My House just flooded, YIKES!!!

[Mesa]

So, if anyone has been watching the weather channel, Phoenix AZ just got pounded with a HUGE monsoon. In my area, rained for like 3 hours and HARD, I( think I heard 3-6 inches an hour. It's over now, and all is well, but I go in to use my 2nd bathroom and there's water all over the floor. I just retiled this area, and replaced the toilet, so I think I screwed it up somehow and toilet is leaking. Nope, because no water near toilet. I go and check outside and water line (during it's peak) is up about 3 inches on the stucco. So then I'm wondering what the two adjacent bedrooms look like. I check in there, and the carpet is wet along the wall. Nothing major, I moved the stuff so they wouldn't get wet, but what the hell do I do now?

Im guessing the water seeped above the foundation and into the house. It's mainly in the room I have my boxes in until I get some shelves up.

I've been living in this home for 5 years and I don't think I've ever seen it rain like this and it's never flooded before. So I could just chance it and hope it never happens again. Or I could construct a barrier to prevent water from coming in, but I'm dealing with such limited real estate and a steep slope on this side yard area.

Here's a pic when I redid the sprinklers awhile back. You can see the slope and obstacles I'm dealing with. Where the hell would I put a damn/barrier?

Also, with the carpet being damp, what do I do about that? do I have to dry it out? How?

Any homeowners, please advise.

 

[Hecubus]

I'm with ya man - my street is like a raging river!

 

[tylerd]

it looks like the house design was definitely not made for large amounts of rainfall. the wall slopes towards the house. it needs to slope away and have a drainage resevoir. do you have rain gutters? some sod will help absorb some of the water as well. does desert ground absorb a lot of water? in florida, the ground is so saturated from recent rain that if there's any rainfall, puddles start forming very quickly.

as far as the carpet, lift it up a good distance from the corner of the room. the only way to dry without mold and mildew forming is get a large fan and let it blow underneath the lifted carpet and padding. equipment rental places have them. after it's dry in about 24 hours, you should be able to get the carpet to catch again. for a quicker solution, cut and replace the wet padding. the carpet will dry quicker than the carpet and padding.

 

[Vader AL]

yikes, that sucks.

i'd put a french drain in that alley so when it does rain hard the water has somewhere to go. you can do that yourself.

get a wet/dry vac or maybe rent a carpet cleaner(it can suck up water) to dry the carpet and of course open the windows. you could use towels but they can't get very deep into the carpet.

i'd get someone to check it out and get a quote but i would fix the problem..they'll probably just put some cement, etc. along the wall where the water is coming in and maybe waterproof it.

 

[creecher]

Well if you know someone with a Vax, or a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, otherwise you'll have to hire one. Suck out as much of the water as you can. Then hit the heaters. It'll stink for a few days, but should be okay after that.

As far as a barrier is concerned, I would think you'd need to put in some proper drainage. Most likely aggie pipes. I don't know if that's the proper name for them. These days it's plastic pipe with slots cut into it. You'll need to sink it down about 18inches, but check the code with your local council, bury it in crushed rock, and have it slope away from your house.

 

[Mesa]

it looks like the house design was definitely not made for large amounts of rainfall. the wall slopes towards the house. it needs to slope away and have a drainage resevoir. do you have rain gutters? some sod will help absorb some of the water as well. does desert ground absorb a lot of water? in florida, the ground is so saturated from recent rain that if there's any rainfall, puddles start forming very quickly.

No, ground isn't saturated at all, and I was so glad it finally rained, hasn't rained here in like 6 months, no kidding. But rain comes so fast and hard (I've been through Florida rainstorms) that water doesn't have time to soak into ground, plus it's mostly rock.

But thanks Tylerd, that's a good idea, GUTTERS. Many house in AZ don't have them. That sounds like a much easier home renovation than buliding a damn damn. I think I'd only need them in the back yard because front on house sloping is good. It's just this side yard area that the water has no where to go. My home inspector pointed it out when I first bought the home, but like I said, hasn't been a problem in 5 years time.

