soopa

you should give some lessons to those of us who have really poor drainage around our homes and don't know dick about it

GreenMonster

My basement is till leaking, and the sump pump is going off every 20 minutes... I've got seepage coming up from cracks in the floor too so I know that the water table is higher then most years (7 inches of water instead of 5 so far this year).

Once I become the master, I'll start giving lessons, but now, I'm still a student

First thing is to get the water as far away as from the foundation as possible. Pools of water next to the house aren't good. Drainpipe extensions will help. I just got my http://www.rainguardusa.com extensions, but don't think I'll put them on this weekend (snow predicted). We'll see if they help.

I was going to just use a peice of 4" pvc pipe on the end of the downspout till my brother sent me the link for the rainguards...

I've also considered calling in the local experts, but it might be overkill as I don't plan to finish my basement anytime soon. Single guy, no kids, so it's mostly storage and a work area...

These guys advertise on my local sportstalk radio station

http://www.pioneerbasement.com/index.html

I need to find out more about their "super sump". Their crack sealing methods look alot better then me attacking the cracks with hydraulic cement.

I've got a big budget planned for next year (new boiler, electrical panel upgrade, etc), so I might call the pros in for an estimate (at least) on solving my leaky basement too. Haven't put anything into the house yet, and they say you should expect to spend 2-3% of the value of the home on maintenance, so I'm ahead.

My leaks aren't that bad, but it just bothers me. Having the dehumidifer on during the winter freaks me out too...

FYI: This has been the worst year (spring and now) for leaks since I moved here in 2001.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

BTW, wanted to throw these pics in here for fun. This is what was on my deck and outside at 9am. Sun popped out at 10am, and by 10:40am, everything was dry


Pic of the deck (really the only place that had snow)




Another shot of the side of the deck that overlooks the pool:




And a shot of part of my yard and the cul-de-sac. Don't mind the power box in the corner of the yard, we didn't get a chance to plant around it to hide it last year... but we will this spring

GreenMonster

JB, this place has a HOA ?? The sidewalks thru the area look pimp !!

Snow in a pool thread ??

But I guess it's only Carolina snow...

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

hehe, yeah, that was only as a goof. They called for flurries and we had that. But it was gone in like 2 hours total (less then one hour after I took the pic).

Yeah, we have an HOA. It hasn't been turned over to the homeowners yet... but that should be happening soon as the community is like 85% done. The developer still owes us walking trails, so we want him to get those done before we take over anything.

FYI, that concrete to the right of the power box is a driveway. I think you know that, but not sure b/c you can hardly see any sidewalks, but you're commenting on them

soopa

Yeah I was wondering why they put the driveway so close to the power box (or vice versa)... doesn't really allow for much coverage by shrubs/etc.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

They usually put them between lots, so where that is sitting is right on our line. Doesn't matter much to us b/c we're only going to put shrubs in front of it and to the left of it (as looking at it in the pic).

That way when you look out from our house you won't see it, and when you drive up into the cul-de-sac you won't see it. We don't really care if our neighbor can see it from their house. They can put potted plants on their driveway or something if they want to block it

soopa

OHHHH. That makes sense. I thought that was YOUR driveway.

Yea fuck your neighbors... just block it from your side

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

hehe, exactly. Just make it look nice from our view

Our driveway is on the other side of the house, so we're covered

GreenMonster

No shit... I thought it was a sidewalk... really...

Concrete driveways > pavement

soopa

What's the name of the brick used on your house btw? It has a very unique look, I dig it.

It appears to be much nicer than the typical "new brick" on your neighbors crib.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I don't know off hand... but I will soon b/c I have to get the manufacturer and color name for the columns being built around the pool.

FYI, our builder has like 9 different bricks you can choose from... many of them are pretty sweet.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

OK, few more quick shots. They finished the stonework on the steps around the pool... so wanted to put these up. They're pretty much done now. All that's needed is plaster and water. Next week the landscaper should be grading the yard, then 3-4 weeks after that the fence and columns should get started... so we're almost there. Should be done in time for the warm weather. Then the fun of the landscaping begins



Steps by the pergola:




Steps on the other side:




And side shot of the steps. We had them to the stone work here too to hide the concrete :

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

BTW, the first pic... the bottom step looks like it's not level. Turns out it's an illusion the way the rock on the riser was cut. We took a level and measuring tape to all three and they're all perfectly level. Was bugging us out for a bit, so we had to double check

anothercls

Some home inspector for the insurance company will take pictures and they'll assume it isn't level and tell you to fix it.

It looks great.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Well, they should be fired as an inspector if they didn't put a level on it . Plus, when you're actually out there in person, it looks fine, just looks weird in the picture. Strange stuff man.

It wouldn't matter anyway.... our insurance agent is our neighbor... so his ass will be over swimming and grilling all summer . Plus, since it's not a diving pool our insurance will not be changing, so they won't even be out here looking at it.

soopa

Consider acid staining the concrete to "class it up" a bit? Would help bring the natural stone theme together.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Oh yeah, we're doing that. We'll be edging the driveway and walkway with a pattern as well. We're also going to put a medalion centered in the section by the garages. There are two houses towards the front of the neighborhood that did designs on their driveways, and the guy they used is great and not too expensive.

But... won't be happening this year though. Too much other stuff to do (columns, lighting, fencing, and landscaping). We'll have to live with the standard concrete for now. Maybe next year.