Definitely in the eye of the beholder.
This is the ex-Zen waterfall back in the Scary Room. The tar paper funnel? Unnecessary now. (Well, and partially useless to begin with, but that's what we had at the time.) There is a bit of dampness (Amy, I won't use the "m" word in this post, just because you're still recovering and I adore you - but it is "m" down there.) What there is not, however, is actual FLOW, conveyance, or white water rapids.
It rained harder last night than it has in over a year. The creek nearly flooded. There is debris along the edge of the drive, it came up that high. Zorak actually called to ask that I keep the kids away from the creek today because it was so full and moving so quickly. That's a LOT. Of. Rain, folks.
Until now, this basement has flooded in the kind of light rains that Bert and Mary Poppins dance in. Normally, you can hear the water flowing when you go into the basement. This morning? Silence. Sweet, semi-dry silence. And after I screwed up the courage to open the door and look I was quite delighted to find it THIS dry. Also, up top, there are usually small pools (filled with some kind of aquatic life, I'm sure, something like Smeagol), but as far as I could tell - not that I scampered up that embankment - there aren't any!
And all we did (well, all Zorak did - I stood there and pretended to be able to eyeball the slope) was the dirt work from the last couple of weekends! WOOHOO!
So, now...
A french drain...
Some foliage...
It'll soon be dry and snug under there. (Not that I'll want to hang out in it, even then, but, you know, it'll be progress.)
And yes, it's still an ugly room. But that nearly dry corner? Beautiful!
~Dy
*for the record, Zorak objects to the use of the phrase "screwed up the courage" - he says it sounds like I messed it up somehow. But you know, I really, truly didn't want to open that door, and I can't think of a better way to phrase it!*
5 comments:
That is a BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL sight!
Let's hear it for husbands with engineering skills!
mere
Woo hoo! Nothing like sweet success. :-)
I love the thought of Smeagol lurking down there... LOL
Oooo! That is lovely! I know Exactly what you mean about having to screw up (would he prefer "muster up?") the courage to peek into the basement. We have a creek (sometimes a river) running through our basement after heavy rain, though it has been better since I added some dirt and sod to raise the level on the leakiest side of the house.
Wahoo!! I know how you feel! It is such a great feeling to conquer a drainage problem. We had a similar thing on a house we once owned. The first rainfall after we moved in brought water rushing into the basement and Derick scrambling to fix it.
A little dirt work, a little sloping, some gutters and some fill and we were good to go. I remember the first rainfall after all the work was done and how we just held our breath waiting to see if it would work!
Yay for you! You have a (mostly) dry basement! :)
Looks wonderful! I've been thinking of you with all the rain lately - great to know your efforts did what you hoped they'd do. (That tendency to get water in the basement might be what made your house so moldy when you first saw it.)
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