Well, our septic system backed up into our basement. Our wall-to-wall carpeted basement. So... everything had to be ripped out that was touched by the sewage water. Luckily, I think it was mostly laundry and shower water, but sewage is sewage. We found out after a visit from the plumber that roots had grown into our septic line and caused a clog. The hurricane in May caused the tree to shift and possibly grow roots in a different direction. It doesn't matter now because the pipe is fixed and the tree was cut down. We wanted to make sure that it never happened again.
Our basement is like an oval running track with all water pipes in the center. The septic drain leaked in a circle, so everything in the center of the basement got wet (on both sides).
The drain is to the right. You can see how far it leaks to the left.
And how far down it went. It was a large area that was affected. All the drywall in these pictures had to be cut out -- about 18 inches up.
This is the other side of the drain. There is a bedroom and closet that was also wet. The vanity will also have to come out along with the drywall behind it. This was a lot of work!
Our homeowner's insurance came through with a decent amount to cover expenses to fix things ourselves. We decided to go with porcelain tiles so any future water issues would not be catastrophic.
Here is our main supervisor. Isn't that what you call someone who stands over your shoulder and points out all your mistakes? Just kidding Isaiah. He was a big help. But it would have been nicer to have him 10 years older and able to do the work for us!
Starting out.... We were lucky to have some experienced tilers come over and get us started. Thanks Jack and Nicole!
See that red shoe?
He just couldn't resist. We said, "don't touch the tiles!" so the boys reasoned that flipping a shoe off their foot onto the tiles would be hilarious. It wasn't at the time, but now it makes me chuckle. I guess it's flirting with danger?
The tiling turned out to be easier than we thought. We made a few small mistakes, but we always reminded each other that "it's only a basement. it's only a basement".
Finished! Well, this room at least. We haven't tackled the bathroom, hallway and closet yet, but there are some cold winter days ahead that will need a good project to fill them.
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