Nothing like returning from grocery-shopping and finding your driveway blocked by a big truck. It wasn't a freight truck (and I hadn't ordered anything requiring one lately). So I pulled the car off the road onto my lawn, put on my best smile, and asked what was up. There was a large firehose in one storm drain..
Sorry, I didn't take pictures. Which didn't matter, because there was nothing visible going on. Apparently, the storm drain clearing crew reported that one was half-filled with gravel and a specialized equipment crew does that. And I'm not criticizing. A lot of equipment only has a few experienced operators locally. The guy (I've never seen a woman among these crews) who can delicately manage a 1/2 tin bucket to scrape debris off a storm grate is NOT the same as the guy who can manuver a drone through a pipe to find a blockage, etc.
Anyway, they were there to flush the foot of gravel out of one storm drain to the other 90' away and from there to the outlet under the street. They suggested I move my car since the spray was fierce and some gravel would come out. I had raw meat in the car, so I demanded they let me get it into the refrigerator (they did) and I moved to car way up on the lawn (which they said was safe - and was).
When they put on their helmets and goggles, I decided the best place to be was in the house! They let loose the firehose. It wasn't Old Faithful, but it WAS pretty impressive. I think their eqipment could have watered my entire lawn an inch deep in about 5 minutes.
When the finally left, I went out and looked, the major storm drain was completely empty of gravel, the secondary one was nearly empty, and all the gravel was washed through the pipe under the street. I'm not sure how my neighbor there feels about it. He has more gravel in the easement leading to the swamp than before.
Nothing really special, but it IS a finale to the 6" of rain in 4 hours from about a month ago Monday...
Showing posts with label Storm Drain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Storm Drain. Show all posts
Monday, August 5, 2019
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Monday Monsoon
I had stayed up late Sunday night (blog, Civilization2 game, a discussion forum). So I went to bed about 3 am. As I curled up in bed, it started to rain and I was happy to hear it. July and August are historically dry to the point where the soil cracks open, so rain is appreciated. Plus, I'm one of those people who find the sound comforting when I sleep.
So I had only positive thoughts hearing the rain...
Well, sometimes you are just plain wrong! When I got up about Noon, I looked out the window to see how much rain had fallen. I have a large rain gauge that tops out at 6" with large 1/4" markers and there is a floating red plastic button so you can see the level. I couldn't see the red button.
So I got dressed and went outside to check the rain gauge. The rain gauge was filled and the button was hidden under the top.
So I drained a little water out so you can see the button
I don't know how much MORE than 6" we got here...
I had gone out from the deck and gone back inside the same way. Then I went into the basement. Now, I've had wet basement problems, in the past (there is a 12'x10' sunken patio with a 3' high cinder block wall on 2 sides and sliding glass doors, and the patio was poorly built. It should have been very slightly sloped toward the lawn, but it isn't.
After a couple of hurricanes that caused rainfall to seep into the basement, I dug a 6" drainage trench downslope. It worked well, but they fill in eventually and you don't notice such gradual changes. Normally, in heavy rainfall, I check to make sure the water is draining through the trench. But I was asleep this time.
Rainwater got in. I don't mean a foot of water filled the basement, but 1/4" is bad enough. It gets everywhere. Have I mentioned that Iza has the bad habit of pooping just outside the litterboxes even when they are utterly clean. I often just pour a bit of clumping litter on the poops and scoop them up later. Guess what happens when water collects around kitty-poop covered with clumpable litter?
So I set one litter box in a dry spot and cleaned it every waking hour while the litter-poop dried (and The Mews have been VERY good about using that one). I used my wet/dry shop vac to collect most of the standing water (avoiding the poop mess until it dries).
So having done what I could in the basement, I went out and looked at the front yard. I have one storm drain on my property and one shared with a neighbor . I live at the bottom of a large downsloping neighborhood. The shared storm drain is almost the end of the line of several drainage easements from the higher lots (just before the last drainage into the swamp across the street).
There is actually a storm drain under this gravel!
