tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post969404330785268621..comments2024-03-28T05:47:44.752-05:00Comments on RIFLES AT DAWN: Fear and Loathing In Tile-Land, or, The Flooded Basement SyndromeTim Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00457723301178870851noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-43777773582861936202014-06-23T12:57:22.035-05:002014-06-23T12:57:22.035-05:00I’m sure that the money was very well spent. For o...I’m sure that the money was very well spent. For one, you wouldn’t have to worry about leaks and flooding for a while. Hopefully the additional inches of rain gutters could withstand the tons of rainwater for this year. Good luck!<br /><br /><a href="http://emergencyfloodmasters.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/chasing-leaks-a-fix-a-leak-week-theme-for-malibu-water-damage-experts/" rel="nofollow">Gail Wallace @ Emergency Flood Masters</a><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791220801405485431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-10520364421183990402013-07-03T10:16:49.553-05:002013-07-03T10:16:49.553-05:00HK's drywells are the perfect and time-tested ...HK's drywells are the perfect and time-tested and manual labor intensive response.<br />(And, as Tim knows, when it's poured, it's cement, when it dries, it is concrete.)<br />I took the Tim approach, increasing the size of my gutters and downspouts and moving the water away from the house via buried drainhose AND putting some weird spongy cover over the tops of the gutters to keep the forest debris (and critters) out. Works fine. So far.<br />I could write reams on ice dams...George H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00510456908334451963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-77248449175652852502013-07-01T14:07:58.717-05:002013-07-01T14:07:58.717-05:00Your ambition is admirable. The results are lauda...Your ambition is admirable. The results are laudable. I can't imagine taking on such a project.Tim Morrisseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457723301178870851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-24844161417350715702013-06-29T18:20:39.698-05:002013-06-29T18:20:39.698-05:00The basement of our old house, which boasts ambigu...The basement of our old house, which boasts ambiguous drainage characteristics, used to be so persistently wet that we considered stocking it with catfish. Like you, we got estimates on what it would take to fix the problem. And, consistent with your experience, discovered it would almost be cheaper to add a story to the house and fill the basement with concrete (though cement might have sufficed).<br /><br />Instead, in a fit of DIY, I employed my Armstrong Steam Shovel, which features a No. 2 blade and a wooden handle. I dug a series of knee-deep trenches, ranging from 10 feet to about 30 feet in length. Each leads away from the house (the better to move runoff water away from the foundation) and ends with a deeper, rock-filled hole, maybe 3 feet in diameter, which serve as drywells. To understate the case, it took a lot of digging. <br /><br />Into the trenches went some slotted flexible pipes, which I attached to larger downspout leaders. I covered the pipes with several inches of gravel, then backfilled as much of the removed soil as would fit.<br /><br />Since then the basement has acquired a carpet which has remained dry through any number of near-biblical rains.<br /><br />The French have given us, or lent their national name to, many gifts, from the Statue of Liberty to a method of preparing potatoes to an osculatory technique. With the exception of the efforts of the Marquis de Lafayette and the French navy off modern-day Yorktown in 1781, I think I have derived the most direct benefit from the French drain. Hieronymous Knickerbockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17595084830114588686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-76668581301723174292013-06-27T08:12:38.369-05:002013-06-27T08:12:38.369-05:00Better bet is the Army Corps of Engineers. They L...Better bet is the Army Corps of Engineers. They LOVE "navigable" waterways, even if they're only "navigable" for 2 hours/year.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-65759799545949861222013-06-27T07:31:17.303-05:002013-06-27T07:31:17.303-05:00I'm still thinking I might be able to get some...I'm still thinking I might be able to get some sort of government handout to build that mini-Suez Canal. Perhaps if I can convince the DNR that it could be a navigable waterway.....Tim Morrisseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457723301178870851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-59694286443562153032013-06-26T22:08:28.823-05:002013-06-26T22:08:28.823-05:00You are fortunate. In those summers 15 (?) years ...You are fortunate. In those summers 15 (?) years back, we helped several friends whose finished basements were hip-deep. The water blocked ANY access to the eastern end of our 'burb, meaning we couldn't return a sleeping-over child to her family for about 3 days.<br /><br />We lived on the <i>hochgrund</i>, so we only had a very wet (but not deep) basement.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.com