According to my husband, this is me and my plants in Texas.
So we’ve hit a bit of a delay writing-wise. We’ve been remodeling the office, and stuff has piled up, and now on top of everything else, we need a new work computer because the old computer is no more.
I spent Monday calling around looking for a new desktop and I swear, everywhere I called everything was sold out. Best Buy was sold out of desktops. I don’t know if it was the Memorial Day sale or Covid or what, but there was no computers to be had. I even checked Sams. Display models only.
Long story short, we are sitting here, metaphorically, since we are actually running around and putting together book cases and doing other stuff like that, and waiting for an all-in-one to be delivered from Amazon. They said it would be today, but nobody actually knows, because the shipping is all messed up.
Because we sit next to each other, the desk arrangement requires a bit of fiddling. We’ve already dismantled our set up in the house, so we’re kind of in between things. Once the computer arrives, we need to load up half a dozen of different programs on it. Ryder will be Friday or Saturday, heads up. We really need to talk to a Methodist minister for the next scene, and failing that, we may have to read a bit of stuff for research. Phhh. We also need to fix the flooding problem.
This is the culprit of the flooding.
This trench runs along the office wall and it’s blocked by a grate, otherwise small dogs escape. The trench clogs. We’ve already cleaned it twice this spring, and here it is, needs to be cleaned again. In our part of Texas, it rains hard. We get crazy thunderstorms, which is why Austin floods so often. The trench wouldn’t be a problem except that some genius did this awesome number when running AC and electric cables.
So, the trench backs up, fills with water, water runs between the cables, and we have a flood. I have no idea how to fix this. I don’t know whom to call to fix this. My solution would be to buy a can of expandable foam, stick it in there, and just fill it with as much foam as we can, but I am not sure it will work.
We have to solve this problem somehow, because otherwise we’re just asking for more flooding. So sorry guys, Ryder will be around the weekend.
Update: It’s 9:20 pm. Computer isn’t here. Grrr.
HI know a Presbyterian minister who has worked internationally and across denominations between Huston and Austin i think …. if you want me to connect let me know – i am the person who told the Smetana and Malako story on Twitter 🙂 – will also check back here.
hang in there!
If you’re not moving…a drainage trench + electric cables seems like a pretty high priority. Do you have Nextdoor in your area? That neighborhood app is pretty useful where I live to find local repair people. Or maybe slap some Flex Seal on it and hope for the best.
Ummm… you’re not going to want to DIY this but…
Cut a piece of conduit pipe to width, split it lengthwise. Augur out a half-hole for the drain tube, fit a gasket around same. Use waterproof builder epoxy to stick the pipe back together and seal the gasket in place. Cover the juncture of the pipe and the sides of the trench with waterproof cement.
OR get an actual contractor to figure out what needs to be done – instead of a DIY idiot like me…
This sounds about right, although I would have someone licensed and insured do it (as the above poster mentioned would be an option). In addition to putting the cable in waterproof conduit, I’d make sure the height and angle (down and out of the house) was correct. Looks like a suspiciously flat run to me. How recently did you buy the house again? May be some coverage through whoever did the inspection, if they missed this?
Good chance to catch up on some of life’s necessary tasks.
Love your updates.
Thank you for your writing.
If you have a pest control company, call them and ask them to fix this. This isn’t just a water access problem, it will eventually be a bug problem too. Usually they will go around and find all possible accesses to the home and block them for you. It didn’t cost me much to get it done and I imagine they could problem handle this. Good luck.
Oh yikes! Computers and flooding and rearranging. All headaches and all happening/a worry at the same time! Hope the new computer shows up! And yeah, I’d lean towards can-o-foam too, but I have no experience so of course it sounds like a good idea to me. Good luck!
My thought was expandable foam covered with silicone caulk, but….