It is routinely covered with plant and tree debris and when I can, I pull junk of the grate covering the drain. But it usually drains well enough. Any storm drain can be overwhelmed by enough water but what doesn't drain there flows across my front land near the street to the one actually ON my property. A few hours after even a hurricane the standing water is gone.
Not this time!
Usually, I get small tree debris. THIS TIME cubic yards of clay and gravel flowed over the storm grate and covered it completely. The lower 20' of the drainage easement was previously 3' wide and almost 2' deep. It is filled with gravel now, almost up to lawn level.
I met my neighbor there Monday afternoon. He had called the County Government about the problem. I took pictures and will email the County about it (pictures help). He is new here and was surprised. He is direct and used to contacting authorities. His SO (uncertain and he didn't volunteer) has been here about 10 years ( asked if she was the same person who was metalic red hair and black dresses and he smiled and said yes. I only aksed to make sure it was the same lady I had seen years before. He's cool. He admits they tend to stay by themselves... Well, so do I.
After I went back inside, I decided to check the basement (drying nicely) and went out the sunken patio glass doors.
AACCKKK!
The 3' high cinder block wall around it was broken in half like a potato chip and pushed out 1' in the middle! I was stunned. It wasn't like I had much flowing water over the surface. As best I can tell, it was just that the soil got SO saturated that it expanded and pushed the cinder block wall away. I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow, but I bet that is considered uncovered "flood damage" even though a tree that fell over from soil saturation would be covered.
See that board in the back? That was on top of the cinder block wall. That's how much it moved.
I'm going to try levering the pushed-out cinder block back in place and using construction adhesive to hold it in place. I'm going to wait a few days to allow the broken edges to dry. If that doesn't work, I will have a few masonry repair companies come by for cost quotes. And it may be time to have the patio drainage problem solved permanently. I had in mind to add perforated 4" pipe just below ground level with a regular pipe draining downslope but a professional might have some better solutions.
It has been a rather unhappy 36 hours. It could be worse. In the grand scheme of things, these are minor. But they sure are ANNOYING!
So I had only positive thoughts hearing the rain...
Well, sometimes you are just plain wrong! When I got up about Noon, I looked out the window to see how much rain had fallen. I have a large rain gauge that tops out at 6" with large 1/4" markers and there is a floating red plastic button so you can see the level. I couldn't see the red button.
So I got dressed and went outside to check the rain gauge. The rain gauge was filled and the button was hidden under the top.
I had gone out from the deck and gone back inside the same way. Then I went into the basement. Now, I've had wet basement problems, in the past (there is a 12'x10' sunken patio with a 3' high cinder block wall on 2 sides and sliding glass doors, and the patio was poorly built. It should have been very slightly sloped toward the lawn, but it isn't.
After a couple of hurricanes that caused rainfall to seep into the basement, I dug a 6" drainage trench downslope. It worked well, but they fill in eventually and you don't notice such gradual changes. Normally, in heavy rainfall, I check to make sure the water is draining through the trench. But I was asleep this time.
Rainwater got in. I don't mean a foot of water filled the basement, but 1/4" is bad enough. It gets everywhere. Have I mentioned that Iza has the bad habit of pooping just outside the litterboxes even when they are utterly clean. I often just pour a bit of clumping litter on the poops and scoop them up later. Guess what happens when water collects around kitty-poop covered with clumpable litter?
So I set one litter box in a dry spot and cleaned it every waking hour while the litter-poop dried (and The Mews have been VERY good about using that one). I used my wet/dry shop vac to collect most of the standing water (avoiding the poop mess until it dries).
So having done what I could in the basement, I went out and looked at the front yard. I have one storm drain on my property and one shared with a neighbor . I live at the bottom of a large downsloping neighborhood. The shared storm drain is almost the end of the line of several drainage easements from the higher lots (just before the last drainage into the swamp across the street).
It is routinely covered with plant and tree debris and when I can, I pull junk of the grate covering the drain. But it usually drains well enough. Any storm drain can be overwhelmed by enough water but what doesn't drain there flows across my front land near the street to the one actually ON my property. A few hours after even a hurricane the standing water is gone.
