On the Rock

Jesus tells us that it's better to build a house on rock than on sand, citing important historical precedents regarding the laws of physics in storms. And I agree with him that it is better to place your foundation upon bedrock than upon a substrate that easily erodes and washes away.

Unless you're trying to put a sump pump in your basement. For that chore, put my house on sand any day.

We are now native New Yorkers, having collected about two inches of water in our basement a week ago. The remedy? The easiest and cheapest remedy should have been to dig a little hole, insert a sump pump, and let it work its magic. However, upon going down with a shovel myself and starting to excavate that little hole, I discovered that our cellar sits directly on the bedrock of the hill: a layer of shale.

I think it's time for a plan B.

~ emrys

Cold, Warm, Cold; Wet, Wet, Wet

Spring thaw, snow melting, rain coming down.
Air gets warm, ground gets soft, water gets in cellar.
Now we're natives.

Shovel equipped, vision planned, French drain waiting.
Cold front arrives, temperature drops, soil hardens.
Stop. Get the snow shovel.
Again.

Still water in the basement.
Harumph.

~emrys

Construction Projects!

This past weekend we took on the first project in our new house. We took out a drop ceiling in our living room and put in a new sheetrock ceiling and lights! Now it's a bright room, not a cave! Painting is next - stay tuned. Also pix from my first gardening efforts. If you can't see captions, scroll over the picture and the slide will pause and the captions will show up. (internet explorer glitch) Hope you're all well!
~sjt