Ugh, flooding… 🙁
I would replace the expandable foam with straight silicone caulk. Might have to do in layers if the whole is large. An alternative is that Flexible Rubber they advertise on TV. Have tried it and the stuff does work. The only issue is if the cables move around it could break the seal so you want to stabilize them so there is little to no movement in them and then seal.
My handyman father had similar advice
“ Go to local hardware store and talk to them and just get a good waterproof sealant ”.
He also mentioned that the foam would work but only for the short term.
Thank you for all the smiles and joy you spread in the world. Sending positive vibes your way!
Sweet anticipation.
Here’s hoping you find a computer and a solution to your flooding. Your backlist is mighty. We can wait.
There is a water proof sealant that you can use on that. I have used DAP silicone max before and it works. There is also lexel comes in a tube like caulk but for outdoors. It should seal that up! Have had that problem before.
Good luck.
As to the computer most laptops can be made to be the equivalent of a desk top these days and can be portable if you want to vacation and work at the same time!
I actually use a MSI gaming computer for my research and work and it is perfect. Large hard drive great graphics to render my data and very fast.
Can’t wait for Emerald Blaze so excited have pre-ordered it! You guys are the best!
foam followed by flex paste (rubber sealant) maybe?
So sorry y’all are dealing with this. Thanks for all you do. It sounds like y’all need a vacation without any problems. Whew!
Life happens. You do what you need and we can wait for our treat. Good luck with your projects
Don’t known if this will help. But since I love your books…. I’m an unordained Lutheran minister MA in theology(i got outed to my school no ordination for lesbians). I was raised Episcopalian and am now studying for an interfaith ordination – you know the saying if at first you dont succeed…. I could try to answer your questions if you would like. My speciality is liturgy and pastoral counseling.
We used Great Stuff Pond & Stone to fix the outside of my mum’s well which is in her basement (old PA Amish house). Worked well – we did foam then steel wool then foam to keep out the critters.
There are no computers available because distance learning.
Depending on the outflow level, I’d install a French drain system to lower the drain level behind the fence and encourage proper flow out of the area.
If the point of outflow is too high, install a pump to get the water out of the back yard and delivered to a curb drain, then concrete that area. Clean the pump grill bi-weekly.
Well stated and my thoughts exactly.
French drains sound nice, but if you can’t keep up with the maintenance they can be a beast. Our house came with them and we were not going to dig up the whole damn yard to fix them.
We added a rain garden and a couple of rain barrels that we drain out to the marsh behind us.
No more standing water and mushy spots.
Same thought. Best bet is to keep the water level low. You could also run the French drain through the trench to empty further away and then backfill with gravel. Fixing the cables / lines is going to be more difficult and involve multiple contractors (electrician, plumber to empty the coolant, etc.). I think a French drain down the middle of the trench with proper outflow should handle your main issue. I would definitely caulk the snot out of the lines on the inside (if you can get to the point they exit the concrete) and outside.
Hi. Unfortunately, French drains are fine in low volume situations. In a storm, overland flow occurs and French drains will not mitigate it in time.
May I suggest you get an electrician in to relocate the cables. I have worked in construction all my life and that is pretty bad. I know that means patching the wall, but most alternate treatments will only be temporary.
On the blockage of the grate issue, can you put a temporary grill further “ up stream” to keep the dogs out and hence no have the problem of water backing up there? Especially until you relocate the cables.
I sympathise with your rain issue. I live in Queensland, Australia.
I second the idea to fence the small dogs out farther upstream. The trench looks narrow; no idea how long it is, but if you can put in three or four sections of fence and solve the problem, it’s time to find a post-hole digger. Looks like an HVAC unit to work around too; still not insurmountable from what I can see.
The foam in a can will not work. Open cell and it will just suck the water up. Caulk would be a better bet
Research, flooding, computers, moving…….oye there too many balls in the air this week that need time to fix right. Your week is already too stressful and it is not yet over. And if IA are not happy…..
