My basement flooded.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Mods, if this isn't the right category, please move my post.

Sometimes I think I'm not allowed to be happy in life. I got married on August 5th to the love of my life. We went on a honeymoon to Jamaica and got back Saturday. Amazing happy times. I posted on my personal Facebook about how I was looking forward to the future.

Today I went down to my basement and realized it had flooded. There was toxic waste water everywhere. The basement is fully finished and there is an enclosed bathroom in the center of it. The toilet had overflowed with shit and water. My basement has basically four quadrants from there. Two which are the gaming side, with "hardwood" (probably laminate or something idk) flooring, one with a gym/workout style flooring which has my toy collection, and then the unfinished quadrant. There was water in all areas. As I walked across the hardwood floor, I could hear and feel the water underneath. 

Luckily, the water was mostly under the hardwood floor and the soft gym style flooring. Also luckily, 99% of my items are not on the floor. However, some collection items were, as I hadn't made a place for them yet, and many other things got destroyed.

Complete in box Vic-20 now has water damage. Box is toxic waste, system may be salvageable. 
Box for Super Nintendo with Link to the Past cartridge included is water damaged and is now toxic waste.
Some Super Mario and TMNT toys that I planned to keep in the box are damaged. I may be able to clean and salvage the toys inside, it just depends.
NES floormat my wife got me as a gift.
Original power pad I stored on the floor directly below the TV most likely destroyed. 
Rugs that were in the bathroom and also towels we threw down before realizing that we shouldn't have. 

Many shelving units have water damage at the bottom. So even though the items on the shelves are damaged, they will have to be completely packed and moved so that the shelf can be destroyed and replaced. Not only would it get moldy, but it's also toxic, since it was shit water.

However, before the shelves can be replaced, all of the flooring needs ripped out and replaced. 

Also, all of the interior walls made of drywall have soaked water. That means that they need to be cut up to 2 feet high and those parts replaced. Along with baseboards. Which also means that everything attached to those walls needs to come down so that the work can be done. Exterior wall damage remains to be seen. Any wall that needs replaced will actually need to have the entire section of shelving removed because of the way I've hung them. Which means that the entire section of games or whatever will need to come down. 

So basically, my basement flooded, and some items from my collection were damaged. Those will have to be cleaned or thrown away. The items that didn't get damaged will have to be packed and relocated so that the floors and walls can get fixed. Then eventually I'll have to re-set everything back up, and hope it doesn't happen again.

By the way, the plumber determined that the clog occurred from wet wipes being flushed. Myself and my wife do not flush them. Our two children know not to flush them and claim that they have not. But it appears that someone did at some time. It doesn't make sense to me and I find myself considering silly conspiracy theories, like someone was out to get me. 

The loss of destroyed items hurts. But what is really upsetting is knowing the amount of work I now have to do. It takes so long to pack and even longer to re-setup when the time comes. Additionally the only place I have to move stuff is our spare room, two flights up. I don't feel like I have the mental, physical, or emotional ability to deal with any of this. I don't want to do it. I don't want to pack and move all this stuff. 

I do have photos of the damage and I might share some later but considering the main photos I have right now contain human waste, I'm opting to avoid sharing those at this time. I will take photos of the damaged items and share them here though.

I've already filed an insurance claim, and I really hope there is no cap to their coverage because I believe this will be a $10k+ cost. We spent a lot on the honeymoon and wedding and if insurance doesn't cover all the damages, or denied my claim for some reason, I will be screwed. I'm not asking for anything from anyone, nor do I want anything. I really just wanted to type this all out as a way to vent and cope with it. Obviously any collecting and gaming I planned to do soon is on hold while I deal with this. It's all so unfortunate.

Anyway, thanks for listening VGS. 

 

[3rdStrongestMole | 430]

3 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

Mods, if this isn't the right category, please move my post.

Sometimes I think I'm not allowed to be happy in life. I got married on August 5th to the love of my life. We went on a honeymoon to Jamaica and got back Saturday. Amazing happy times. I posted on my personal Facebook about how I was looking forward to the future.