Not this time!
Usually, I get small tree debris. THIS TIME cubic yards of clay and gravel flowed over the storm grate and covered it completely. The lower 20' of the drainage easement was previously 3' wide and almost 2' deep. It is filled with gravel now, almost up to lawn level.
I met my neighbor there Monday afternoon. He had called the County Government about the problem. I took pictures and will email the County about it (pictures help). He is new here and was surprised. He is direct and used to contacting authorities. His SO (uncertain and he didn't volunteer) has been here about 10 years ( asked if she was the same person who was metalic red hair and black dresses and he smiled and said yes. I only aksed to make sure it was the same lady I had seen years before. He's cool. He admits they tend to stay by themselves... Well, so do I.
After I went back inside, I decided to check the basement (drying nicely) and went out the sunken patio glass doors.
AACCKKK!
The 3' high cinder block wall around it was broken in half like a potato chip and pushed out 1' in the middle! I was stunned. It wasn't like I had much flowing water over the surface. As best I can tell, it was just that the soil got SO saturated that it expanded and pushed the cinder block wall away. I'll call my insurance agent tomorrow, but I bet that is considered uncovered "flood damage" even though a tree that fell over from soil saturation would be covered.
I'm going to try levering the pushed-out cinder block back in place and using construction adhesive to hold it in place. I'm going to wait a few days to allow the broken edges to dry. If that doesn't work, I will have a few masonry repair companies come by for cost quotes. And it may be time to have the patio drainage problem solved permanently. I had in mind to add perforated 4" pipe just below ground level with a regular pipe draining downslope but a professional might have some better solutions.
It has been a rather unhappy 36 hours. It could be worse. In the grand scheme of things, these are minor. But they sure are ANNOYING!
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Storm Drain
I have a County storm drain at the street end of a long non-County drainage easement. It is a constant problem, as is wanders down though the higher neighborhood through semi-wild woods. Every storm brings more tree debris to rest on the top. I remove them when I notice. But after severe storms, the debris collects in inter-woven layers.
Well, after storms this year, they were really tightly bound. I refuse to stand on the grate because it might collapse. So I emailed the County office about it a few weeks ago. 2 decades ago, I complained about the whole drainage easement and they advised me that they were "only responsible for the drain". So I have reminded them of that the past years whenever the drain got covered so much that it caused flooding in my lower yard.
The previous times it took them almost 6 months to send out some people to clear it. And that was done by hand (and poorly). I don't want to get TOO political, but those were Republicans in charge at the time. This time there are Democrats in charge, and a crew showed up in a few WEEKS.
They not only did a SUPERB job, they were polite, friendly, and understood how frustrating the flooding the covered grate caused. WOW!
So here is what it looked like before.
And here is what it looked like today.
And just to be helpful, they cleaned the other one I had not even asked about...
Well, after storms this year, they were really tightly bound. I refuse to stand on the grate because it might collapse. So I emailed the County office about it a few weeks ago. 2 decades ago, I complained about the whole drainage easement and they advised me that they were "only responsible for the drain". So I have reminded them of that the past years whenever the drain got covered so much that it caused flooding in my lower yard.
The previous times it took them almost 6 months to send out some people to clear it. And that was done by hand (and poorly). I don't want to get TOO political, but those were Republicans in charge at the time. This time there are Democrats in charge, and a crew showed up in a few WEEKS.
They not only did a SUPERB job, they were polite, friendly, and understood how frustrating the flooding the covered grate caused. WOW!
So here is what it looked like before.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
A Surprise Storm
It's one thing to have a 40% chance of a thunderstorm and quite another what we had here this afternoon.
I am glad I took pictures of the first 2 daffodil blooms and a few new crocuses before the storm.
Because they aren't there now...
The rain started a bit sooner than forecast, but that was no great surprise. Maryland, being between the Appalchians and the Chesapeake Bay east/west, and the northern and southern weather patterns, is considered one of the trickier areas of the US for weather forecasting. We get unexpected swirls from all directions.