I think it would be ok with the BDH to postpone this week’s Ryder and maybe get a bonus installments next week if the BDH are very very lucky?
+1. Actually, I *think* a majority of us would be happy to say, “we’ll love it when we see it!”
Especially if you just post a picture of Gordon’s boot almost hitting the ground, with the words “BDH Whining” getting squished underneath.????
I’ll love it when I see it!
Ooooh! Love this idea!!!
I completely agree. I feel grateful and thrilled when you post an instalment, but you have quite enough on your plates. We can wait.
You guys have your hands full! Hope you find the necessary resources and results soonest. Sorry you’re having to deal with all of that. And no worries about us. We’ll still be here whenever you’re back in business. ????
Research, flooding, computers, moving…….oye there too many balls in the air this week that need time to fix right. Your week is already too stressful and it is not yet over.
And if IA are not happy…..
I think it would be ok with the BDH to postpone this week’s Ryder and maybe get a surprise bonus next week if the BDH are very very lucky?
Ouch!! Sending virtual hugs to you both!!
(Re: the minister reference – I could get you half a dozen Presbyterians (cousins, cousin-in-law, cousin’s kid – yes, theology runs in the extended family), but I don’t have any current contacts at the local Methodist church.)
Hope the mechanical issues get better! ????
Since I’m not there, I can only base this recommendation on what I see and some experience with post-disaster flood cleanup and other house renovations. I am not an electrician or foundation expert.
I’d recommend a decent electrician to properly re-route those cables, because I seriously doubt that meets code. Once they’re rerouted, the electrician can cut the existing trouble-makers, you can hopefully pull them out, and patch the concrete with concrete patching material.
Otherwise, if the cables can bend a little, you could try building a bit of a dike around them, preferably with concrete and no more than half the width of the trench. But I think that’s fairly futile.
Best of luck!
What he said is a really good thing.
Agreed! You need an electrician to reroute those cables and then a plumber or general contractor to fix the drainage issue. I agree that probably doesn’t meet code. Temporary fix might be silicone caulking, outside and inside. Best of luck to you!
I agree with everything above. It’s a shame that the work was done that way in the first place. I hate short work. Good luck with finding the right contractors and solutions. Don’t forget to breath or count to 10 though during all the quotes and resolution steps. ????. Take care
Agree with the re-routing as a first step, for safety reasons plus.. take this weekend off for Ryder, to clear your head and manage to get your stuff where you want it, and the way you need it to be happy. You deserve it!
We really appreciate the wonderful snippets, but not at the cost of your peace of mind.
Electrician and/or telecommunications person. You want a professional for this. Caulking is just gonna be a neverending story.
Best of luck.
My hibiscus is wilting here in Florida – Mom just gave it to me, yanked that puppy out of the ground, in May!, and said “Here, enjoy.” Yikes!!
She is spontaneous like that.
+1
Oh man! Good luck guys! Our love is unconditional. Moving is a pain, but maybe this is another point in your pro-moving column?
Desktops are probably because of covid. The stimulus checks making it possible for an upgrade. Your hibiscus are beautiful! I do a lot of container gardening myself. Everything from petunias to Japanese maples, herbs, vegetables and everything in between.
We can skip a week of Ryder. You have a lot to deal, and we can wait. You are so generous with all you post, so get your desktop, find a solution to your most.
Plant some hibiscus ????. Have a barbecue.
To Gordon, a belated Thank you for your service to this country.????????
This is not the same trench problem but it was still a huge pain. My parents have a trench that runs along the length of their two garage doors. They discovered after moving in that as soon as there was a downpour, the trench flooded because it wasn’t deep enough. The water had nowhere else to go other than forward, seeping in under the garage doors. I moved in with them last year so each time it rained I had to run down and help push the water back with brooms before it flooded the entire front area of the garage. Fun times.