Today I went down to my basement and realized it had flooded. There was toxic waste water everywhere. The basement is fully finished and there is an enclosed bathroom in the center of it. The toilet had overflowed with shit and water. My basement has basically four quadrants from there. Two which are the gaming side, with "hardwood" (probably laminate or something idk) flooring, one with a gym/workout style flooring which has my toy collection, and then the unfinished quadrant. There was water in all areas. As I walked across the hardwood floor, I could hear and feel the water underneath. 

Luckily, the water was mostly under the hardwood floor and the soft gym style flooring. Also luckily, 99% of my items are not on the floor. However, some collection items were, as I hadn't made a place for them yet, and many other things got destroyed.

Complete in box Vic-20 now has water damage. Box is toxic waste, system may be salvageable. 
Box for Super Nintendo with Link to the Past cartridge included is water damaged and is now toxic waste.
Some Super Mario and TMNT toys that I planned to keep in the box are damaged. I may be able to clean and salvage the toys inside, it just depends.
NES floormat my wife got me as a gift.
Original power pad I stored on the floor directly below the TV most likely destroyed. 
Rugs that were in the bathroom and also towels we threw down before realizing that we shouldn't have. 

Many shelving units have water damage at the bottom. So even though the items on the shelves are damaged, they will have to be completely packed and moved so that the shelf can be destroyed and replaced. Not only would it get moldy, but it's also toxic, since it was shit water.

However, before the shelves can be replaced, all of the flooring needs ripped out and replaced. 

Also, all of the interior walls made of drywall have soaked water. That means that they need to be cut up to 2 feet high and those parts replaced. Along with baseboards. Which also means that everything attached to those walls needs to come down so that the work can be done. Exterior wall damage remains to be seen. Any wall that needs replaced will actually need to have the entire section of shelving removed because of the way I've hung them. Which means that the entire section of games or whatever will need to come down. 

So basically, my basement flooded, and some items from my collection were damaged. Those will have to be cleaned or thrown away. The items that didn't get damaged will have to be packed and relocated so that the floors and walls can get fixed. Then eventually I'll have to re-set everything back up, and hope it doesn't happen again.

By the way, the plumber determined that the clog occurred from wet wipes being flushed. Myself and my wife do not flush them. Our two children know not to flush them and claim that they have not. But it appears that someone did at some time. It doesn't make sense to me and I find myself considering silly conspiracy theories, like someone was out to get me. 

The loss of destroyed items hurts. But what is really upsetting is knowing the amount of work I now have to do. It takes so long to pack and even longer to re-setup when the time comes. Additionally the only place I have to move stuff is our spare room, two flights up. I don't feel like I have the mental, physical, or emotional ability to deal with any of this. I don't want to do it. I don't want to pack and move all this stuff. 

I do have photos of the damage and I might share some later but considering the main photos I have right now contain human waste, I'm opting to avoid sharing those at this time. I will take photos of the damaged items and share them here though.

I've already filed an insurance claim, and I really hope there is no cap to their coverage because I believe this will be a $10k+ cost. We spent a lot on the honeymoon and wedding and if insurance doesn't cover all the damages, or denied my claim for some reason, I will be screwed. I'm not asking for anything from anyone, nor do I want anything. I really just wanted to type this all out as a way to vent and cope with it. Obviously any collecting and gaming I planned to do soon is on hold while I deal with this. It's all so unfortunate.

Anyway, thanks for listening VGS. 

 

This is a nightmare of mine. I can't even imagine how terrible it must've been finding this. That SNES w/ LttP hits extra close to home.

I actually stress about my collection being ruined every time I'm away from home for too long. I hope this all gets resolved for you as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

Keep us updated

[PII | 1,886]

I was all set to suggest that some day the two of you will look back and laugh, but now I'm thinking prolly not.  I actually just warned a friend about this recently as it once happened to a relative, and he put all his best stuff on high shelves...

It's a rough one, no doubt about it.  Take life one day at a time.  Have a friend make you a nice stiff drink.  Accept that shitty shit happens sometimes and do your best to move on with life.  (easier said than done, I know.)

Hope the cleanup stage goes fairly quick and easy for you..

 

..How deep was it?

