EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Using basement sump water to cool the house

Xringer · 09-19-11, 08:14 AM

Back in the early 70s when we started house hunting, checking the water-line
in the basement was the first thing we looked at.
I recall one brand new home in Billerica, MA that not only had gallons of water
in the basement, it was raw sewerage water!
The road ran along the edge of a 40' high ridge, the newly occupied houses on the upper ridge road,
all had septic tanks. Gravity was bringing all the "water" down into the backyards on the lower road.

I asked if there was any homes available "up there", pointing up to the sources.

We ended up in an old (1956) house in Woburn, that only had a 4" water line on the basement walls..

I was looking right at it, at the exact same time the owner was telling me,
"We Never get water down here"..

But, the price was right and location isn't bad.. We knew there would be floods.
We just never expected so many 100 year floods, in so few decades..

If I had it to do over again, I would NEVER buy a house with a basement,
unless it was on the peak of a good sized hill and had no watermarks..

Cheers,
Rich

PS:
The sellers moved out after placing "Plastic" faucet caps on the leaky washing machine taps.
Hours later, the cheap plastic caps burst and flooded the basement..

It was August 1973, I found the Ace hardware store nearby and started collecting water removal stuff.
Been collecting ever since.. I also learned how to solder 1/2" copper that day too!

09-19-11, 08:14 AM	#80
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Back in the early 70s when we started house hunting, checking the water-line in the basement was the first thing we looked at. I recall one brand new home in Billerica, MA that not only had gallons of water in the basement, it was raw sewerage water! The road ran along the edge of a 40' high ridge, the newly occupied houses on the upper ridge road, all had septic tanks. Gravity was bringing all the "water" down into the backyards on the lower road. I asked if there was any homes available "up there", pointing up to the sources. We ended up in an old (1956) house in Woburn, that only had a 4" water line on the basement walls.. I was looking right at it, at the exact same time the owner was telling me, "We Never get water down here".. But, the price was right and location isn't bad.. We knew there would be floods. We just never expected so many 100 year floods, in so few decades.. If I had it to do over again, I would NEVER buy a house with a basement, unless it was on the peak of a good sized hill and had no watermarks.. Cheers, Rich PS: The sellers moved out after placing "Plastic" faucet caps on the leaky washing machine taps. Hours later, the cheap plastic caps burst and flooded the basement.. It was August 1973, I found the Ace hardware store nearby and started collecting water removal stuff. Been collecting ever since.. I also learned how to solder 1/2" copper that day too!