Waterproofing
Its been a quiet week at Lake Heiserbegone, with no activity, other than the delivery of a trash bin for our new disposal contract with J&J.
My parents had spent the previous week on site to supervise construction after I returned to Virginia. Their first news was the appearance of an ominous looking foundation crack. Elizabeth diagnosed it through Google, deciding that it was a normal characteristic of poured concrete walls. I confirmed that it was at the joint spot, where the last concrete to be poured went on top of the first concrete, and as this was on the front wall, which will stay above ground, water is not an issue.
Sam the Builder, driven by his cousin James, arrived on Wednesday, and Dad had a chat with them. They confirmed that the cracks were normal, and not a concern, and then proceeded to make what were described as ‘mysterious markings’ on the side of the foundation walls.
That Thursday, Mom reported: “The Eco-Seal Basement Waterproofing guy arrived in the early afternoon. He had a good sized enclosed trailer behind his pickup for his pump and all his supplies. Now we know what the mysterious markings Sam put on the foundations yesterday are for. They show Mr. Waterproofing just where to waterproof — the areas that will be back-filled with dirt. He sprayed on a dark brown substance along Sam’s drawn lines, then installed what he called insulation boards. Progress is being made.”
Mom and Dad were still at the Hollow last weekend, which brought yet another two and a half inches of rain. Although it wasn’t enough to cause a 4th flooding of the township road, it was enough to raise the pond 8 inches overnight, filling it back up again. In most years, the pond is looking pretty sad towards the end of summer, shrinking as much as three feet (no, it never gets so low that the fish die).
These August rains brought enough water to damage the new and the original driveways. By my count, this is three driveway-killing downpours in four weeks. Dad spent a couple more hours with the Kubota, carrying bucket loads of gravel, and smoothing out the ruts with the blade. Sheldon is already planning on replacing two of the drainage pipes under the original driveway, and I’m increasingly thinking that we need him to grade it.
Sam will be working on plumbing and drainage during the next two weeks. Hochstetler Milling has apparently had our logs on ice in a big barn in Loudonville for a couple of months, but they didn’t start on the interior wood until they were sure that we’d be ready. We’re tentatively planning on returning in two weeks for the delivery of the logs and the start of stacking.
[The first entry for Building the Cabin was July 18, 2011. The next entry is The Logs Arrive.]