Rain, Rain . . .
OK - it's like 60 degrees out. And it's pouring. And I don't mean pouring as in, "hey, pour me a drink." I mean pouring like raindrops hitting the ground so hard that they bounce back up pouring. Pouring like I walked from the train to the corner and my feet and legs up to my coat were completely soaked through pouring. Pouring so that my back yard looks like the southern extension of Lake Michigan pouring. Pouring CATS and DOGS pouring!!
Oh, and did I mention that it's JANUARY? In CHICAGO?
A few years ago this much rain would have had me downstairs syphoning thousands of gallons of water out of the crawl space (I'm not joking); but that drain tile and new sump are proving to be worth the obscene amount of money I spent for them. However . . . this will have to be the year that the back stairwell drain gets fixed, that I upgrade the original sump pump so that it works as well as the new second pump, and that the gutters get covered / screened over somehow.
You already know where this is going, don't you? There is water in the basement. Most of it gushed under the door jam of the back stairwell. But there is water in some odd other spots down there, too, which means that this was/is (A) a very very heavy rain with a large of amount of water pounding down in a very very short period of time; and (B) I am a dork for not ensuring that the gutters were cleaned and the downspouts pressure washed to get all foreign material out of them before the snow flew . . .
I called the gutter guy around Thanksgiving, but he waited too long and it snowed, and then he called yesterday and said he'd be out Wednesday. When the gutters are not cleared, the water falls over the top and seeps down into the foundation instead of being swept away from the foundation through the downspouts and conduit.
The gutter guy is not reliable, which is why he no longer cuts my lawn. I probably should have just gotten up on the 8-foot ladder myself and taken care of it this last weekend. Too late now . . . Oh well. Live and learn.
In happier news of the day - I got my Linus and Lucy ringtone back on my phone!!! Woo Hoo!!!
Oh, and did I mention that it's JANUARY? In CHICAGO?
A few years ago this much rain would have had me downstairs syphoning thousands of gallons of water out of the crawl space (I'm not joking); but that drain tile and new sump are proving to be worth the obscene amount of money I spent for them. However . . . this will have to be the year that the back stairwell drain gets fixed, that I upgrade the original sump pump so that it works as well as the new second pump, and that the gutters get covered / screened over somehow.
You already know where this is going, don't you? There is water in the basement. Most of it gushed under the door jam of the back stairwell. But there is water in some odd other spots down there, too, which means that this was/is (A) a very very heavy rain with a large of amount of water pounding down in a very very short period of time; and (B) I am a dork for not ensuring that the gutters were cleaned and the downspouts pressure washed to get all foreign material out of them before the snow flew . . .
I called the gutter guy around Thanksgiving, but he waited too long and it snowed, and then he called yesterday and said he'd be out Wednesday. When the gutters are not cleared, the water falls over the top and seeps down into the foundation instead of being swept away from the foundation through the downspouts and conduit.
The gutter guy is not reliable, which is why he no longer cuts my lawn. I probably should have just gotten up on the 8-foot ladder myself and taken care of it this last weekend. Too late now . . . Oh well. Live and learn.
In happier news of the day - I got my Linus and Lucy ringtone back on my phone!!! Woo Hoo!!!
Comments