Rain water in a cellar pumped out, the way it came in traced, and the basement dried to readings.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Basement flooding after heavy rain is water that enters a cellar through the floor, walls, drains or window wells when rain outpaces the ground and the drainage. The crew pumps the water out, looks for the way it entered, and dries the cellar to readings. Calls are answered 24/7 across Linn County.
Basement water does not only come from the river. Heavy rain can saturate the ground around a house faster than the soil and drains can carry it away, and the water then finds the easiest way in: a crack in the floor, a joint in the wall, a floor drain that backs up, or a window well that fills to the sill. A cellar that floods this way can take water within hours, and the water does not need to reach the street to do damage.
The City of Cedar Rapids states that the 2008 river flood water covered about 10 square miles, or 14 percent of the city. That crest is the highest level in the city's recorded history, and it is a reminder that rain on its own can be enough to leave a basement wet. The cellar work here is the same whether the water came from the river or from the sky: remove the water, find the entry, and dry the structure.
Call (833) 490-5225 as soon as water is in the basement. The line is answered 24/7. Before the crew arrives, shut off power to the cellar if it can be done from a dry location, stay out of standing water, and move valuables upstairs if the stairs are dry and safe to use.
Do not enter a flooded cellar if the power is on or the panel is in the water. Do not use an extension cord across wet floors, and do not run a generator inside the house or near a window. Be careful on wet stairs, and do not carry heavy items up them while the water is still rising. Keep children and pets out of the cellar until it has been pumped and checked.
The technician checks the stairs, the lights and the panel before stepping into water. Power to the cellar is isolated from a dry location if that can be done safely, and any water near the panel is treated as a hazard.
Pumps are set in the low point of the floor, usually near the drain. Once the water is down, the remaining water and any silt are removed so the floor can be seen and checked.
The walls, joints, drain and window wells are checked for the path the water used. Wet bands and staining are mapped, because a rain entry often shows at one spot on the wall rather than across the whole cellar.
Moisture readings are taken across the floor, the lower walls and any framing or stored material. Drying equipment is set against those readings and the cellar is dried until the structure reads dry.
The crew writes down where the water appeared to enter and what was found. Repairs to the foundation, drains or grading are outside the restoration work, and the report is there so a qualified contractor can look at the right spot.
A cellar sits below the ground, so it is the lowest point on the property. When the soil around the foundation is saturated, water pushes against the walls and finds any gap in the floor, joints or drains. The street can be dry while the cellar is wet.
Rain runs off hard surfaces such as roofs, driveways and patios and collects where the grade slopes toward the house. A downspout that dumps water beside the foundation can keep the soil saturated long after the rain stops.
The water that enters a cellar this way is often groundwater and surface water mixed together. It is clean enough to pump and dry, but it still carries silt and should be removed promptly.
The steps are the same: pump, trace the entry, measure and dry. The difference is scale and the source. A rain flood is usually shallower and covers less of the building, while a river flood reaches more floors and brings silt, so the cleanup takes longer.
A rain flood in a single cellar is often a few inches of water and a damp floor. It can still ruin carpet, paneling and stored items, and the moisture in the walls has to be measured before anything is closed up again.
A river flood brings water into more of the building and leaves silt behind. If the cellar has been flooded by the river, the river-flood page covers the wider cleanup that follows.
The entry point is usually the lowest opening that stayed wet longest, such as a floor crack, a drain, a joint in the wall or a window well. Staining and white crusts on the wall often show the route the water took, even after the surface has dried.
A crew looks for the source by following the wet line up and back toward the outside. A stain on the wall at the top of the footing that runs down to the floor often points to water coming through the wall, while a puddle at the drain points to the drain itself.
The crew records what it sees, but it does not promise a repair. Finding the entry point is part of the restoration report, so a qualified person can make the repair.
A dry cellar can still have moisture behind the wall or under the floor covering. Check the floor drain, the sump, the window wells and the grading outside, and watch the walls for new stains over the next several heavy rains.
