Conrail Windsor St Yard (York PA) Engineering Report

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Might help, but it's actually already protected from direct rain. It's run off that gets it, so a lip around the outside should help.

[wazzou]

Is there some way to divert the runoff from the stairwell?  A curb or something?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Is there some way to divert the runoff from the stairwell?  A curb or something?

That's what I'm looking into having built. A number of my neighbors have done it and have said that it helps immensely and has solved a similar problem for them.

[sizemore]

I know with my cellar well, the drain is just a face into stone drain which dumps into the sump unlike modern stuff with 3"-4" PVC pipe. The metal ring and drain plate are also old school with a ring of holes at the outside of the plate, it as fills up with sediment/crud restricting the flow easily. Seeing all that stuff on the back of the door makes me think you might have the same design/issues as I have with my drain. Is your well drain PVC or iron?

The S.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Almost certainly iron. I think it's original to the 50s built house.
I think the masonry lip is the cheaper option to fix the problem though.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

And the obligatory blog post.
http://conrail1285.com/the-great-flood-of-2016/

[sizemore]

Almost certainly iron. I think it's original to the 50s built house.
I think the masonry lip is the cheaper option to fix the problem though.

Yeah if you already have a tube, there isn't much else to do to the drain, maybe change the drain cover to a strainer or raised cage. Was going to suggest if it was stone like mine, maybe consider getting it replaced with PVC in addition to the lip. Will eventually have to go through it at some point when doing the laundry room as part of my basement reno.

The S.

[Bob Bufkin]

And it was a storm which took out that line between Baltimore and York. 

I've had that happen twice.  Once when a sump pump just stopped working and when some ahole thieves brokes into the house and decided to turn on the upstairs water to the bathtub and let it overflow while away at work.  At least insurance paid  for cleanup, new carpet, etc on the second one since it was not a natural disaster.  Just put in a new sump pump with a flexible plastic hose which seems to be doing a great job of keeping everything dry.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The funny thing is that USAA said that if the sump had malfunctioned, they probably would've covered it.

Covered what, I'm not really sure though... maybe some new Ikea shelves (those are the only real casualties).

Or maybe... hmm... I do want to repaint the walls a light gray...

[mu26aeh]

Just make sure you get some fans circulating, especially around the walls to dry out anything that did happen to soak up some water.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Just make sure you get some fans circulating, especially around the walls to dry out anything that did happen to soak up some water.

Yep. They're running now! Even got a loaner from a neighbor for better coverage.

[GaryHinshaw]

What a drag.  We get a lot of rain here, but rarely the 2"/hr variety...  Usually just a soggy drizzle.

[OldEastRR]

"you're going to need a bigger drain".

[davefoxx]

You might want to snake that drain to make sure there's not a clog slowing it down, and I also suggest that you invest in a cheap sump pump that you can throw in the stairwell when you anticipate bad weather.

DFF

[casmmr]

Ed, you might want to obtain several estimates from a couple of home improvement contractors that specialize in waterproofing basements.  They should be able to tell you what would work in your situation to try and stop most of it in the future.  They also know what is allowed by local building codes.  With a large amount of rain in a short time, almost nothing will work.  I have had my window wells fill up and run down the inside walls only when we get inches of rain in an hour.  Nothing you can do will prevent that from happening. 

Common sense measures such as making sure your drains are clean, that the ground around your house slopes away from your foundation will help with usual amounts of rain.  Best of luck with your problem.