Last fall, when my parents repaved their driveway, they had the workmen widen and deepen the trench. So problem solved, the trench no longer overflows and floods the garage every time it rains. I have no idea how’d you’d solve your cable/trench on the side of the house though. I hope you figure it out because these kinds of things are so annoying to fix. I’m not an expert so I can’t give any advice.
Good luck with the floods.
I’ve been binging on a relisten of hidden legacy. I really like the way that Bern’s character has quietly developed.
Hum, i am sure you already thought about this but how about something to prevent leaves from blocking your drain with a drain guard ?
No problem – I can hardly figure out what day it actually is much less know what is supposed to arrive that day. Result of total knee replacement last week.
Love my all in one & you HAVE to deal with flooding first. I love that foam stuff – works wonderfully to keep little critters out of the house, but don’t know about water.
Love your work!! Keep on keepin on!
Life keeps.interfereing which is understandable. Do what you need to do I can wait.
No worries. We’ll read it when it’s available. Good luck with everything.
I was a building maintenance person for many years. Spray foam sucks. It gets on everything and doesn’t come off. It’s also porous and doesn’t give a good seal. If you can get the tip into the conduit I’d try caulk. Pick a paintable outdoor type and then get a can of Flex Seal, I think Lowe’s sells it, Amazon if not. Follow the directions and spray the heck out of it, multiple coats work best.
I second FlexSeal! It comes in multiple formats (I would recommend the tube kind for this) and actually works. The commercials are over-the-top, but it lives up to the hype. Now, it’ll be a pain to remove, if you have to in the future, but I think it’ll work. ????
Lots of people I know have had to buy ipads, desktops, laptops etc because of mandatory online virtual school curriculum so that could be the issue.
House issues are really a pain to deal with. Can only wish you the best in getting that resolved!!
Thank you for the update on Ryder! It’ll be a great weekend highlight for me and I’m sure many others!
Space X launch was just canceled! So maybe another highlight would be the rescheduled Space X launch.
Suggest you add a top (hardware cloth) screen at a diagonal that can catch the cruft & shift the cruft out & away from dropping in trench. The (top) screen leans on wall, covers trench with bottom of screen on ground outside of trench so cruft does not block trench & allows water to flow
Or use bathroom silicon gasket seal, do many layers NOT push in whole tube at once.
OR Cut out the concrete & fix the seal to your office–might have to rewire if you break any wires while making it waterproof. Add some umm anti-seeping powder to concrete as you are making it for the patch.
IF they make waterproof window foam that does NOT expand too much that might be safe.
Ooooh! Love this idea!!!
Wow! I run into that at my house where the previous owner thought he knew a lot more about home repairs than he did. I can’t believe that was done by a regular contractor. Have you thought about putting wire fencing over the trench to keep a lot of stuff out (kind of like you can do with gutters)?
Thanks for the information!
For the flooding, I wish I could help! We’re in the middle of huge renovations ourselves (for a house we just bought where we were expecting to just have to repaint..), so I feel for you!
I’m sending lots of good creative vibes, so you can figure out a solution
Ryder can wait. Have you checked with a plumbing contractor? Not just a guy who fixes leaky faucets, but someone with experience with flooding issues. If you have a general contractor, perhaps they can recommend one.
hmmm… expanding foam disintegrates when exposed to light. What about putting the sponge gutter leaf guards in the trench to allow water to flow in the space but keep the leaves from filling it? Leaves may fall on top, but space is still underneath for flow? Either that or gravel. Gravel will reduce the amount of water the trench can carry significantly though.
Not sure what happened with my first post. Have you checked with a plumbing contractor? An experienced plumber can help with all sorts of flooding issues.
There’s a delay in the refresh of comments of about 15 minutes I think. This is why after submitting a comment I now close the tab and reopen a new one as it will give me the refreshed content.
????
Laurence
Appreciate it!
Do you want to email the minister questions or speak on the phone? My husband is a Lutheran seminary student, but has many Methodist minister friends. He offered to answer questions first, but is willing to pass them along.
