Tyler Cabin Adventure IV

Water is one of the most fascinating substances on earth. Or perhaps I should say, water is the indicator of some of the most fascinating facets of life on earth. Think about it: life as we know it could not exist without liquid water. But liquid water only exists in a certain range of atmospheric pressure, and in a very narrow range of temperatures (0-100 degress Celsius or 32-212 degrees Fahrenheit). If the planet Earth did not accommodate this range of temperatures with sufficient frequency, life as we know it would not exist at all. All in all, it's pretty cool.

But water has its downsides. Water speeds up corrosive processes, plays host to oodles of microorganisms, and facilitates cooling. In short, water can make stuff rot, grow fungus and bacteria, and make you cold.

It can also undermine basements.

The log house had some serious seepage problems in the basement. Although work would have to be done inside the basement (more on that later), the primary task to prevent continued sopping of the basement was groundwater diversion. Earlier generations had allowed the downspouts from the gutters to drain directly onto the ground at the corners of the house. That had to change.

First, we attached black flex tubing to the downspouts in order to catch all that falling rainwater. Then we sunk the flex tubing underground, so that the water would exit downslope, far away from the foundation.

Here's a shot from the opening, after we replaced the sod. Now the water will run off away from the house. And the groundskeeper will still be able to mow around the building uninterrupted.
One side of the house needed a long run of underground flex tubing. Here, three gutters were dumping onto the ground. Definitely had to change that! Here's the Bushman Chris hard at work getting the tubing in place.

And another shot of his better side. Notice how we also improved the grade against the house: the dirt should slope away from the foundation--which it hasn't in at least 20 years. Pretty slick, eh?

And when it's all covered up:

The dirt will soon be covered by the voracious lillies of the valley and ferns that take over this side of the house. And voila! Water away! We need it, we drink it, we bathe in it--but keep it away from our foundation!

~emrys