Unsinkable ships...

sink. Unbendable steel bends. And waterproof basements, well yes, they leak.

Case in point:







Five years ago, we wisely invested in Pioneer Basement Systems®, a.k.a. Responsible Waterproofing™. Basement Environment Specialists.

Yes, that's right. Specialists. Redid the entire basement, we did. New carpeting, on top of a thermal floor, fresh coats of paint on the walls. All worth the price and work put into it. Where else would we be able to banish the kids when they need to exert all their boyish energy if they can't go outside?

With all the flooding the state has experienced with this spring nor'easter, I never once gave it a second thought to check our basement, now 5 years married to Pioneer. I heard the pump kick in from time to time, doing what it is supposed to do in keeping the basement dry. Or so I thought.

But G gave it a second thought and checked. And it was not dry. The pump was working, but it was not dry at all. While G got busy with the shop-vac, I put a call into Basement Systems® of New Hampshire, Inc., the sister company of Pioneer, which became independent in the fall of 2002. Both are Dealerships of Basement Systems, Inc.®, with Pioneer servicing MA and BSNH servicing NH. Bob called me back and after describing our situation, he informed me that our problem was not with the work they did, but with what they didn't do. Specifically, the water was coming from new cracks in the ground foundation. That's where they didn't do anything because when we inquired about the cracks, we were told that they wouldn't pose any future problems because they'd "catch the weak spots at the perimeters", which is where they did all the drilling and installed the drain system.

Hmm. I suppose we never thought those words would come back to soak us five years later.

But BSNH has kept our basement dry, especially during last year's soggy May. I still like them. And I will still like them if they stand behind their product and fix our problem at their expense. But that would mean pulling up our carpeting and thermal floor, under which the cracks are surely widening with water fighting its way into our home. I'll let you know how we make out.

Oh, and do you hear that? Why, yes! It's raining! Hard!