basement disaster prevention

[Kid Ice]

Last week as part of my spring cleaning regimen I made some changes to my basement game room. My primary concern is flood. The area we are in is not flood prone, and after more than a year in the house we've not had any water in the basement* (almost, will explain later).

Here's what I changed:

-almost everything was at least a couple inches off the floor, but there were a few things (a minty Vectrex, my boxed Genesis games, and all my N64 carts) that I had to move to higher ground.

-all rare and/or valuable collectibles are now at least 3 feet off the floor.

-replaced the battery in the smoke alarm.

-all electrical devices now run through some type of surge prevention...nothing is plugged directly into an outlet now.

Here's what I'm still a little concerned about:

-Atari 7800 is the closest thing to the floor. There's just nowhere to move it.

-MAME machine is on a wooden block putting it a little more than an inch off the floor. It's an old computer, and I have everything backed up to a USB drive, but if that goes I'll have lots of configurin' to do (which isn't such a bad thing...is it?). Right now it is cleverly hidden away behind a very heavy desk, to preserve the arcade illusion...so it would be hard to shove something else behind there for it to sit on.

-My common NES carts are about 3 inches off the floor. Nowhere else to go.

-Our water heater is 11 years old and warrantied. I'd like to replace it, wife would like the warranty company to replace it when it breaks down.

Anything else I should do/think about, basement dwellers? It is a very clean, large, dry basement with no humidity problems...in fact it's really the most comfortable place in the house, temp and humidity-wise.

*There was one water incident. I went downstairs to find a water spot on the floor directly below the fire alarm. I reached up and touched the fire alarm and it was wet. Turned out after a really big storm, some water leaked through the garage roof, behind a wall in the garage, and through the hole where the fire alarm is. I put in gutter extenders to divert the water off, and haven't had water down there since. Scary though! I initially thought the water was coming up through the floor.

[VACRMH]

We used to have problems like that here untill we got a ...french drain? Installed.

You should go out and buy one of those alarms that go off when water touches them, just in case something happens.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Well,depending on the type of basement ceiling you have (and how much work you want to do.)
You could build from the top down..
Meaning:build shelves that hang from the ceiling boards..Instead of them being on the floor.
All it takes is some metal braces and wood...(bolts,Drill,drill bits)
This way nothing can get wet...if you get flooded...nothing will be on the floor..

Example:
My dad has a problem with one of his corner Garages getting flooded during storms..
So we built a ceiling hanging shelf to keep stored stuff on so it would be off the floor..
It was car hood in height and one his longer cars when put into that garage would fit under it.
Later I needed a spot to store a 3 Wheeler so I put it on that shelf..It was that strong.

I notice my Landlord has done this in the basement using just a regular metal shelf..He cut the braces and attached them to the ceiling..
Now the shelves hang from the ceiling boards from bolts.

[Mr Mort]

-Our water heater is 11 years old and warrantied. I'd like to replace it, wife would like the warranty company to replace it when it breaks down.

Speaking from personal experience, REPLACE IT NOW.

The last condo I lived in got flooded TWICE. The first time was because our hot water tank busted while we were asleep. Woke up to find the floor in my room being in a quarter-inch of water. I had to empty half of the condo (the flooded part), into the non-flooded half and live like that for almost 2 weeks while the damage was repaired.

The second flood though, was beyond anything I have ever seen.

We lived on the bottom floor of a 4-story condo. A water pipe for the sprinkler system on the top unit burst, and water was pouring out of the pipe at about a thousand-gallons a minute, for about an hour and half straight. The top unit, and all the units under it (including mine) were completely destroyed, and some of the others were just damaged. Almost everything I owned was destroyed. I came home to find water pouring in from the seams in the drywall on the ceiling, light fixtures, air ducts, and holes in the ceiling.
The first thing I did was make sure my dad and dog were ok. The next thing I did was grab a box of heavy duty trash bags, and run for my collection. I double bagged the trash bags, and strarted dumping my collection into the trash bags as fast as I could because the water on the floor was rising fast, and it looked like the roof in my closet (where I kept the collection) was getting ready to bust (although it never did). I was bagging my games while my fiancee hauled them up to the cars. 350 games and 20+ systems later, I was done, and just in time.
The aftermath was one of the most depressing and challenging times of my life. Arguing with contractors, insurance companies, the condo association, while working full-time and forced to live in a 1-bedroom hotel with my dad, fiancee, and dog for a little over 3 months.

Sorry I got off-topic there.
But seriously, don't wait until your hot water tank busts to replace it. The water damage that may ensue is far more expensive & troublesome that just buying a new one now and avoiding the hassle altogether.

[Kid Ice]

We used to have problems like that here untill we got a ...french drain? Installed.

You should go out and buy one of those alarms that go off when water touches them, just in case something happens.

We have a french drain and a sump pump.

According to the seller the sump pump never went off (the house is 10 years old)

The home inspector tested it and it is working OK.

Would love to have an alarm for it though, I'll have to look into that.

[Kid Ice]

But seriously, don't wait until your hot water tank busts to replace it. The water damage that may ensue is far more expensive & troublesome that just buying a new one now and avoiding the hassle altogether.

Thanks, I will pass the info along to my wife. I am totally in favor of purchasing a new one, she is holding out. Very tough cookie, my wife, stubborn...guess what her anniversary present is going to be. LOL 8-)

[Kid Ice]

Well,depending on the type of basement ceiling you have (and how much work you want to do.)
You could build from the top down..
Meaning:build shelves that hang from the ceiling boards..Instead of them being on the floor.
All it takes is some metal braces and wood...(bolts,Drill,drill bits)
This way nothing can get wet...if you get flooded...nothing will be on the floor..


Great idea...I would have to get someone else to do it though. I am, if this is a real word, un-handy. If something around the house needs to be done, I work overtime in order to pay someone to do it. The way I look at it, I am doing a job I am good at to pay someone to do a job they are good at. Or lazy. You decide. :)

[Flack]

One other thing to consider would be investing in some of those big plastic tubs. They are virtually waterproof and would be a good way to store extra controllers or boxes.