I left you with a bit of a teaser last time, so let's start there.
In the large room of our basement was a floor drain that was perpetually backing up. The concrete we were removing in that area was very very soft--almost like clumpy sand-- because it was so wet. As we uncovered the pipe leading away from the drain, we found our issue.
If this pipe was a bone, it would be a perfect example of an oblique fracture. Arguably, it can still be a perfect example of an oblique fracture even if it's not a bone. The drain pipe was completely severed so the drain was just draining into the space under the (1 inch thick) concrete. This is what our washer had been draining into, so... yeah. Glad we're not using that drain any more (our plan was to take it out anyway).
In the small back room (front? Technically it is in the front of the house, but since we enter the basement from the back of the house, the front seems like the back and the back feels like the front. (I think that last sentence is an excellent demonstration of my current brain functioning...)) Tim and a couple of his helpers started breaking up the floor and found what Tim calls a tunnel.
Calling it a tunnel makes it seem much bigger and more dramatic than it actually is. Notice the treble light for scale. It is 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide and goes to the front (back?) of the basement. If you're Facebook friends with Tim, you probably saw the extensive conversation about it last week. The two best guesses at it's purpose are:
1) An early form of indoor plumbing, perhaps originally drainage for an indoor "outhouse" type thing.
2) Drainage for rainwater to keep the basement dry. If this is the case, I have this to say about it: It's not working. Well, maybe it is most of the time. 13 inches of rain in 24 hours creates all kinds of exceptions.
I'm a little unclear on whether or not we have found where it "exits" the house. Right now it just seems to be a trench contained within the footprint of our house. So if it's meant for drainage, where is is draining to? Perhaps Tim can elaborate and explain in another blog post.
So the fact remains that we have a mysterious chamber and broken pipes in our basement. Needless to say, Tico is on 24-hour basilisk watch. (If you didn't get the Harry Potter reference, you need to read the books. Please.)
We had lots of friends come and help us on Monday and Tuesday, which propelled this project forward immensely. And Monday morning I was facing the same basement as Tuesday night, because the week was crazy and Tim and I didn't get anything else done. So here is where we are!
Last Week
This Week
This Week
Last Week
This Week
And here is the Big Room...no more concrete!
So that's were we were at the start of this week! Tons (literally) more progress has been made already this week. I don't want to speak too soon but... I might only have a few more trips to the dump!
Now, for a quick "So how are you doing with all of this, Steph?"
To be honest, it is wearing on me. Anyone who knows me or has ever been to my house (or office) knows I'm not exactly a neat-freak. But I do have a threshold. And we are pushing it. At least the main level of my house is feeling a little bit under control, but the garage... holy moly. I can't spend more than about 10 minutes in there without wanting to throw things. I am trying to tell myself it is just temporary, but the truth is that almost everything we moved out to the garage is not coming back into the house (except the freezer), because
a) it needs to be pitched/sold/recycled
b) it should have been in the garage in the first place
c)we won't have a storage room in the house anymore
Losing a whole level of your house forces you to get very creative in finding places for things. And sometimes you just run out of spaces. Maybe it's just the stress of the project bringing out the claustrophobe in me, but sometimes I feel like the world is literally closing in on me. I can hardly take a step without tripping on something or running into something. I know I'm exaggerating, but...it just feels like that, ok? We just have so. much. stuff. And I don't like having a lot of stuff. It feels... icky.
There have been so many blessings though. Our friends are just so great, we don't even deserve them. Each day that I know I should load up the pickup and take more to the dump, but I don't think I have it in me, a friend volunteers to come and help. God knows when I'm at my weakest (all. the. time.) and He just steps right in and takes charge.
I think sometimes I am overwhelmed not because I am discouraged, but because I am overwhelmed with blessings. I don't even know why I have all of these blessings and I really don't know what to do with them sometimes. But I am so grateful.
Thank you everyone for following this mess, and for your love, and support, and prayers. Thanks for the monster cookie bars, and the sledgehammering, and the calls, and hauling buckets, and sweaty hugs, and for going to the dump with me. You are fantastic!
26 days and counting!
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