Thank you for your posted concerns and encouragements about my flooding issues. All the work we did in my studio really paid off Saturday as the water again flowed through the space. The only items that had to be removed were the boxes of miscellaneous things that had not found a home in the re-arranged room. If I had finished the reorganization the carrying would have been minimal.
The water comes in the furnace room on one side of my studio and from an unfinished workshop area on the other side. The water wants to run to the lowest spot in the laundry room which is on the other side of the studio. Thus there are two streams running across the floor. By stationing a wet vacuum at each location we were able to stay ahead of it. Sump pumps really aren't the answer because the water would run to the sump pump. Fixing the foundation is the answer and hopefully that will be done by spring.
This fall we replaced the carpet with an epoxy painted floor so clean-up only means mopping the floor which it probably needed any way. All the wallboard which was replaced this fall is the paperless type which does not mold. I would recommend both the epoxy painted floor and paperless wallboard to anyone remodeling a lower level.
My studio is the lower level of the house but because of the different elevation between front and back yard it doesn't feel like a basement. There are large windows on the north and west sides of the studio.
The ice rink is still in the back yard but small enough that it won't come into the house even when it melts.
Saturday was a long day as we watched and worried. Emptying the wet vacuums was the real work. We are afraid to put it down the floor drain because we aren't sure that it would leave the house properly. The water must be carried upstairs and dumped in the front yard. Fortunately there is an outside stairway so they didn't carry the water through the house on the way out. In addition to fixing the two places the water comes in we need to double check one of the floor drains and make sure it is draining properly. I think it is plugged someplace along the line. A few buckets of water poured down the drain is OK but when lots of water is involved it doesn't drain. Is it plugged or is that backup water coming in? We really need to find out. We have treated this water as if it were all rain water. I really feel sorry for those who have sewage back-up in their homes. That is so much worse. It is a regular problem in older parts of Chicago.
Again, thanks for your concern. I should be able to start sewing again this afternoon.
Susan