Easter Eve Disaster Strikes Cottage De Haven..

NOTE:  Do not read if you are sensitive to basements/water/flooding.  Carpet was killed in the making of this story.


Oh dear.  Saturday past was a lovely and sun-shining kind of day.  It has been raining for 3 months straight here at the cottage (as if we were Dorothy's house and landed in Seattle), so the sun was like a day in heaven visiting with your lost dear ones.

The day was filled with last minute Easter errands, some light yard work (because I have been looking forlornly out my windows singing sad love songs to my flower gardens these rainy days), and even an all family bike ride.

That evening I sent Sir and Madam Lu to the Man Store to get some stakes (the cottage dogs do not get the whole 'sidewalk only' rule of trampling) to stake off my new beds.  While I had some time away from my 2yr old, blond haired, leg warmer I decided to work on the 15 loads of laundry awaiting me in the basement.

We moved the little Sirs' beds out into the middle of their room so that I could finish the wallpaper removal this week.  I tore apart all of their bedding (2 quilts, 2 down comforters, lots of pillowcases).  Madam Lu got a clean bed too...and heck, while I'm at it...yes, there were 5 sets of bedding sorted on the floor in my laundry room.

A word about the Laundry Room:
The location of said room can be controversial to some.  Many prefer a main level room.  Some even utilize their laundry room as a craft room as well.   These people have children who have those 3-bag laundry sorters and they know how to use them.  Here at the Cottage, your Mistress has been extremely lax in laundry-sorting-philosophy courses.  I consider it a victory if 60% of dirty grey socks end up in a laundry basket.  The Sirs are responsible for carrying their overflowing baskets to the basement laundry room when I ask.  I mention this because, as a part of the tale, it is important to understand why your Mistress demands a laundry room in the basement...I make piles...and piles...and piles.  Darks, denims, other pants, mine which can be washed with Madam Lu's but not any of those boy-people's, the Sir E and Sir M can be combined but never cross washed with Sir's and only choicest pieces with mine or Madam Lu's.  Sir's cannot be combined with anyone else's...well, maybe the dogs.

My laundry room is in the basement, and because it is there, what I do with our dirty clothes is my beeswax and you don't have to see it when you come over, and that is how I like it....AND WHY IT MUST BE IN THE BASEMENT!

Back to the Tale:

So, I am bringing down an overflowing basket I picked up in some random room of the Cottage...turned the corner (because you turn 2 90degree corners going down the stairs, and saw....GASP....WWAATTEERR...

Yes, it is 5/6 on Easter Eve...I am wrapping up my day.  Going to paint eggs with the heirs, put their little paint covered bodies in the tub...sing silly songs...put them to bed...work on laundry, iron their Easter Best, stuff their baskets, and the Sir and I are going to giggle when we watch the Easter Bunny hide Sir E's eggs in really difficult, mean spots.  Yep.  I LOVE Easter and this one is perfect.

Except I don't anymore and it is not...when I see the standing water...well, I said "No".  It was my first word after all and always the first one I use when all else exits my brain.

3 inches.  Dead sump pump.  But I thought we had a back up?  It was flipped off.  Up until 2 a.m. trying to install the new one.  Cannot do any of the submerged laundry because my washer empties into the sump pit.  Basement in ruins.

We got up at 6 on the glorious day because Sir had to go to work.  The kids hunted eggs (those silly people could turn turds into rainbows...which we needed).  I made my delicacies and off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the day.


Now, you know we are THISCLOSE to being done with the Sir's suite.  I mean, we are down to basically painting the ceiling and the walls.  I have a long list of projects at the Cottage.  Guess where the basement remodel was on the list???  Number 357.  Yes.

After our estimates this morning here is where it stands.

The good:
We do have sump pump coverage...up to $10,000
We are hopeful that because the previous Mistress was financially blessed, and used the best quality carpet and pad, the floor reimbursement will cover tile...'cause you know I will NEVER put carpet in the Cottage.
Steamatic is here to remove all of the damaged stuff and they don't even want my help.

The bad:
The damage is at least $10,000.
Sir will want us to lay the new tile ourselves (which I respect but remember....we are immersed in OTHER projects).
He will also want to remove some walls (well, we...)
After the Great Poopereah Disaster of 2011, I will have nasty carpet up here in my family room (where we live) but fresh clean new floors in the basement (which we don't use).

Did you know our first home was 1020 sqft?
Our last home was 1500 sq ft on the main level.
The basement in the Cottage...well, just the part with carpet...is 1500 sq ft.

UUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGG-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH

Some Pics for posterity...

We begin our descent to the basement.  The stairs are even wet from the tramping up and down.

After you make the first turn.  Here is turn #2.

You can see where the water was standing 3 inches deep 3 days ago.  Saturated pad.

Hey, did you notice...the basement is the exact same color the rest of the Cottage was when we first moved in???  Yes, Builder Brown.

Um, I'm not going to tell you sump pump water is clean, but at least it wasn't sewage!

Hey Look, it is my basement laundry room.  See my piles...these are new.  The sopping we stuff has ALL been washed.

If you look in the corner you will see the dastardly sump pit.  You cannot see the shiny new pump, but it is working...I check on it ever couple of hours!

The pad in the entire basement is soaked, but it has seeped up in random spots.

There is serious standing water under this fridge.

Yuck

What a mess.

All of it must go.