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    kookiemomster48's Avatar
    kookiemomster48 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    May 22, 2011, 02:05 PM
    Water seeping up through concrete slab into my house
    As everyone knows April and May in OK have been extremely WET. I had thought my major problem was in cleaning the mud out of flooded storage buildings, repairing the dirt floor of my carport and being stuck at home while waiting for our country road to be repaired, washed out, repaired, washed out, repaired, washed out about five times now.
    We are on a hill so water doesn't stand but our road is "the" channel for runoff from higher up on down to the lake below us to the west.
    I just discovered the concrete slab on which my cinder block home is built is saturated and my kitchen, bathroom and pump room floors have a thin film of water on them. This part of the house is about ten inches lower than the rest and is on the downhill side. It is also the uncarpeted area. I'm waiting to see if my carpets get wet. Oh, please no!! They may be ugly but they're all I have.
    Can someone tell me what damages besides the obvious of loosened tile and rotten carpets may be? Most of this land cannot be dug without hitting rock nearly at the surface but it is scattered rock, not a solid slab. If I survive this do I need to do something to prevent it happening again? Help this poor old widow, please. I ain't dumb but this is NOT my area of expertise!
    smearcase's Avatar
    smearcase Posts: 2,392, Reputation: 316
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    #2

    May 22, 2011, 02:59 PM

    It sounds as if the water table has risen considerably and as water seeks it own level, it appears almost to run uphill. It may be too much for a normal sump pump. A pipe installed lower than the slab (we called them underdrains in highway construction) could possibly relieve the hydraulic pressure but you would need to be able to install the pipe from below the slab with the pipe sloped down away from the house to a lower spot where it could flow into a ditch or other outlet. A plumber could most likely advise you whether a sump pump could handle the problem or it could possibly worsen the problem. It's not much of an answer but it is the best I can do. The only way I know to stop rising ground water is to intercept it on it's way up.
    kookiemomster48's Avatar
    kookiemomster48 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    May 22, 2011, 03:02 PM
    Carpet on concrete that is allowing water to seep up.
    I'm wondering if I have a prayer of saving carpet that is on concrete floors which have water seeping through them. We've had record rainfall and our ground is saturated. My concrete slab has also saturated and today started seeping water into the house. I first noticed it on the tile floors but now see it also on the edges of the linoleum at the door. This means that there is water dampening the underside of my carpet. We have more rain predicted for most of the next six days with very high humidity. Then only about three days of moderate humidity until more rain is expected. I can't see the carpet drying out from underneath in that time, under those conditions. I think I can expect mildew and mold thus ruining the carpet completely.
    Do I have that right? Is there any hope?
    I don't see the concrete drying any time soon.
    kookiemomster48's Avatar
    kookiemomster48 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    May 22, 2011, 03:18 PM
    Comment on smearcase's post
    Thanks. Since this is probably a "once in a lifetime" problem and I have almost no disposable income I will most likely end up tearing out my damp carpets and letting it dry naturally before putting down linoleum and area rugs to replace it. Major installations are simply beyond my budget and my insurance specifically excludes this situation. When the record rains finally stop we'll probably quickly go back to normal ground water levels.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #5

    May 22, 2011, 03:39 PM

    Yes, you will have mildew and mold. The carpet will have to be discarded when all of your flooding is over.

    Tick
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
     
    #6

    May 22, 2011, 04:59 PM

    Kookie, I have now seen 3 of your posts on this topic. Please do not start a new thread each time you reply, just answer in the box below and maybe we can bring all of your posts together

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