Last summer we had a crazy colorado downpour - and 15 gallons of water came flooding into our basement. I had heard the previous owner had problems with leaks in the basement - I had suspected it had happened on a much less grand scale since we’ve been here as the carpet smelled mildewy in the corner. But we’ve never located it. So I re-routed the down spouts assuming the drains they went into could be clogged (and they were - but that wasn’t our problem.)

About a month ago we had another crazy colorado downpour. This time 20 gallons came into our basement, part of our dry-wall turned to mush. Our already mildewed carpet was completely ruined - we had to rip it out completely.

I called the insurance company at this point. They sent a worthless guy who looked up at our gutter, saw a twig, stated our gutter was clogged and the repairs wouldn’t be covered since it was “ground water” and left. Jackie and I both found this lack of service unacceptable since we have all of our insurance consolidated with AAA. Jackie called them back and demanded they send a “real leak inspector”. They complied and sent a top notch guy with equipment this time.

He had a wall sensor that indidated if there was moisture behind the sheet rock. Obviously he found it behind the basement wall - so he went up. Check the dining room wall above - sure enought - there was moisture there too! We had no idea as we hadn’t had problems in the dining room. Then he went upstairs to our bedroom. No moisture.

This meant the water was coming in above the basement - between the first and second story. We then went out and investigated. This area is where the new edition meets the old house. I have personally had my doubts of the skill of the contractor that built the new edition in the early 90s - poor workmanship, sub par materials and lots of corners were cut. Sure enough - the contract had used flashing that 4″ too short when they sealed the roof along that side. The flashing under the shingle didn’t even cover the interior wall. Some shingles had warped and were directing all the water into the wall which would pool at the foundation and flood into the basement.

Since this was the roof - technically, the insurance company would have to cover the needed repairs if we made them. However, the repair to the floor and wall in the basement, along with new flashing and shingle along the south side of the house would only be about $1,500. ($500 above our deductable). I’ve spent the last two weekends completing the exterior repairs myself for about $250. I’ll finish the interior repairs in the next couple months for another $400-500.

Your story is remarkably similar. Get a real leak detection company. They may be able to locate the culprit and save lots of grief and frustration. Then you can move forward with options on how to fix it - maybe even your insurance depending on the extent of the damage.