I need a jackhammer
What? It could be fun!
It has been an unusually wet season here in North Central Texas. After the last couple of years of drought, I’m torn between yay! My garden is thriving! and…
The garage has flooded. Again.
It could be worse. Back at the end of April we had a day where the weather radar looked like a freight-train, red dots of storms all following one another in a row nice and tidy and rolling across Tiny Town as they went. When I was finally able to get home through the nastiest driving I’ve had to do in a while, the garage was five inches deep and we took off shoes and socks to wade to the door. According to the rain gauge, we’d gotten about five inches of rain in less than twelve hours. There are places in the world that’s not extraordinary. Here, just east of the Dry Line, that was… special.
This morning we got over a half an inch of rain in about ten minutes, and I went to see how the new roof was shedding water. We upgraded our shingles to impact-resistant, and they look different than the cheap flat ones the house was covered in before. Can’t really tell how different the flow off is, though, as the rain was bucketing down and as I stood there, the garage started to flood.
I know there is a drain at the lower corner of the garage, just outside it. It backs up in a heartbeat when the rain is heavy. I also have no idea where it goes… But even if I get rid of a bit of the concrete slab to direct the water into the backyard, I’m not sure it will help in cases like this. The land around here is flat. Until it has a moment to drain, that water is just standing around, waiting on the bus.
But the jackhammer would make me feel better after I bust up some stuff!
Sigh. Darn responsible adult logic telling me there’s no point in the time, money, and effort! Twenty minutes later the garage is drained. the foundations are designed in such a way this doesn’t happen to the house, by the way, it’s just the garage. Is it a problem? Yes. Is it a big deal? Probably not. I know better now than to store anything on the floor in there.
The trials and tribulations of home ownership! Fortunately, we got our roof replaced and no longer deal with leaks during heavy rain. Flooding in the yard is another matter. Hang in there!
You can borrow my jackhammer Cedar but you gotta come get it.
&/but yes, the gutters and rain barrels seem like a far better plan than 15,000 miles driving (2 round trips, one to borrow it 'nother to return it.). ;-)