Edited August 15, 2023 by PII

[a3quit4s | 4,106]

Im just super bummed for you reading this. Your collection is epic and I’m sorry this happened. I’ve got my fingers crossed that homeowners covers all of this and maybe you even build back nicer. 

[Gloves | 11,800]

Damn that's super harsh, I'm sorry to hear it happened to you. Take things a day at a time, and make sure to give yourself time to step away and destress. Best of luck with insurance and all that.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

12 minutes ago, 3rdStrongestMole said:

I actually stress about my collection being ruined every time I'm away from home for too long

I do the same thing. I was happy to get back from my honeymoon and see no damage.

6 minutes ago, PII said:

..How deep was it?

IN the bathroom, looked to be about an inch or two deep. Outside of that, it was mostly just surface level wet, except for in the furance room, where the backed up drain was. I had things like my empty arcade 1up boxes in there which soaked up a ton of water etc. There's still some standing water in there. 

There's industrial de-humidifiers going down there now so that part is ok at least. 

[PII | 1,886]

12 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

IN the bathroom, looked to be about an inch or two deep.

At least it's not up to the rafters.  One of the other things I remember learning about this sort of thing is the potential for electric shock if the water level has risen seriously..

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

Ugh.   At least my various basement floods were either rainwater or "clean" water related (first time was a burst water main down the road from us, then various storms), so at least I could keep the discs and dry them off.

Still sucks drying stuff out and then all the stuff you have to throw away.

 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Just now, captmorgandrinker said:

Ugh.   At least my various basement floods were either rainwater or "clean" water related (first time was a burst water main down the road from us, then various storms), so at least I could keep the discs and dry them off.

Still sucks drying stuff out and then all the stuff you have to throw away.

 

Yea, there is no keeping anything that was touched by this water, unfortunately. There is a possibility that some items may be able to be cleaned, such as a plastic bucket i had with mario on it etc. but obviously cardboard is DOA.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

2 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

Yea, there is no keeping anything that was touched by this water, unfortunately. There is a possibility that some items may be able to be cleaned, such as a plastic bucket i had with mario on it etc. but obviously cardboard is DOA.

Just throw everything away unless it's something super valuable (and metal) like a Punch Out trashcan.

[Tabonga | 2,324]

42 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said:

There's industrial de-humidifiers going down there now so that part is ok at least. 

I would set up some cheap box fans and leave them running on high continuously to help dry things out.  They will help the dehumidifiers function a lot. 

[drxandy | 3,235]

Awe man dood!! Sorry for your loss, a fear of mine since my childhood home had a sewer backup from roots overgrown, whole block flooded doo doo not fun at all, nor with your whole collection at stake.

[Aguy | 773]

I've been there. My basement flooded back when I was in high school and I lost all my boxed GB/GBC games along with my strategy guides id been collecting since the 90s

[B.A. | 1,139]

I've been there.  My 1st house was old and tree roots would get into the main drain out to the sewer.  If we didn't have them cut out twice a year everything from the house would backup through the floor drain in the basement, which meant we were pretty much just pooping on the floor.  It once happened when I was having a party full of people over, it went over well telling everyone they couldn't use the bathroom.  Good luck man! 

[Estil | 1,265]

If those wipes claim to be flushable you should sue the crap out them!  Pun not intended, I promise.  But seriously I was about to say I'd never trust a basement for anything important like collectibles (my previous residence we had a house with a basement but it was the old fashioned dungeon kind) but hearing it happened because your toilet got clogged (and not because of a flood or something)...wow, that must really suck balls.  And even with insurance I've no doubt at least some of your items are irreplaceable and/or the replacements won't be the same because they won't have the same sentimental value.

Oh yeah, see if there's anyone in your area that specializes in cleaning water/flood damaged homes/rooms...isn't there one that claims "it's like it never happened"?

Edited August 15, 2023 by Estil

[spacepup | 2,405]

Really sorry to hear about this - it's never fun and I know it's a lot of work to get things back in order.

I'm not gonna say it doesn't just flat out suck (it does!), but I guess I'd try to focus on one takeaway from your post:

"I got married on August 5th to the love of my life. We went on a honeymoon to Jamaica and got back Saturday. Amazing happy times"

Eventually, you'll get your place cleaned up, and your stuff back in order, despite it being a pain, and losing some items.  But you'll still have the love of your life and a bright future with plenty of opportunities for happiness.  So in terms of you being happy in life, I'd hope it's tied to that and not to the other stuff.

