Old MacDonald Had a Rant...

[Asia 2,498]

Ok I think it may be safe to say you guys and gals are awesome.

Thank you so much. The Tornado is bouncing off the walls with all her friends sending her mail.

I'm going to put all these cards in her baby box.

Big Brother took out his globe to show her where NY, MN, Tx , Poland and Japan and where we are so she can see how far.

I don't think she gets it but one day she will.

That's AWESOME!

[SAT 9,609]

Well, in the morning 1 USD was like 3.9985 PLN

Then it dropped to 3.9383 PLN, so one of my automatic transactions got through.

But just last week it was 3.7998!

Maybe the difference it's not much, but when I need to buy 1,000 USD, every little cent is important

You expect to come to America for 2 weeks and drop only a thousand bucks into our economy? Well you just keep your Polish liras, and go back to where you came from! Until you come up with 10000 to spend!

[Asia 2,498]

Well, I've already spent 700 bucks on some tickets and hotels.

And excuse me if I'm too poor for your taste

My monthly wage is less than 850 dollars, so feel free to donate poor ole me

And I'm coming for 3 weeks

[SAT 9,609]

Ok I'll crowd-fund ya for twenty bucks

[SAT 9,609]

My monthly wage is less than 850 dollars,

And I'm coming for 3 weeks

What kinda coolie labor is that?

You go on strike right now and demand a raise!

[SAT 9,609]

Speaking of coolie labor, where's Stretch...

[Asia 2,498]

Well, it's not that bad considering situation in Poland

And that's my net income, after taxes, medicaid and all that stuff

[SAT 9,609]

I thought Poland was doing really good economically..

No, you go on strike right now!

Or, you go steal something from work tomorrow!

I would....

In fact, I'm going to steal something, right now!

Stealing is fun

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

So the Dane is driving me nuts with not wanting to fix these water issues we are having. He doesn't want to do anything structural himself and he doesn't want to do anything else either. I don't know what is going on in one corner that is way worse than it was last year (now it floods every time it rains), but I decided myself today that I would remove the soil and regrade it in that corner of the house. It was piled at least a foot over the foundation wall and graded towards the freaking house. Plus, they had two layers of plastic down under the mulch and rocks that I am pretty sure doesn't allow the soil to dry and probably was directing water towards the house.

I am really really getting sick of this ###### water.

I saw something online from a contractor who said that treating the side of the house like a flat roof for waterproofing works - apparently this is a common issue elsewhere too. I wonder if I can get the Dane on board to try that.

[SAT 9,609]

Ok troph...

A house, is forever at war with the elements.

Water, is the primary enemy.

Keep in mind, that water has many characteristics.

Such as,

It is liquid, it flows.

It will always find its own level, and will settle at the lowest level.

It will seep.

It has "hydrostatic pressure".

It freezes and expands.

With that said.

Your foundation should be made type-s Portland cement based concrete. Which is freeze proof and fairly water resistant. But by far not waterproof. Water will seep through it.

If your foundation is brick and mortar, or cinder block, it is definitely not water resistant. It will act like a sponge to soak up the water.

If the brick is really old, the mortar is a lime-based mortar (vs. Portland), a lime mortar is designed to wick the water to the water table. This design was used because water-proofing technology was almost non-existent at the time.

With all that said. Are you sure the water is only coming in where the wall meets the foundation? It could be going through your foundation, wind-swept rain could be pressuring the water through a brick wall, etc...

How much of your basement is under ground level? Are there Windows in your basement? How tall are the Windows?

Btw, again, there is nothing structural about waterproofing. And, structural work in 1 story house is like jacking up a car to change a flat, easy.

Edited June 16, 2016 by SAT

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I think some water is coming in over the top, some is coming in through cracks, and some is just hydrostatic through the floor. The floor I don't mind so much, but this is like several gallons of water coming in every time it rains in one corner. It dries up over the next 2 days and bam another stream of water in. It is not immediate, so I suspect that this is not over the top. This particular point is where two old foundation walls meet. I have no idea what is in them, but I would suspect not cinder block.

I'll take a picture later when I can.

Besides waterproofing, best thing I can think of doing is maybe putting an extension on that side of the house and giving it an new exterior foundation. We kind of do desperately need a second bathroom and mudroom.

[SAT 9,609]

It's not that hard to dig down and waterproof the foundation wall.

For the cracks, there's epoxy injection.

[SAT 9,609]

I couldn't go fishing. No crew...

Speaking of "krewe", where's Darklar.

And speaking of Darklar, after 2 days on the boat, I'm darker than Darklar in a dark alley at night covered with a bucket of tar...klar...

[Ontarkie 14,227]

Speaking of coolie labor, where's Stretch...

I was swimming with the kids.

[SAT 9,609]

Swimming pic...