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the_rckWe had a long term leak in the basement that we only discovered after there was a deep pool under the stairs. That's apparently the low point for the entire basement floor. We misidentified the problem at first as an extremely corroded y-join in the line from the kitchen to the sewer. We had that replaced but were still accumulating water. I dumped a container of green food coloring down the kitchen sink in hopes that it would show the location for the actual leak.
It turns out that the problem was our whole-house humidifier. The line taking clean water to that had started to disintegrate and had multiple holes. It just wasn't leaking fast or in places we could easily spot. The line in question isn't even as big around as one of my fingers. Scott attempted to replace it himself but, even after three hardware store runs, couldn't find the right connectors. We ended up getting someone in to do it, and that took about ten minutes.
We're still running the dehumidifier on a higher setting than usual and keeping the AC on because the wood at the base of the stair got soaked over a period of weeks. We're pretty sure the leak had been ongoing for at least a month before the water got out to parts of the floor that we actually could see. We didn't lose anything stored down there because most of what got hit was in plastic bins that kept the water out. There's still a lot of stuff out of place, and moving around down there is awkward because of it, but I think we're getting close to dry enough.
Scott built a ramp to replace the steps to the back porch which were rotting from the inside. I didn't realize that concrete blocks could do that. At any rate, it's an okay ramp, but he skimped by using long boards that run the length of the ramp instead of short boards running the width. The latter would have taken him about ten times as long and a lot more wood, so I get why he didn't. I just don't think this one will last more than five years.
We can't put a ramp out front unless we pave part of the lawn. The current walk is only about 2 feet wide and runs from steps to driveway at a right angle instead of straight on from steps to sidewalk. Hiring someone to replace the ramp Scott has built would likely run into issues about it needing to be 2-4 feet longer than it is, relative to the drop in height. That added length would block enough of the driveway to make the garage inaccessible; I think Scott could still get the lawnmower in and out, but the car would be impossible. We could probably get the ratio if we ran it from the porch into the backyard, but, again, we'd have to add pavement.
Adding pavement would alter our taxes because those laws currently discourage anything that will increase stormwater runoff. Lawns, gardens, and rain barrels are Good. Pavement is Bad.
It turns out that the problem was our whole-house humidifier. The line taking clean water to that had started to disintegrate and had multiple holes. It just wasn't leaking fast or in places we could easily spot. The line in question isn't even as big around as one of my fingers. Scott attempted to replace it himself but, even after three hardware store runs, couldn't find the right connectors. We ended up getting someone in to do it, and that took about ten minutes.
We're still running the dehumidifier on a higher setting than usual and keeping the AC on because the wood at the base of the stair got soaked over a period of weeks. We're pretty sure the leak had been ongoing for at least a month before the water got out to parts of the floor that we actually could see. We didn't lose anything stored down there because most of what got hit was in plastic bins that kept the water out. There's still a lot of stuff out of place, and moving around down there is awkward because of it, but I think we're getting close to dry enough.
Scott built a ramp to replace the steps to the back porch which were rotting from the inside. I didn't realize that concrete blocks could do that. At any rate, it's an okay ramp, but he skimped by using long boards that run the length of the ramp instead of short boards running the width. The latter would have taken him about ten times as long and a lot more wood, so I get why he didn't. I just don't think this one will last more than five years.
We can't put a ramp out front unless we pave part of the lawn. The current walk is only about 2 feet wide and runs from steps to driveway at a right angle instead of straight on from steps to sidewalk. Hiring someone to replace the ramp Scott has built would likely run into issues about it needing to be 2-4 feet longer than it is, relative to the drop in height. That added length would block enough of the driveway to make the garage inaccessible; I think Scott could still get the lawnmower in and out, but the car would be impossible. We could probably get the ratio if we ran it from the porch into the backyard, but, again, we'd have to add pavement.
Adding pavement would alter our taxes because those laws currently discourage anything that will increase stormwater runoff. Lawns, gardens, and rain barrels are Good. Pavement is Bad.