I was appreciating that there would be some rain; we have had only about 1/2" so far this year. So I was watching the first few raindrop. Then the hail came down!
We don't get hail often here and it is usually the size of peas when we do. It falls straight down, bounces around oddly and lasts about 5 minutes. The hail around here is usually the size of peas; this stuff was grape-sized. Not much compared to what some people get elsewhere, but surprize is whatever is more than you are used to.
Today, we had a hail-blizzard! I've seen snow going almost sideways in serious blizzards before, but I have never seen hail do that. The hail didn't bouncely politely of the roof; it smashed into the windows and doors. It was so heavy (briefly) that it just looked like a thick fog outside (moving rapidly sideways).
The sound was deafing on the side of the house facing the wind and I am hoping that when I can see it in the daylight, there is no dented or broken siding. It was exciting in an odd way (meaning I couldn't stop it, so might as well observe it for the experience).
And then the power went off. It came on a few seconds, went off a few seconds, and then went off for 3 hours.
It wasn't yet dark enough to need candles, but I did go around the house and collect battery-powered stuff in case it lasted a while. I have several radios with rechargeable batteries, a couple lights that operate off cigarette plug in cars, 2 portable battery packs with plugable outlets, several maxlite flashlights, and even a crankable emergency radio. And multiple-wick emergency candles. We do sometimes have hurricanes here. And I always make sure to have dry wood and a couple bags of charcoal for cooking outside if things get bad for more than a day.
I am SO boy-scoutish... LOL!
The radio said we had wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy hail. There was a possible tornado reported nearby, so the wind gusts made sense. I don't keep a rain gauge up in Winter so I don't know how much precipitation fell, but in the 30 minute storm the drainage easement was running higher than I have seen it for years. I a thankful for 2 things about that. First, that I raised the level of my lawn around it by 2' 3 years ago, and second, that I got the County out here to clean the imbedded debris in the storm drain at the end of the easement. Otherwise, the street would have been inundated! Even so, my front lawn near the street had standing water a foot deep. Even a storm drain has finite draining capacity.
There is temporary damage. The only 2 first 2 daffodil flowers were crushed, I think most of the crocuses are beaten down. Perhaps most sadly, I lost a few 100 saucer magnolia buds that were about to bloom due to the warm weather of the past weeks. I'll take heart that so many are left. And the unopened daffodil buds seem undamaged. Flowers are fragile; buds are tight and tough.
The deck...
The new edged front island...
The backyard...
Keeping to good thoughts as much as possible, the hail will melt slowly into the ground. The ground needs water.
The power came back on in time for me to re-heat a pre-cooked frozen meal (pulled pork with jalapeno peppers in roasted tomato sauce with noodles) and M/W sweet potato and a big tossed salad. Good thing too, because I was staring at a can of beef chili and considering using the hibachi to heat it...
What irritates me the most (aside from the loss of the saucer magnolia buds really) is that I was JUST going to the basement to plant my tomatoes and peppers and cole crops when the power went out.
And stranger? It is dribbling hail. Just started as I typed the last sentence...
I am glad I took pictures of the first 2 daffodil blooms and a few new crocuses before the storm.
The rain started a bit sooner than forecast, but that was no great surprise. Maryland, being between the Appalchians and the Chesapeake Bay east/west, and the northern and southern weather patterns, is considered one of the trickier areas of the US for weather forecasting. We get unexpected swirls from all directions.
I was appreciating that there would be some rain; we have had only about 1/2" so far this year. So I was watching the first few raindrop. Then the hail came down!
We don't get hail often here and it is usually the size of peas when we do. It falls straight down, bounces around oddly and lasts about 5 minutes. The hail around here is usually the size of peas; this stuff was grape-sized. Not much compared to what some people get elsewhere, but surprize is whatever is more than you are used to.
Today, we had a hail-blizzard! I've seen snow going almost sideways in serious blizzards before, but I have never seen hail do that. The hail didn't bouncely politely of the roof; it smashed into the windows and doors. It was so heavy (briefly) that it just looked like a thick fog outside (moving rapidly sideways).