Having said that, it's ok to vent and be super bummed about dealing with this - I know it's gonna be a lot of work.  But at least everyone is safe and healthy.  Good luck with getting everything back to normal!

[Hammerfestus | 3,861]

It’s never happened to me but as a basement collection guy I feel your pain.  Was always paranoid about that.  As such Ive always avoided putting anything on the bottom shelf.  Stick some old books or something down there.  My neighbors have apparently had issues with water in the basement before but fortunately I never have.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

57 minutes ago, Estil said:

Oh yeah, see if there's anyone in your area that specializes in cleaning water/flood damaged homes/rooms...isn't there one that claims "it's like it never happened"?

Those places are wicked expensive.   With it only being an inch or two, better off just doing it yourself.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Thanks all. I'm wrapping my head around all of it a little better today. I appreciate all the support, advice, and kind words. 

[The Count | 528]

Sorry to hear that, man. I'm glad you didn't lose too much stuff all things considered as it could have been much worse. I had a house fire a few years ago and insurance really helped. 

[Tulpa | 3,517]

1 hour ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Those places are wicked expensive.   With it only being an inch or two, better off just doing it yourself.

We had a flood here recently and I think the quote was $1400 per 200 sq/ft.

Sorry to hear this, @CodysGameRoom :(

[fcgamer | 4,730]

Really sorry to hear about this situation @CodysGameRoom . I don't think I'll have to worry about this situation where I live, but every time I hear about fires on the news, I get really upset and worried. Then again, if a fire occurred at mine, the chances of me being home would be unlikely, so likely I'd have bigger losses (i.e. my cat) pulling at my heart more so than the games.

Just take it one step at a time, breaking down the process will help make the cleaning up less stressful and overwhelming. And as Space Pup said, try to focus on the positives in your life such as your new marriage. 

[drxandy | 3,235]

Oh yeah! Congrats on getting married!!!

[Code Monkey | 2,011]

15 hours ago, CodysGameRoom said:

I've already filed an insurance claim, and I really hope there is no cap to their coverage because I believe this will be a $10k+ cost. We spent a lot on the honeymoon and wedding and if insurance doesn't cover all the damages, or denied my claim for some reason, I will be screwed. I'm not asking for anything from anyone, nor do I want anything. I really just wanted to type this all out as a way to vent and cope with it. Obviously any collecting and gaming I planned to do soon is on hold while I deal with this. It's all so unfortunate.

Anyway, thanks for listening VGS. 

 

Yikes, most insurance contracts have a caveat where you're not allowed to leave the home vacant for more than a few days and I have heard of claims being denied for people that go away on vacation without arranging someone to check on the house weekly. Any time I leave for an extended period of time, I always have someone come over once a week to walk around and check all the rooms, flush the toilets and give me a quick report.

Sorry to hear this happened but I think it's quite unlikely you'll be covered by insurance since you were gone for 2 weeks. I have been using and flushing wet wipes for about 10 years with no problems so far, I didn't even know that could happen. And the furnace drain? It wasn't even through the toilet system?

 

3 hours ago, Estil said:

If those wipes claim to be flushable you should sue the crap out them!

It didn't have to be his blockage, if someone else on your block clogs the outbound drain farther down, it can back up to everyone living upstream from it and flow back up through one or multiple homes in the line. The worst part about this is it's not even his shit, it's all of his neighbours.

[Estil | 1,265]

7 hours ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Those places are wicked expensive.   With it only being an inch or two, better off just doing it yourself.

Be very VERY careful about any sort of DIYing...because if you (not Cody personally I just mean a hypothetical sort of "you") don't do it right, as the saying goes, you gotta do it twice.  And that second time with the professionals might even up being even more expensive with the added cost of dealing with the DIYers screw ups, if this makes sense.

I mean without actually being there or seeing any of it and especially without knowing exactly what those belongings meant to Cody in a sentimental sort of way I can't exactly offer better advice