Should You Be Concerned If Your Custom Home Floods During Construction?
As a high-end, architect-led, design-build firm, many of our clients assume we don’t run into problems during the build phase—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, we run into the same construction issues as many other builders do.
For example, we recently shared a photo of a flooded basement on our social media pages. Unfortunately, this happens, but everything is going to be just fine.
So, how does this happen?
For this particular home, we were under construction, and although we had felt paper on the roof, we didn’t have shingles yet. Translation? Every hole was exposed, resulting in water penetration. We weren’t completely dried in.
Not to mention, the sump pump wasn’t plugged in. During construction, electric isn’t entirely reliable—in this instance, we used an extension cord and plug the sump pump into a temp pole. Unfortunately, sometimes neighbors or construction workers need to use the plug, so they unplug the sump pump for a time being, often forgetting to plug it back in. It’s our responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen, and in this case, we missed it. The sump pump wasn’t on.
The result? A flooded basement.
What To Do When Your Basement Floods During Construction
Of course, you never want water in your building, whether during construction or after—but what's important is that you identify the problem.
In this case, the sump pump wasn’t working, so we immediately plugged it in. Knowing that a typical residential sump pump would take way too long to clear the water, we bought a bigger one, as well as a bigger pipe to evacuate it all.
More importantly was the time the flooding happened during the construction process. For us, we were using temporary electricity and had basic framing completed. The basement materials were only concrete and pressure-treated wood. Lucky for us, anything the water touched was going to be perfectly fine. All we needed to do was allow the materials to dry for a day or two. You never want to continue construction with a wet home—that’s when you’ll have some real problems.
What if your basement floods after mechanicals are installed?
If water gets into your vents, furnace machinery, any kind of finishes or drywall—you're going to need to rip these out and start over. Although this can happen, it’s uncommon, and it’s alarming.
The moral of the story? Flooding during preliminary construction shouldn’t be cause for any concern. If the concrete, wood and basic bones of your structure get wet, it's going to be okay.
Have any questions?
Although we covered a lot in this post, you may still have some other questions about flooding during the construction phase of your custom home. Whether you’re involved in the custom home process now, or even just considering it, join our free Facebook group—we’ll help you answer any questions you might have! Also, feel free to invite anyone that you think would benefit from this collaborative. You’ll not only get advice from me, but from other people who have been through this, too.
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When it comes to designing and building a custom home, nothing beats having a trusted, experienced team of architects on your side. Let’s set up a call to meet, discuss your goals, answer your questions, and settle your fears. We can’t wait to meet you!