The sound was deafing on the side of the house facing the wind and I am hoping that when I can see it in the daylight, there is no dented or broken siding. It was exciting in an odd way (meaning I couldn't stop it, so might as well observe it for the experience).
And then the power went off. It came on a few seconds, went off a few seconds, and then went off for 3 hours.
It wasn't yet dark enough to need candles, but I did go around the house and collect battery-powered stuff in case it lasted a while. I have several radios with rechargeable batteries, a couple lights that operate off cigarette plug in cars, 2 portable battery packs with plugable outlets, several maxlite flashlights, and even a crankable emergency radio. And multiple-wick emergency candles. We do sometimes have hurricanes here. And I always make sure to have dry wood and a couple bags of charcoal for cooking outside if things get bad for more than a day.
I am SO boy-scoutish... LOL!
The radio said we had wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy hail. There was a possible tornado reported nearby, so the wind gusts made sense. I don't keep a rain gauge up in Winter so I don't know how much precipitation fell, but in the 30 minute storm the drainage easement was running higher than I have seen it for years. I a thankful for 2 things about that. First, that I raised the level of my lawn around it by 2' 3 years ago, and second, that I got the County out here to clean the imbedded debris in the storm drain at the end of the easement. Otherwise, the street would have been inundated! Even so, my front lawn near the street had standing water a foot deep. Even a storm drain has finite draining capacity.
There is temporary damage. The only 2 first 2 daffodil flowers were crushed, I think most of the crocuses are beaten down. Perhaps most sadly, I lost a few 100 saucer magnolia buds that were about to bloom due to the warm weather of the past weeks. I'll take heart that so many are left. And the unopened daffodil buds seem undamaged. Flowers are fragile; buds are tight and tough.
The deck...
The power came back on in time for me to re-heat a pre-cooked frozen meal (pulled pork with jalapeno peppers in roasted tomato sauce with noodles) and M/W sweet potato and a big tossed salad. Good thing too, because I was staring at a can of beef chili and considering using the hibachi to heat it...
What irritates me the most (aside from the loss of the saucer magnolia buds really) is that I was JUST going to the basement to plant my tomatoes and peppers and cole crops when the power went out.
And stranger? It is dribbling hail. Just started as I typed the last sentence...
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Storm Drain
I have the misfortune to live at the bottom of a gradually-sloping neighborhood. There are several drainage easements ending on my street. The major 2 both combine at my yard in deep-well storm drains. One works fine. The other brings an unending supply of tree debris and general trash down.
When I chose this lot 30 years ago, I considered many things. A drainage easement wasn't one of those things I had any knowledge of. I SAW it, of course. It seemed to work fine.
I signed the construction contract and moved in on Labor Day 1986. The month after, the serious Fall rains hit and the drain got covered with loose twigs, branches and debris. I cleaned the covering grate off each time.
It got worse as years went by. After a hurricane, the entire street around my house was covered by drainwater. I got really tired of cleaning the drain top. When I called the County office back then, they told me the property owners were responsible for that. The drainage easement is exactly on the property line, so my neighbors were equally responsible. But their lawn was 2' higher than mine, so I got all the water; they didn't care. So I had to keep it clean in self defense.
One year, the drain top got cleaned mysteriously and I thanked my neighbor. They said they "knew a guy" at the County and he arranged for the cleaning as a favor but only that one time.
They moved out and another couple moved in. So the County "in" was lost. I asked the County on several occasions for help in cleaning the drain. No luck.
3 weeks ago, I asked again, using an online site. Imagine my surprise when I glanced out my front windows and saw an unfamiliar reflection of the storm grate top! The County had come by and scraped it clean and made some further digging to improve drainage!
I didn't even hear them doing it!
Before...
After!
Win!
When I chose this lot 30 years ago, I considered many things. A drainage easement wasn't one of those things I had any knowledge of. I SAW it, of course. It seemed to work fine.
I signed the construction contract and moved in on Labor Day 1986. The month after, the serious Fall rains hit and the drain got covered with loose twigs, branches and debris. I cleaned the covering grate off each time.
