cases they can remove and replace the padding, then extract the excess water from the carpet and re-install it, but here again, it would require and on the spot accessment to determine the value of the carpet and the labor cost of extraction and re-installing versus the cost of replacement.

Before you begin removing sheetrock you should carefully examine the extent of the damage. You may be able to just replace the bottom 6" to 12" above the floor. While you have the lower section of the walls open examine any insulation that may be in the walls and replace any that appears to be wet.

You stated that the water only got an inch or two above the top rim of the sump pit. Normally a pedastal sump pump is mounted so that the pump motor is 6" to 8" above the sump rim so it is highly unlikely that the sump pump suffered any damage.

I had a situation last spring where a home was left unattended for 60 days and the sump pump discharge line separated just above the pump. When i arrived on the scene there was about 24" of water standing in the basement and the pedastal pump was completely submerged yet it was still running full speed, spraying the water about 4 feet vertical from the separated pipe. The problem here was how to safely turn the pump off, given that it was plugged into an outlet directly above the pump about 40' from the basement stairs and the electrical service panel was on the opposite side of the house in the basement. My concern was that if that open frame motor was still running, even though it was completely submerged their was a strong likelyhood that the water standing in the basement was also energized. (I had visions of someone dropping an electrical appliance in a bathtub here.) Having no way to reach the plug or the breaker the solution was to pull the electric meter and cut all energy to the house until we could disconnect the pump from the power source. Once we had the power cut and the pump disconnected we replaced the pump with a submersible then had the power turned on again and the basement pumped out in about 5 hours.

[otisdogg]

Thanks LazyPup for the great advice. I got to walk through the house the other day for a final inspection and I don't think the water damage is going to be too bad. The sump pump is high enough that it should be ok and luckily the furnace is mounted on blocks.

I was planning on removing the carpet anyways so no big loss there. I will definitaly see if I can just remove the bottom 6-12" of the sheetrock because although I don't mind drywalling, 6-12" is a lot easier than the whole sheet!

Thanks again.