Chicago: Flooding and In-law/Garden units
Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 5 votes
Chicago: Flooding and In-law/Garden units
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Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2021 · 62 posts · 86 votes
3yHey John!
Good insight from @Brennan Crick. I think having water come up from the drains is much more common than actual leaking/flooding. A lot of times it can happen neighborhood-by-neighborhood because if the city's pipes are backed up on certain streets many people will be experiencing water in their basements. This actually just happened at one of my listings during that super heavy Sunday rainstorm a couple weeks ago and I only discovered it when I came for a showing that morning, super bad timing! lol
After it happened, I had a plumber come to assess the situation and he said that it's just water backing up in the clogged city sewer system and making its way up through the drains in the basement. He said that there is a clear and definite way to fix this and it would be adding or replacing the big clapper valve in front of the house that will stop water from coming in through the city pipes even if it's backed up. I'm not a plumber, so someone correct me if anything here is wrong, but that was my understanding of what he told me the solution is.
As for knowing if this has been done at a property, I would definitely ask the current owner if they've had any of that work done. If you don't trust the owner's word for whatever reason, I would also ask an inspector to take a look and see if they recognize any signs/patterns that would identify water entry and whether any work has been done or not.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
5 Replies
- Realtor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 42 posts · 20 votes3y
It doesn’t really flood here. Although there are flood zones in the suburban areas, but there hasn’t been a flood that was damaging. Where I am in the city, the solution to that to combat moist and wet garden units we use a drain tile system. You can combine that with properly drained downspouts from the gutter as well. The drain tile system is basically a 4” corrugated drain pipe that’s underground of the parameter of the property that links to a sump pump the pumps the access water to the sewage drain pipe. That keeps the garden units or finished basements dry and inhabitable. Most cases you will have to install that during your rehab if you buy a property to invest in. Unless you bought a property that’s renovated recently.
- Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
I only have one garden unit in Berwyn and have not had water intrusion since I bought it two years ago. It seems somewhat common for a seller to disclose that they get some minor seepage in the basement during very heavy rains but not flooding. Some ways to prevent flooding in basements or garden units include:
1) Keeping your gutters clean
2) Extending your downspouts and directing them away from the foundation
3) Caulking and weather-stripping the exterior of the property
4) Maintaining proper grading so water is moving away from your foundation
5) Installing a french drain
6) Making sure you have drains at or near the exterior doors.
- Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2021 · 62 posts · 86 votes3y
Hey John!
Good insight from @Brennan Crick. I think having water come up from the drains is much more common than actual leaking/flooding. A lot of times it can happen neighborhood-by-neighborhood because if the city's pipes are backed up on certain streets many people will be experiencing water in their basements. This actually just happened at one of my listings during that super heavy Sunday rainstorm a couple weeks ago and I only discovered it when I came for a showing that morning, super bad timing! lol
After it happened, I had a plumber come to assess the situation and he said that it's just water backing up in the clogged city sewer system and making its way up through the drains in the basement. He said that there is a clear and definite way to fix this and it would be adding or replacing the big clapper valve in front of the house that will stop water from coming in through the city pipes even if it's backed up. I'm not a plumber, so someone correct me if anything here is wrong, but that was my understanding of what he told me the solution is.
As for knowing if this has been done at a property, I would definitely ask the current owner if they've had any of that work done. If you don't trust the owner's word for whatever reason, I would also ask an inspector to take a look and see if they recognize any signs/patterns that would identify water entry and whether any work has been done or not.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
- Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes3y
@John Huynh there are definitely a ton of garden units in Chicago, and they also do have a higher likelihood of having water intrusion issues than above ground units. Others here have given some good advice, but the main thing always seems to be sewer back up in most of these instances. While this can be caused by sewer issues at the property level, it is more likely to be caused by the deep tunnel system not being opened in a timely fashion or being overrun. We have a combination sewer system in the older neighborhoods like Berwyn which means that when heavy storms hit, the sewage and the storm water are all hitting the same place.
The common symptoms here are water backing up from the bathtub, toilet and sinks in the garden unit. The solution is a backflow prevention system, which costs a decent chunk of money (but is worth it if you have ongoing issues).
- Contractor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes3y
Hey @John Huynh - I think you already got most of your answers above from some savy chicago investors @Brennan Crick, @Paul De Luca, @Tom Casey, and @John Warren.
Moral of the story, if you are going to use and occupy a garden or in-law unit properply waterproof it with the suggestions they outlined so you dont have to worry about water issues because they are the worst to deal with.
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