It got worse as years went by. After a hurricane, the entire street around my house was covered by drainwater. I got really tired of cleaning the drain top. When I called the County office back then, they told me the property owners were responsible for that. The drainage easement is exactly on the property line, so my neighbors were equally responsible. But their lawn was 2' higher than mine, so I got all the water; they didn't care. So I had to keep it clean in self defense.
One year, the drain top got cleaned mysteriously and I thanked my neighbor. They said they "knew a guy" at the County and he arranged for the cleaning as a favor but only that one time.
They moved out and another couple moved in. So the County "in" was lost. I asked the County on several occasions for help in cleaning the drain. No luck.
3 weeks ago, I asked again, using an online site. Imagine my surprise when I glanced out my front windows and saw an unfamiliar reflection of the storm grate top! The County had come by and scraped it clean and made some further digging to improve drainage!
I didn't even hear them doing it!
Before...
Win!
Friday, April 27, 2012
That Collapsed Storm Drain
Well darn, I thought I had posted this 2 weeks ago, but I saw it was just sitting in "draft" mode...
It lasted 25 years with flood waters pounding it from almost ALL of the rainwater that ran down from the upslope neighborhood of about 1 square mile.
It finally fell apart.
Well, there it was all fallen down. "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up". So I called it into the County Maintenance office as a safety hazard that children might fall into. They came RIGHT out and surrounded by this "child-proof safety fence", LOL! Yeah, THAT will keep the kids away for SURE.
Well, better than nothing, I suppose. More impressive, they returned in only 3 weeks to do the actual full repair. I was expecting more like 4-6 months. My County is not rich, and I'm sure scattered odd repairs are not their favorite ways to spend tax money. But they did a really good job.
The first person examined the entire structure. He decided it needed complete rebuilding. I asked him about that and he pulled out 1 brick and broke it in half with his bare hands. Yup, it needed new (and better) brickwork. And he said he didn't get any extra money for recommending full rebuilds.
Here is the finished product. I asked the guys rebuilding it if I could take a picture of them, and they said they would rather I didn't. So OK. Its not like taking pictures of my cats, who don't have a choice.
But they did good work!
They said the bricks were stronger and the morter more waterproof, so the storm drain might outlast me.
It lasted 25 years with flood waters pounding it from almost ALL of the rainwater that ran down from the upslope neighborhood of about 1 square mile.
It finally fell apart.
Well, there it was all fallen down. "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up". So I called it into the County Maintenance office as a safety hazard that children might fall into. They came RIGHT out and surrounded by this "child-proof safety fence", LOL! Yeah, THAT will keep the kids away for SURE.
The first person examined the entire structure. He decided it needed complete rebuilding. I asked him about that and he pulled out 1 brick and broke it in half with his bare hands. Yup, it needed new (and better) brickwork. And he said he didn't get any extra money for recommending full rebuilds.
Here is the finished product. I asked the guys rebuilding it if I could take a picture of them, and they said they would rather I didn't. So OK. Its not like taking pictures of my cats, who don't have a choice.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Good Things Happening
I have to say that I am pleased this past week.
FIRST, the storm drain on the property line collapsed last month and I called it in for a repair. Well, I don't mean that I was pleased it collapsed, but that the Count responded in 2 days with some surrounding warning tape. So at least they reacted fast.
Then only a couple days later, a crew of bricklayers came out. They tore down the existing brick structure, loaded it into a pickup very cleanly, then started rebuilding the whole thing. I was amazed and pleased!
I only went out and bothered them with questions twice. I've learned a few things over the years. Guys who cut down trees are daredevils and love to show of. Guys who lay bricks carefully don't.
They made a small dam on rocks and soil and put a sump pump in the pool. The sump pump led across my lawn to another storm drain, so the worksite stayed dry.
I looked at the work after they left. The brickwork wasn't very level. But it was lower in the center where the water would drain in, so I assume that was deliberate. But is was level on the other side where water drains in, so I'm not sure. It is interesting trying to figure out which side was done wrong, if either was. The level side is against a solid brick wall downward whereas the lowered center side falls into the open pipe. There MAY be a reason for that.