I wish you all the best, hopefully the BDH community has someone with experience in water-clogging situations to help. Ryder is a joy for us, not an entitlement. Have fun with it, and also with decor!
On the bright side, that one bloom is purdy.
So, according to that picture, you’re husband considers himself to be Batman. Not surprising! 🙂
Hehehe.. this made me lol! ????
OMG, please take care of life first. Computer supplies in general have been high on demand since everyone, I mean, everyone has to be on computers these days.
I’m really thankful that there is still Ryder installments from time to time.
No worries. TAKE CARE OF YOU! It’s really hard to work when frustrating life-stuff isn’t done.
Oh dearest hunnis! So sorri. That all sounds terrible. Hubs is seriously one of top system designers in state. We are old school use TIGER DIRECT and HP DIRECT. Kills me but pro brainiacs all say NOW pretty much complete system replace every five years as internals must connect with signal upgrades. I resisted that advice. I was wrong. Now needing WFH catchup not great. It’s 108 degrees here. BEE well as we await the next chapter.
I sent a screenshot of your cord problem to my electrician/welder/all around handyman husband. He says spray foam *might* work for a little bit but you will eventually have the same problems again, if you are lucky, but more than likely it will just make it worse when it does eventually fail. In his opinion the only way to truly fix this is to break up that section of concrete redo the electrical and re-pour the concrete. He also says that that would require an above-novice level of skill with concrete, electrical experience and possibly permits. In other words, get ready to spend some money for a permanent fix.
The hibiscus is so pretty. I hope it survives. If not, maybe try again with an Earth box? Or some other kind of self watering system? My sister swears by hers and the stuff she grow in those are mammoth. I kid you not.
Ultimately, you might want to have someone who does concrete work to place that bundle of cables/wires/doohickeys somewhere else. We had a thing like that (thanks a lot, builder), and just had to rework the whole thing. It’s not fun to pay the money to have it done, but it also wasn’t fun to have black mold in the basement that needed to be remediated.
I always look forward to your guys’ blog posts. The chapter posts are such a treat, and don’t let anyone who pesters you for the next installment get you down! You guys are awesome. 🙂
When talking to a Methodist preacher, well First Methodist ( stricter) is slightly different than United Methodist (more relaxed). Then there’s First United Methodist, as I was raised more rigid… well you get the picture. Wow they have women preachers now, not way back when.
Awwwtch!
I hope you solve the flooding issue soonest!
Leak: remove any loose concrete and debris, chiseling concrete if necessary to get all surfaces clean and dirt out, and then patch with a roofing sealant or similar material. Possibly use the stuff they sell on TV to make a screen boat float.
A truly competent electrician should be able to deal with your problem, or at the very least, tell you exactly what is needed to fix it.
Oh man, I can sympathize with desktop issues. Last year I contracted with a long time client. He sold a big chunk of his business and kept a small part (his version of retirement) and because of… things …I needed a high end server. I bought myself a brand new shiny system… Top of the line. The server I had was 10 years old and mostly held together by gravity. In March of this year the new server froze… And when I rebooted, it refused to come back up. I’ve argued with the motherboard manufacturer, bought a new motherboard, bought a new cpu, new memory and a new graphics card. Now I have 2 complete new systems which don’t work. Apparently the new AMD chips don’t work with existing motherboards “out of the box”.
Hopefully, after contacting a couple of CEOs, the package I received today will fix both new systems. I’m not holding my breath.
In the meantime, my old server is chugging right along… Held together with spit and gravity (and duct tape… Lots of duct tape)…it’s happily running backups all over the country, doing zoom meetings and web hosting for our web development stuff. I should have had more faith in it…
Maybe an electrician or handyman? You could always call your dad for advice. I know he does a wonderful job fixing up your house when he’s around. Lol.
I have no advice but I hope you’re able to get the flooding fixed! And manage all the things! And get a computer!