The Wormlips Scrapbook

1/16: I came home to a sizeable mound of sand at the head of my driveway. I’m guessing it was left there by the stucco guys. Lucky I don’t have to get my car out tonight, I thought, knowing that the pile will be gone by tomorrow.

1/17: I was wrong. Not even a pint is missing, nor a stucco guy visible. Lucky I have two cars, I thought. Unfortunately I can’t even park the moveable one next to my driveway because the sand and related detritus spill into the street beyond the curb.

1/18: The only change in Sand Mountain is that it’s more soggy and rain-pocked. I wonder if it was the stucco guys who left it there, or a mystery subcontractor.

In my neighborhood it’s exceptionally difficult to find a place to park. After a massive grocery shopping, M and I had to haul several loads of heavy bags from the far end of the block.

1/19: This is getting to me now. My poor car still sits stranded in the driveway and I can’t take it to the shop as planned for its oil change and headlight repair. I wonder why they didn’t dump the stuff five feet to the left, onto a tarp on the lawn instead.

1/20: Surely whoever dumped the sand won’t leave me blocked in my driveway all weekend. There’s been no rain for a few days so I can’t think why they wouldn’t show up.

I have no one to call: don’t know the stucco guy’s name to find out if it’s his sand, and Dan is out of town on a well-deserved vacation, under the impression that everything is going as arranged.

1/21, 1/22, 1/23:

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Dan: I didn’t mean to be writing again before I leap, Irish-dancerlike, onto the airplane today. But awoken as I was this morning by Sumpy’s piercing cries for help, I’ve reconsidered my priorities.

Here are more pictures for you. Overnight, things changed in the basement. Following are salient bits of info supported by photos.

On the uphill side of the basement, below the French drain, there’s water seeping in along an eight- or ten-foot stretch from the outside wall (by the washing machine) to the area behind the furnace. Much of it is running toward Sumpy, and Sumpy doesn’t seem to appreciate it — the slacker. Here’s what it looks like (left to right):

The rest runs diagonally downhill in the direction of the addition:

Then, on the north wall where you added the downspouts outside, this is what it looks like inside (left to right):

Unnamed Sumpy seems to be doing her job:

In the new construction, the area was still mostly dry but getting damper:

Finally, regarding that area in the addition where there’s a leak by the window … it appears that there might be an additional drainage problem. I see dampness at the corner of the window, but also seepage along the foundation on which it rests:

Okay, Dan: on this cheerful note, I’m gonna blow this sodden popsicle stand. — G

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