Quite frankly, I don't want to attend "storm drain school" to figure it out. LOL!
But there was wet cement on the bottom of the storm drain and they left a gas electrical engine running to keep the water away for a while. That makes sense. But the gas engine ran out at 7:20 PM and I went out to look. The water was slowly topping the soil dam and reaching the storm drain. I was wondering whether to call the County when some guys came by in a County pickup truck.
I mentioned it had just stopped and they said they had estimated it wrong. The water was taking away some of the concrete. But they said they could pull it all up and do the base concrete again. They were CLOSE, but the job won't be "the best".
On the other hand, the previous build lasted 25 years and I won't be around to worry about it in another 25.
SECOND, The Crazy Neighbors. More about them next time...
FIRST, the storm drain on the property line collapsed last month and I called it in for a repair. Well, I don't mean that I was pleased it collapsed, but that the Count responded in 2 days with some surrounding warning tape. So at least they reacted fast.
Then only a couple days later, a crew of bricklayers came out. They tore down the existing brick structure, loaded it into a pickup very cleanly, then started rebuilding the whole thing. I was amazed and pleased!
I only went out and bothered them with questions twice. I've learned a few things over the years. Guys who cut down trees are daredevils and love to show of. Guys who lay bricks carefully don't.
They made a small dam on rocks and soil and put a sump pump in the pool. The sump pump led across my lawn to another storm drain, so the worksite stayed dry.
I looked at the work after they left. The brickwork wasn't very level. But it was lower in the center where the water would drain in, so I assume that was deliberate. But is was level on the other side where water drains in, so I'm not sure. It is interesting trying to figure out which side was done wrong, if either was. The level side is against a solid brick wall downward whereas the lowered center side falls into the open pipe. There MAY be a reason for that.
Quite frankly, I don't want to attend "storm drain school" to figure it out. LOL!
But there was wet cement on the bottom of the storm drain and they left a gas electrical engine running to keep the water away for a while. That makes sense. But the gas engine ran out at 7:20 PM and I went out to look. The water was slowly topping the soil dam and reaching the storm drain. I was wondering whether to call the County when some guys came by in a County pickup truck.
I mentioned it had just stopped and they said they had estimated it wrong. The water was taking away some of the concrete. But they said they could pull it all up and do the base concrete again. They were CLOSE, but the job won't be "the best".
On the other hand, the previous build lasted 25 years and I won't be around to worry about it in another 25.
SECOND, The Crazy Neighbors. More about them next time...
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Pictures Again!
I've been a bit frustrated lately, often not being able to get pictures into the posts. They would upload in the Choose Files box, but would not transfer to the post. I even posted a question on the Blogger Help forum (no replies). So, today I tried the new Blogger interface, and pictures load properly.
Hurray!
I am showing the pictures of the "Poor Old Storm Drain" to add to THIS POST today...
The overview... Yes, believe it or not there is a 4x4x4 foot brick well and heavy metal grate under there!
At first, I tried to pull the debris off.
Most of it was too entangled. I wasn't surprised. The last time the drain was like this, the County needed power equipment!
But I stopped trying as soon as I saw that the brick structure was broken! You can see part of the brick wall is at an angle.
I also noticed that the metal grate on top is actually shoved OFF the brick structure! You can also see that the woody debris is packed so tightly that stones washed over the top and wouldn't fall through.
I called County Maintenance and reported the problem. They politely took all the information, but wouldn't suggest a repair date. I'll be happy to see them out here by next Spring. That's about how long it took the last time. However, I will say that they do good work when they come.
Hurray!
I am showing the pictures of the "Poor Old Storm Drain" to add to THIS POST today...
The overview... Yes, believe it or not there is a 4x4x4 foot brick well and heavy metal grate under there!
I also noticed that the metal grate on top is actually shoved OFF the brick structure! You can also see that the woody debris is packed so tightly that stones washed over the top and wouldn't fall through.
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