Water coming up through the floor in my garden level apartment

During last Friday’s storm, the sump pump inside my unit was taking water in nonstop, but was able to pump it out fast enough. However, I noticed in the bathroom about 10 feet away, water came up either through the floor or maybe where the wall and floor meet.

I just bought this place a year and a half ago so this so I don’t know the history of it, however the prior owner told me that the place didn’t flood during Sandy (I confirmed by looking at the flood insurance records). The sump pump out front and out back also did their jobs, it’s just in the bathroom this one spot had water coming in from the floor and started flowing into the next room. The floors are PVC or tile type material so there’s no floor damage, however I want to get to the root of this problem so it won’t happen again. If I hadn’t been home or was out of town, water very easily could’ve sat there and cause a lot more damage.

My question is, what kind of specialist do I call to take a look at this? Has anybody else had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to resolve it? Again, the sump pump t hat the french drain feeds into did it’s job and got rid of all the water that went into the sump basin, but it’s this flooding through the floor 2 rooms over that’s a problem.

jadamathurin22

in General Discussion 1 year and 8 months ago

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cate | 1 year and 8 months ago

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Perhaps first speak to the board, if there is one, or others in the building to find out what they know. Perhaps there’s no French drain in the bathroom area. Also, it’s good to rule out plumbing first, so you might want to start with a plumber. Beyond that, potentially you could consult with a mason, waterproofing company, or engineering firm with expertise in water issues in your particular building/unit type and location.

jadamathurin22 | 1 year and 8 months ago

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Thanks Maggie. The drains are connected to a sewer system that pumps the water to there. It was ground water, not sewage, coming up from the floor so my guess is the bathroom piping is OK. The sump pump pumps water out of the building, under the sidewalk, and discharges onto the street where it flows downhill to storm drain at the end of the block.

Guest User | 1 year and 8 months ago

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my first instinct says you need a plumber. How are the drains from that bathroom connected to the larger system? where are your sump pumps pushing the water to? is it possible that there’s a connection somewhere around the drainage for the bathroom that caused the water the sumps were pushing out to come back up into your building? you may have to open floors/walls to get to the bottom of it.