Basement had water, need new carpet

[fredhargis]

My partially finished basement got water in it last Friday. What happened was that the water coming into the sump outran the pump....literally. We had 4" of rain in about 3 hours and the pump couldn't keep up. I even put a small utility pump in the sump and ran the garden hose out the basement door, and the 2 of them couldn't keep up. We probably got about 1.5" of water across most of the basement. I've ordered a new pump with roughly twice the capacity, so I don't anticipate this happening again (fingers crossed). Anyway, the basement which is about 2600 sq. ft. had about 1000 sq feet finished and carpeted. The carpet was installed over a pad so I pulled it all out and will have it replaced. I'm thinking this is why basements usually have glued down carpets, and that's the current plan. But any advice on basement floor coverings is welcome, I've even thought about just getting big area rugs and not re carpeting at all, but what about a solid floor covering of some kind with area rugs? Anything else?

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

My partially finished basement got water in it last Friday. What happened was that the water coming into the sump outran the pump....literally. We had 4" of rain in about 3 hours and the pump couldn't keep up. I even put a small utility pump in the sump and ran the garden hose out the basement door, and the 2 of them couldn't keep up. We probably got about 1.5" of water across most of the basement. I've ordered a new pump with roughly twice the capacity, so I don't anticipate this happening again (fingers crossed). Anyway, the basement which is about 2600 sq. ft. had about 1000 sq feet finished and carpeted. The carpet was installed over a pad so I pulled it all out and will have it replaced. I'm thinking this is why basements usually have glued down carpets, and that's the current plan. But any advice on basement floor coverings is welcome, I've even thought about just getting big area rugs and not re carpeting at all, but what about a solid floor covering of some kind with area rugs? Anything else?

Many times it is not so much the size of the pump but the size of the discharge hose or pipe. Pump choked down to garden hose size will never keep up with incoming. Put a 1-1/2 to 2" hose on there and you are golden. If you were getting that much water entering I would look at outside grade and other sources of water entering such as down spouts being overrun and water entering close to basement wall. Either the water table was already high because even with that much water  it will filter down unless running directly into the house.  Can not help with carpet. Happened once so it can happen again.

[fredhargis]

To be clear, the sump pump has a 1.5" discharge that runs to a 3" pipe, it was my utility pump that was restricted to the garden. I have another that takes the 1.5" hose, but I didn't have enough of that hose to get out the door. I was just trying to help things out...I'm sure I did, but not as much as I needed. I also thought that maybe I could get a replacement sump pump with a discharge larger than 1.5", and run it to that 3" pipe I mentioned....but there aren't many household sump pumps that have a larger discharge.

[Cooler]

And the discharge has to be down hill from the pump, otherwise you are pumping water out to leak back in.  

Is the water table high?   Or is this a drainage issue.  Sometimes a French drain will help a lot.  

Shortly after I moved into my current home the basement flooded, which was strange because my house stands on the highest point in town, which as I recall was 325 feet above sea level.  It turns out that my neighbor's home across the street is about 5 feet higher than mine.  There is also a layer of clay just under the top soil.  So the rain drains from my neighbor's front yard and my front yard to the layer of clay and then gravity draws it to my house where it leaked into the basement.  

I had the foundation dug up, the wall waterproofed and drainage sand put back in along with a drainage hose to the back yard well past the house.  I have not had any water intrusion for 22 years.

If this is not a water table issue, then I would try to establish the root cause of the flooding and deal with it that way.

I

[Stwood_]

I wouldn't put any flooring down, including gluedown, until I was sure the water problem is fixed.

Gluedowns will get soaked and mold also I'm afraid.

[Woodenfish]

Snap together vinyl plank flooring would outlast the carpet, is easier to remove if basement should flood again and be able to be dried and reset. Area rugs could be used to isolate noise or cozy up a floor. Luxury vinyl plank flooring not only looks good, it’s easy to take care of. The planking usually has a backing on it that doesn’t transfer temperature easily. Doesn’t leave furniture marks like a carpet and is easy to install by yourself reducing labor costs.

[Snipe Hunter]

Snap together vinyl plank flooring would outlast the carpet, is easier to remove if basement should flood again and be able to be dried and reset. Area rugs could be used to isolate noise or cozy up a floor. Luxury vinyl plank flooring not only looks good, it’s easy to take care of. The planking usually has a backing on it that doesn’t transfer temperature easily. Doesn’t leave furniture marks like a carpet and is easy to install by yourself reducing labor costs.

What he said



100% water proof and some look pretty nice

[R Clark]

+1 for vinyl.

I have resilient vinyl plank in the basement.  It replaced a smelly, musty carpet.

- Cost effective

- Easy DIY

- Easily repaired if a minor flooding event happens again.

[blackhat]

2600 sq ft is a lot of area to cover with just one pump and pit. Consider another pit or two instead of upsizing the pump you have.

[fredhargis]

Blackhat, thanks...I will look into a separate pit. For those that suggested the vinyl planking, I will look into that as well.....with area rugs that should be a good way to go. For those that suggested I make sure the water problem is solved, thanks..I get that as well.