I already blogged about "going with your gut" on Wednesday...
Last week, we had maybe 7 or 8 inches of snow. Two days ago, the temperature rose to around 50-60f. All the snow melted. Then it rained. It rained a lot.
Yesterday (Thursday), we got a call from one of our neighbors. Their basement was/is flooded. Since my office is in my basement (and I was working all day yesterday), I knew we were ok. I did check our “sump pit“ (a hole in the corner of our basement where overflow from around the foundation comes in. The water was at the top of the hole, but hadn't gotten onto the floor yet. We're not on a “flood plain“ so we don't have flood insurance. I called my insurance agent to find out what would happen if our basement were to flood. Basically, we'd be screwed. Anyway, he suggested that we get a sump pump installed.
My next call was to a plumber. They said they could come out Friday morning around 8am. Cool. The water hadn't risen, so I wasn't really worried about it.
Around mid-night, someone rang our doorbell (we were still up, but heading to bed). Another one of our neighbors (very nice Chinese people who speak very little english) had the same problem: 2-3 inches of water in their basement. We called the emergency number for a plumber we've used and told the neighbor that the plumber would call them back. Well, the plumber never called them until around 8am this morning. Grrr.
So, the plumber I called on Thursday showed up this morning. I was expecting them to give me an estimate and nothing more. Well, they jumped right in and 2 hours later, the sump pump is installed and running. :-) That's service! I truly don't expect the bill to be more than $300-$400, but whatever it is, it's worth it.
As for our two neighbors with several inches of water in their basements; well, I think they're screwed. Insurance won't cover any damage caused and any plumber that tries to install a sump pump will have to wade through all that water.
I truly feel lucky. Maybe I should play the lotto today. :-)