Contractor · Chapel Hill, NC · Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 8 votes
Hey Y'all,
Wondering if anyone in here has had experience with back flow flood prevention systems? I had one installed 3 months ago at my property in Chicago. Recently due to the heavy rain my basement flooded again. I'm waiting a diagnostic review but based on my experience of the flooding issue, the flood prevention system was either installed properly and did not work, was damaged during the back up or couldn't hold the pressure.
The backup occurred the same as before. The main city line backed up into my line, somehow got passed the flood prevention system and eventually coming back up through the shower basin and kitchen floor drain.
Any thoughts / ideas on how to handle this with the plumber? He responded saying that they cannot guarantee never having a backup issue again 100% but this isn't a 10 year old system. It was installed and less than 3 months ago.
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
3y
@Ben Nantell yes we got back up in 21 apartments last weekend.... not fund. One of the buildings had 3 check valves installed, and one allowed water past into the building. The check valves can be stuck open by grease, etc, but I would guess there is something else going on here. Maybe you had water coming in through cracks in the walls? Do you have a sump pit and drain tile? Maybe you are getting hydrostatic pressure forcing water up? The amount of water we had last week was insane, and sometimes water can be tricky to diagnose. A check valve/backflow prevention system only stops one possible cause of water intrusion (sewer backup) and doesn't stop water from coming up or in through side walls.