I wanted to share some lessons I learned. I am very vigilant when it comes to dealing with issues of mold, dust, humidity, water, etc. I live in the Midwest and have a basement where a large part is "finished" in that it has ceiling titles and was previously used as a "rec room" - an American term that meant when families came over for holidays you set up the tables and hosted parties there.
It is where the bulk of my collection is housed. I am fortunate that no water lines run over this part of my basement except for an outside faucet. I had the plumber install a shutoff valve so that should there be a leak it would be contained.
I also have EVERYTHING off the floor so as long as the water isn't at least an inch high nothing will get wet (six inches for helmets, etc.). I have water sensors as well, which would shut off the water line if a leak is detected.
My only problem in 10 years is in August when I had water seep into the basement after a major rainstorm. It happened as a result of the downspout breaking and I addressed the issue by fixing the downspout and moving the water away.
Then this past Saturday I had more water seeping in from a similar location. I caught it quickly and cleaned it up. In the spring I will adjust the grade outside but I realized two things and wanted to share with everyone.
1) This side of my house had been covered with huge shrubs. I removed these and added a rock garden and put in ornamental grass with deep roots. This is good in the summer but provides NO shielding in January. This has never been an issue but we had so much rain that it was a problem. Had it snowed the news said we would have had two feet or more! So lesson learned, in the spring we'll tear out the grass, which hasn't done well in the last couple of years and put in shrubs or other plants that will shield the house. I noticed in other parts of the walls the ground was bone dry because the plants shielded the wall and no water came in.
2) Don't use rubber edging. I had wooden beams for edging for 10 years and these rotted out from water. Clearly water was flowing in that direction but last April I made the huge mistake of putting in thick rubber edging made from recycle tires. I read online that others had similar problems. The rubber doesn't let ANY water drain out and instead I created a pool. The water has to go someplace and that was my basement.
So just wanted to share these tips. Addressing water starts outside. Have good grading to move the water away, have downspouts that work and take water away and don't let it pool near the house. Also having plants next to the house will shield it from the rain.
Amazon.com sells water sensors that are loud enough to wake the dead and I use these. Of course these only work when you're home. But that's why I also have the shut off sensors too.
Water is the enemy and as a friend said, "there are two sorts of basements: those that had water and those that will, and the former could also be one that will get water."
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best!
It is where the bulk of my collection is housed. I am fortunate that no water lines run over this part of my basement except for an outside faucet. I had the plumber install a shutoff valve so that should there be a leak it would be contained.
I also have EVERYTHING off the floor so as long as the water isn't at least an inch high nothing will get wet (six inches for helmets, etc.). I have water sensors as well, which would shut off the water line if a leak is detected.
My only problem in 10 years is in August when I had water seep into the basement after a major rainstorm. It happened as a result of the downspout breaking and I addressed the issue by fixing the downspout and moving the water away.
Then this past Saturday I had more water seeping in from a similar location. I caught it quickly and cleaned it up. In the spring I will adjust the grade outside but I realized two things and wanted to share with everyone.
1) This side of my house had been covered with huge shrubs. I removed these and added a rock garden and put in ornamental grass with deep roots. This is good in the summer but provides NO shielding in January. This has never been an issue but we had so much rain that it was a problem. Had it snowed the news said we would have had two feet or more! So lesson learned, in the spring we'll tear out the grass, which hasn't done well in the last couple of years and put in shrubs or other plants that will shield the house. I noticed in other parts of the walls the ground was bone dry because the plants shielded the wall and no water came in.
2) Don't use rubber edging. I had wooden beams for edging for 10 years and these rotted out from water. Clearly water was flowing in that direction but last April I made the huge mistake of putting in thick rubber edging made from recycle tires. I read online that others had similar problems. The rubber doesn't let ANY water drain out and instead I created a pool. The water has to go someplace and that was my basement.
So just wanted to share these tips. Addressing water starts outside. Have good grading to move the water away, have downspouts that work and take water away and don't let it pool near the house. Also having plants next to the house will shield it from the rain.
Amazon.com sells water sensors that are loud enough to wake the dead and I use these. Of course these only work when you're home. But that's why I also have the shut off sensors too.
Water is the enemy and as a friend said, "there are two sorts of basements: those that had water and those that will, and the former could also be one that will get water."
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best!