six-point socket II
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- Jun 26, 2016
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Always two there are, no more, no less.
And this holds true not just for Sith Lords, but also for surprises. [scared] [blink] [eek]
So it's 4 AM here in a couple of minutes, and by the time I will have finished this post it will be well after 4 AM.
The weather forecast was heavy rain, storms, thunder & lightning for parts of the area where I live starting around afternoon.
Afternoon came, evening came - nothing, except for more and more clouds. Then, almost midnight heavy rain set it, strong winds and yes - thunder & lightning. This got heavier by the minute and when I figured I should take a look around, I found this in the basement.
Not bad at all, the check valve in that drain did it's job.
I turn around to find this:
Also not too bad at that point. I looked around but I couldn't make out where the water was coming in from - as it was still rising. I checked the window in that room, but that was dry same for the oil tanks basin/reservoir that is directly beneath the window. The water kept rising.
So first thing I did was to de-energize all circuits that could be affected if the water continued to rise. I checked that directly in the breaker box with a designated and wired voltage tester (Fluke T150 VDE). Only then I did go into the water and as a second safety measure I used my Klein Tools NCVT-3 (Non contact voltage tester) on visible/reachable wires, simply to re-assure myself that there was indeed no voltage present and everything de-energized.
Gladly the basement is actually very tidy and there's almost nothing that can be destroyed by water (unless it would be really flooded) so I was pretty calm and easy going.
I wanted to know where the water was coming from, so I went to look for the culprit. I determined the water came from under the heating, that made me look behind it - there is another, a second if you want, drain. Water was coming out right there, next to the wall, there was also some debris which indicates something must have burst.
At some point the pressure on the drain/sewer was reduced, probably by the local pump station, the check valve opened up again and the rest of water went through the drain. Obviously until then, we had to get the majority of the water out manually.
We're very, very thankful it was just about 3 inches in two rooms and at the worst spots. Also that it was just "clean" rain water that "came up" ... We got away really, really easy here and fell pretty lucky. There will be some more cleaning up to do tomorrow, but that's all.
Then, next week I have a plumber/HVAC specialist over anyway, so he can check that drain - quite possible that this will be something for our insurance company to take care of. And then again, I want the rest checked, too.
While we were busy, we heard the cities alarm horns, which means they had to call in every available Firefighter/EMS specialist. So I pray for those that must have been hit a lot harder, we will know for sure sometime tomorrow or Monday. I did see firetrucks at the far end of the street so there's no real question here.
When we were finished, we looked around the neighborhood if we could assist/help our neighbors, gladly all of us had the same kind of luck, just a couple of inches of "clean" rain water that was back out rather quick. Then again, everyone was busy ...
One neighbor told us the garages across the street (those are medium large underground garages/car parks) were flooded, so I went to ours but it was pretty much the same picture. Just a bit of water... No attention needed, it will dry on it's own.
Tomorrow I will be writing to our insurance company as kind of heads up, and see what the plumber/HVAC specialist has to say next week.
EDC shot [big grin] It's surprises like this that make me happy I'm carrying quality tools/gear I can rely on everytime - and when I'm not carrying them, at least have them very close at hand.
And this one was lit up by lightning.
I will go and relax a little more now, before I start on cleaning these two rooms thoroughly in a couple of hours.
Kind regards,
Oliver
Always two there are, no more, no less.
And this holds true not just for Sith Lords, but also for surprises. [scared] [blink] [eek]
So it's 4 AM here in a couple of minutes, and by the time I will have finished this post it will be well after 4 AM.
The weather forecast was heavy rain, storms, thunder & lightning for parts of the area where I live starting around afternoon.
Afternoon came, evening came - nothing, except for more and more clouds. Then, almost midnight heavy rain set it, strong winds and yes - thunder & lightning. This got heavier by the minute and when I figured I should take a look around, I found this in the basement.
Not bad at all, the check valve in that drain did it's job.
I turn around to find this:
Also not too bad at that point. I looked around but I couldn't make out where the water was coming in from - as it was still rising. I checked the window in that room, but that was dry same for the oil tanks basin/reservoir that is directly beneath the window. The water kept rising.
So first thing I did was to de-energize all circuits that could be affected if the water continued to rise. I checked that directly in the breaker box with a designated and wired voltage tester (Fluke T150 VDE). Only then I did go into the water and as a second safety measure I used my Klein Tools NCVT-3 (Non contact voltage tester) on visible/reachable wires, simply to re-assure myself that there was indeed no voltage present and everything de-energized.
Gladly the basement is actually very tidy and there's almost nothing that can be destroyed by water (unless it would be really flooded) so I was pretty calm and easy going.
I wanted to know where the water was coming from, so I went to look for the culprit. I determined the water came from under the heating, that made me look behind it - there is another, a second if you want, drain. Water was coming out right there, next to the wall, there was also some debris which indicates something must have burst.
At some point the pressure on the drain/sewer was reduced, probably by the local pump station, the check valve opened up again and the rest of water went through the drain. Obviously until then, we had to get the majority of the water out manually.
We're very, very thankful it was just about 3 inches in two rooms and at the worst spots. Also that it was just "clean" rain water that "came up" ... We got away really, really easy here and fell pretty lucky. There will be some more cleaning up to do tomorrow, but that's all.
Then, next week I have a plumber/HVAC specialist over anyway, so he can check that drain - quite possible that this will be something for our insurance company to take care of. And then again, I want the rest checked, too.
While we were busy, we heard the cities alarm horns, which means they had to call in every available Firefighter/EMS specialist. So I pray for those that must have been hit a lot harder, we will know for sure sometime tomorrow or Monday. I did see firetrucks at the far end of the street so there's no real question here.
When we were finished, we looked around the neighborhood if we could assist/help our neighbors, gladly all of us had the same kind of luck, just a couple of inches of "clean" rain water that was back out rather quick. Then again, everyone was busy ...
One neighbor told us the garages across the street (those are medium large underground garages/car parks) were flooded, so I went to ours but it was pretty much the same picture. Just a bit of water... No attention needed, it will dry on it's own.
Tomorrow I will be writing to our insurance company as kind of heads up, and see what the plumber/HVAC specialist has to say next week.
EDC shot [big grin] It's surprises like this that make me happy I'm carrying quality tools/gear I can rely on everytime - and when I'm not carrying them, at least have them very close at hand.
And this one was lit up by lightning.
I will go and relax a little more now, before I start on cleaning these two rooms thoroughly in a couple of hours.
Kind regards,
Oliver