The drying crew returns to read the moisture levels until the structure reads dry, and the homeowner should keep the readings with the job record. A stain that comes back after a later storm is a sign that the entry point has not been closed.
The homeowner should also check the outside: the grading that slopes toward the house, the downspouts and the gutters. Those are common causes of water moving toward a foundation, and the crew's report notes them where it can see them.
Depth of water, how long it stood, the amount of stored material, the finishes on the walls and floor, and how many entry points had to be traced drive the price. No figure is named on this page. The price is explained and approved before work starts.
A cellar with unfinished walls and a concrete floor is usually quicker to clear and dry than one with paneling, carpet and a bathroom. The equipment time, the number of openings the crew has to cut and the amount of material that must be removed all add up.
If the water has reached a furnace or a water heater, the electrical and gas checks add time before the cellar can be dried. The estimate is given after the crew has seen the cellar, not over the phone.
Water that rises through the floor or out of the drain is often a sign that the drain or the sump is overwhelmed. The crew checks that the drain is open and that water is not coming back into the cellar from the outside line.
A wet band on the wall means water has passed through the masonry or through a joint. The crew measures how high the band runs, checks the wall surface and records the spot, and dries the wall from the inside as well as the floor.
Window wells and bulkhead doors take in surface water quickly, because they sit low. The crew removes the water in the well if it is inside the house, checks the sill and the framing, and notes where the water came in from.
Basement water after rain is a common call for a house in Cedar Rapids, and the city's own figures show that the 2008 flood reached about 10 square miles, or 14 percent of the city. The 2008 flood reached about 10 square miles, or 14 percent of the city, and rain-driven cellar water can come into a house from the same ground that carried the river water.
Heavy rain can saturate the soil and overload drains, and a city with a river at its center has many low spots where water collects. A homeowner who finds water in the cellar after a storm should treat it as a cleanup job first, and as a grading or drainage question second.
The City of Cedar Rapids keeps a floodplain office that answers questions about floodplain land and repairs. A homeowner who is rebuilding a cellar after water should ask that office about any rules that apply to the property before the walls or floor are closed up.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent basement flooding after heavy rain, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Standing river water pumped and extracted from the lowest point up, before drying can begin.
Water pumped out after a sump stopped or fell behind, with the pit and the entry point checked.
Crawl spaces and cellars that held water measured and dried before any rebuilding starts.
Damp spots and musty smells traced to their source with meters and a thermal camera before the wall is closed.
Spring snowmelt brings basement water when thawing ground and melting snow saturate the soil around a foundation, and the water finds joints, cracks, window wells or a sump that cannot keep up.
The cellar is the lowest point on the property, so water from saturated soil, a downspout or a blocked drain can reach it even when the street is dry. Heavy rain can soak the ground around the foundation faster than it drains away, and the water finds the nearest opening.
It can be, because it carries silt, bacteria and the damp conditions that let mold grow. Protective gloves, boots and a mask for dust are the minimum. A crew removes the water, dries the cellar and removes wet materials that cannot be cleaned safely.
A floor drain carries water away only if it is clear and connected to a working outlet. A drain that backs up is a sign of a larger problem with the outlet, the sump or the grading. The crew checks the drain and reports what it finds, but it does not repair the drain line.
As soon as it is safe. Standing water in a cellar soaks the walls and floor, and it keeps the humidity high. The line is answered 24 hours a day, and a crew is sent as soon as one is free, so the call can be placed at any hour.
Sometimes. Carpet and paneling that were wet for a short time can be cleaned and dried, but carpet pad and wall material that have soaked up water often cannot. The crew tests the readings in each surface and tells you which items it would keep and which it would remove.
The restoration crew traces the entry point and records it in writing, but it does not carry out foundation, drain or grading repairs. A qualified contractor for the repair you need should look at the spot the report names. Keep the report with your records.