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rebeccmeisterWe finished unloading the truck yesterday, and managed to return it this morning without driving in TOO many circles. It's always a big relief to get a moving truck turned in.
Yesterday my aunt C, uncle P, and cousin A drove over from Connecticut. They brought a ton of wonderful food with them - a fantastic welcome wagon. Then uncle P helped us get the apple tree out of the truck and into a reasonable spot in the backyard.
There was a big thunderstorm yesterday. Multiple local people have said this area has had an unusually high amount of rainfall recently. The thunderstorm confirmed what I have come to understand is meant by the term "dry basement," which is that yes, the sump pump works to empty out the water that accumulates on the basement floor, and it's a good thing that it does because water WILL accumulate on the basement floor. This basement makes my childhood basement seem like an arid desert*.
But I'm still glad there's a basement. We just aren't going to store much down there. I was joking with S about turning the basement into a giant composting facility and then using the heat generated by it to heat this place in the winter.
The maintenance person happened to be working on another place across the street during the deluge, so he stopped by to introduce himself and check on the sump pump. He mentioned to S that this house was a kit home, and some musty blueprints in the basement confirm it. Sometime soon I need to try and take photos of the wallpaper in this place because it is incredible. It also strongly reinforces the "grandma" look of the place.
Boxes everywhere, but the crickets and ants are organized and seem to be doing all right. I still have a lingering cough and runny nose, but I think this head cold is starting to come to a gradual end, too.
*My parents only FINALLY got their basement completely dry about 2 years ago by having a company dig down around the foundation to install a perimeter drain. Not a small undertaking.
Yesterday my aunt C, uncle P, and cousin A drove over from Connecticut. They brought a ton of wonderful food with them - a fantastic welcome wagon. Then uncle P helped us get the apple tree out of the truck and into a reasonable spot in the backyard.
There was a big thunderstorm yesterday. Multiple local people have said this area has had an unusually high amount of rainfall recently. The thunderstorm confirmed what I have come to understand is meant by the term "dry basement," which is that yes, the sump pump works to empty out the water that accumulates on the basement floor, and it's a good thing that it does because water WILL accumulate on the basement floor. This basement makes my childhood basement seem like an arid desert*.
But I'm still glad there's a basement. We just aren't going to store much down there. I was joking with S about turning the basement into a giant composting facility and then using the heat generated by it to heat this place in the winter.
The maintenance person happened to be working on another place across the street during the deluge, so he stopped by to introduce himself and check on the sump pump. He mentioned to S that this house was a kit home, and some musty blueprints in the basement confirm it. Sometime soon I need to try and take photos of the wallpaper in this place because it is incredible. It also strongly reinforces the "grandma" look of the place.
Boxes everywhere, but the crickets and ants are organized and seem to be doing all right. I still have a lingering cough and runny nose, but I think this head cold is starting to come to a gradual end, too.
*My parents only FINALLY got their basement completely dry about 2 years ago by having a company dig down around the foundation to install a perimeter drain. Not a small undertaking.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-08 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 01:18 am (UTC)I am probably going to try and come over to Boston in October, too!
I have also faithfully transferred a certain coupon for coffee onto my fridge across multiple homes. :^)
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 01:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 01:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 04:26 pm (UTC)We don't have a sump pump, but the basement was done in cement walls and floor and we have a perimeter drain, so we've never had water. But it's hard to not have a basement and WORRY, especially when neighbors are often dealing with flooding. Then I'd wonder if the sump pump needs a generator.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-09 06:07 pm (UTC)And thankfully, this house has not only a sump pump, but also a backup sump pump system. Our landlord's maintenance guy stopped by on Tuesday to check on our basement because of all the rainfall, and showed us how things are set up. The backup sump pump relies on the Venturi effect, such that it uses the city water supply to pump out 2 gallons of water from the basement for every gallon that is passed through the system. The maintenance guy commented that based on how it's constructed, it doesn't need any electricity and it doesn't have moving parts that are likely to fail. So that made me feel a whole lot better about the system.
In addition, from what I understand, right now we're experiencing very heavy rainfall, so this should be the best possible test of the situation for the basement. The main thing I'm taking away from this is that we shouldn't ever plan on being able to store anything down there. It's going to remain way too musty and damp. I'm just glad I was able to open up at least one of the windows because it REALLY needs to be aired out, phew.