40 days and 40 nights

For the second time this year, the Moncton area has been hit with a major rain storm stressing the storm sewer systems and causing localized flooding in many communities.


In Canada, 30 000 to 40 000 houses flood every year with a rise in the number of incidents. With the average cost in excess of $5000 and often many times more causing increased insurance premiums and an influx of construction related garbage in our landfills, not to mention potential health problems from an improperly cleaned flood site, we need to reassess our building practices to avoid this type of building failure that is all too common!

The problem with this picture is that houses were not built to handle this kind of weather and also the sewer systems are no help either! Often, the city sewer systems are not designed to handle excess rainfall with ease. In the country, sump pump failure is the main direct cause followed by insufficient pump capacity. Of course, these breakdowns would not cause any loss of sleep if the design of the building is able to handle these changing weather patterns.


I ask myself, "Why do people continue to build new homes knowing that they will eventually flood? Why does the Canadian building code still permit a basement in residential construction for areas where flooding is inevitable? Why are insurance companies still offering coverage to people who repeatedly claim flood damage in homes? Why do people spend $10 000 to $50 000 to finish their basements into living area and then spend $69,95 on the cheapest sump pump they can buy at the local hardware store? Why are battery backup systems not mandatory in existing construction?

In our case, putting in a basement would be "sure bet" at the racetrack as far as it being eventually flooded. Of course a sump pump or drainage ditch is always a possibility but failure of these system is inevitable. We therefore opted for a "slab on grade" construction. After seeing the amount of rain we have received in the last few years, we are certainly happy with our decision as all too often we wake up from a night of rain and are glad that the Ark has not sprung a leak!

Before building or buying an existing home,you should ask yourself if this this area flooded in the last 100 years, if the plumbing system is capable of handling excess flood pressure and, if the basement is finished, will a battery backup system help prevent a flood?

Of course the way a basement is finished and insulated will determine the cost of construction and the eventual cost of replacement of the finished area. I will cover more on this later.