The View From Maybelot

[bill_g]

Nice!

[Maybenaut]

We finally got some heavy enough rain to test our underground French drain and our surface drain.

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And the rain moved on. Looked like there may be a pot of gold down at the Page County Landfill. Or at least a pot of aluminum. The guy at the landfill said they’re burying aluminum in a separate spot because they don’t have a buyer. Same for glass.

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[bill_g]

Nice.

Do the grates pull out so you can flush it out occasionally?

[Maybenaut]

Nice.

Do the grates pull out so you can flush it out occasionally?

Yes. They’re screwed in with stainless steel screws. They can also be replaced if they get damaged, although they’re rated to be parked on. The channel underneath the grate is set in concrete and connects every 8 feet or so to a solid corrugated pipe that is also set in concrete. Below that is a slotted corrugated pipe that is set in gravel. The deepest pipe is for the ground water; the upper pipe is for surface water.

I can’t upload a video, but both the ground water and surface water pipes were running like crazy. The surface water has stopped, but the ground water is still running.

*All of that water* used to run under our house!

[bill_g]

Nice.

Do the grates pull out so you can flush it out occasionally?

Yes. They’re screwed in with stainless steel screws. They can also be replaced if they get damaged, although they’re rated to be parked on. The channel underneath the grate is set in concrete and connects every 8 feet or so to a solid corrugated pipe that is also set in concrete. Below that is a slotted corrugated pipe that is set in gravel. The deepest pipe is for the ground water; the upper pipe is for surface water.

I can’t upload a video, but both the ground water and surface water pipes were running like crazy. The surface water has stopped, but the ground water is still running.

*All of that water* used to run under our house!

Do they drain to a cistern, or riprap on the hill to spread it out as it falls down?

[Maybenaut]

Oh the hillside into wild pollinators. Down the hill is the cabin, but there’s another French drain at the base of the hill about 10 feet from the cabin, and another one along the foundation of the cabin. Those French drains go to the hill in front of the cabin and down the hill into George’s Run, which fills our pond.

We’re big believers in well-engineered drainage. When we first bought the cabin in 2013, you’d sink to your knees in mud if you went out the back door. All of that is history.

[Gene Kooper]

Kewl, someone said "groundwater" multiple times!!

If I recall correctly, your house does not have a basement so the french drains are probably 5 feet below the surface and run along the uphill side(s) of the house (deeper if the frost line goes below 5 feet).

That should keep your new sewing room dry and cozy year round. I'm looking forward to seeing some of your new sewing projects in the Arts and Crafts thread later this Fall.

[Volkonski]

Looks good

[Maybenaut]

Kewl, someone said "groundwater" multiple times!!

If I recall correctly, your house does not have a basement so the french drains are probably 5 feet below the surface and run along the uphill side(s) of the house (deeper if the frost line goes below 5 feet).

That should keep your new sewing room dry and cozy year round. I'm looking forward to seeing some of your new sewing projects in the Arts and Crafts thread later this Fall.

That’s right. If you’re facing the house, the right side of the house has no basement, and the French drain starts in the middle running toward the right end and around the corner and down the hill. The left side has a full basement, but the entire front is paved with asphalt, which, starting in the middle banks steeply toward the left so the surface water runs off parallel to the house on the left end (on the right it runs toward the house and into that channel drain).

As for the ground water on the left end of the house, one of the first things we did when we bought the place was dig out the concrete in the basement (it was all broken and the previous owners tried to fix it with foam). We installed a French drain along the interior of the wall just below the footer. It would have cost us a fortune to dig up the asphalt and dig all the way down on the exterior side, but since we had the basement dug up anyway, we figured this was better than nothing. And it appears to have worked. The humidity in the basement is not as bad as it used to be, and the walls look like they’ve dried out.

When my sewing machine comes out of the storage pod, I’ll definitely post some pictures!

[Maybenaut]

About two hours ago I tried to go down the mountain into Luray to buy some wall anchors at the local farm co-op. I made it about a half mile and got stopped by a State Trooper. There was a silver Volvo on the side of the road with its driver door open, and eleventy-six cop cars, and another eleventy-dozen cops.

The Trooper asked me how I made it through the roadblock at the top of the mountain, and I told him I live just up the hill a bit. He said I could drive through, “but don’t look. Just keep your eyes straight ahead and don’t look.”

I asked, “Well, if I go down I won’t be able to come back up, will I?” “No, not for a long while,” he said. Deciding the wall anchors can wait, I turned around and went home.

There are local facebook pages where well-meaning but not necessarily well-informed locals speculate about what might be happening. The consensus is there was a man with a gun, but the details beyond that are sketchy. I briefly considered adding by two cents about “don’t look,” but thought better of fanning the flames.

This is a major highway, connecting central Virginia with I-81. It’s been shut down since around 10:30 this am. Either dude shot himself or the cops shot him, but from what the Trooper said to me, his body must’ve been lying in or near the road.

Moar, as they say, will be revealed.

[Volkonski]

Google Maps showing a section of highway west of Luray still closed now. No info on the map as to why.

[bill_g]

Glad you're safe. Wall anchors can wait.

[Maybenaut]

It was a suicide. The police got a call from someone in Rappahannock County (east of here) saying a to be on the lookout for a suicidal veteran with weapons. State trooper saw the car and attempted to pull him over. He led the trooper out n a high speed chase, then abruptly pulled over on the mountain and shot himself.

[neonzx]

It was a suicide. The police got a call from someone in Rappahannock County (east of here) saying a to be on the lookout for a suicidal veteran with weapons. State trooper saw the car and attempted to pull him over. He led the trooper out n a high speed chase, then abruptly pulled over on the mountain and shot himself.

That's really sad.

[AndyinPA]

And veterans killing themselves is all too frequent.

[Frater I*I]

And veterans killing themselves is all too frequent.

This country has failed my brethren...

And the QOP is at the heart of it, screwing VA health care as much as possible...

I do not absolve Dems completely, as they tend too see the VA Admin appointment as the same, some mid level campaign staffer who get's the position while having no idea what to do, just so they can have a resume item...

Not everyone can survive being turned into a sociopath by the military, like me, and still be able to preserve the public face....

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[Maybenaut]

When this room was just a big hole in the ground I was pretty anxious about whether it would ever get done. But the end is in sight. The cabinets are in, we’ve started on the floor, then we’ll install all the trim and the painters will return to do a second color coat and paint the trim. Whew!

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[realist]

When this room was just a big hole in the ground I was pretty anxious about whether it would ever get done. But the end is in sight. The cabinets are in, we’ve started on the floor, then we’ll install all the trim and the painters will return to do a second color coat and paint the trim. Whew!

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[Foggy]

That looks awesome, Maybenaut.

[bill_g]

Well done. Looks great. I hope you enjoy it.

[AndyinPA]

Love the color! My primary bath and kitchen are in terra-cotta and I have one bedroom painted a color similar to your kitchen.

Overall, very nice!

[neonzx]

Nice!

[Volkonski]

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Love it!!!!!!!!