 

[Mesa]

Well if you know someone with a Vax, or a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, otherwise you'll have to hire one. Suck out as much of the water as you can. Then hit the heaters. It'll stink for a few days, but should be okay after that.

As far as a barrier is concerned, I would think you'd need to put in some proper drainage. Most likely aggie pipes. I don't know if that's the proper name for them. These days it's plastic pipe with slots cut into it. You'll need to sink it down about 18inches, but check the code with your local council, bury it in crushed rock, and have it slope away from your house.

I did this, but only in the back yard and other side yard. The pic I attached has PVC sprinkler pipes now in the way, and just below that is an eletrical conduit going to pool filter, so digging 18 inches is going to be very difficult. When I put in the sprinkler PVC, I could only get about 10 inches down before it was just solid rock.


The carpet is just damp, I pulled it back from tackstrips and theres no standing water. Do you think I should still shop vac it?

 

[BuffyGirl]

Wow, sorry to hear about the issue. That really sucks.

 

[tylerd]

I did this, but only in the back yard and other side yard. The pic I attached has PVC sprinkler pipes now in the way, and just below that is an eletrical conduit going to pool filter, so digging 18 inches is going to be very difficult. When I put in the sprinkler PVC, I could only get about 10 inches down before it was just solid rock.


The carpet is just damp, I pulled it back from tackstrips and theres no standing water. Do you think I should still shop vac it?

yes, no need for the fan if the padding is not saturated. get the water out because it will mold in the heat. i'm guessing it's about 1000 degrees out in the day? i went to phoenix a couple of times in the summer and man, that's some HOT sun.

 

[Mesa]

yes, no need for the fan if the padding is not saturated. get the water out because it will mold in the heat. i'm guessing it's about 1000 degrees out in the day? i went to phoenix a couple of times in the summer and man, that's some HOT sun.

Thanks for the help Tylerd.

O took off work early and rented a carpet dryer/fan and pulled back carpet, the padding is pretty wet below. I guess I'll let it run overnight and that should take care of it. Have someone coming out on Monday to address the drainage/landscape grading and/or roof gutter issue.

I won't be able to rest until this is taken care of; I've been up since 3:00 AM worried about his. When water comes into your home unwanted, it's a pretty uneasy feeling.

While watching Fox news this morning they were talking about Phoenix downpour, so that's kind of funny it made national news. Nothing like in the midwest recently, but there were roads washed out and highways under 3 feet of water this morning. And more rain is expected today, fun...

 

[DarkDaysinVegas]

That really blows bro. Sorry to hear it.

If you need some funds for repairs and what not... I'll buy your Spidey PF.

 

[The ill Jedi]

It's a good thing you guys don't get major flooding in AZ. The most important thing is everyone is okay. Good luck getting the water cleaned up and get those gutters and drains!

 

[Jesseawilson]

Trenching in Phoenix is possible, it just takes a powered trencher. Shovels just don't get you very far it's it's wasted energy if you ask me. Spend $80 and get a trencher for the afternoon. The valley of your side yard is way to close to the house, it should be in the middle of the path at the least if not closer to the fence. I would guess that installing the paver's combined with the trench for the PVC combined to channel the water to close to the house. Whats the setback on that fence? It should be at least 6ft. With 6 feet and the valley in the middle of the span there should be plenty of room for the run off to exit to the front of the house. Just make sure it is properly pitched in the middle, there should be about a 6in difference in depth between the house and the bottom of the valley.

BTW I really like gutters for AZ. I have lived here all my life and have found that since the rain comes hard and heavy the gutters help alot with the water flow and to prevent erosion.

 

[DarkArtist81]

Man, that really sucks.... I can imagine how you must feel. Here in FL, it's the Hurricanes that freak us out. Can't imagine living in a super dry area and having something like that happen. It's just good that there wasn't any major damage and that you are ok.

Hope you are able to get things set up for any issues in the future, definitely a scary situation to be in.

 

[ilovefreestufftoo]

My girlfriend just called me and told me it's raining hard with major thunder in the LA county area