Drainage...

One of the first projects I planned when purchasing the house was to reroute all the excess water and make a dry basement. This had to happen before termites could be exterminated, or repair could be done.

It took 2 months to get a permit from the town to dig a 2.5ft deep ditch, because of the roots of the black walnut tree 25 feet away.

By the time I did, it was midsummer and hot. And it took a few weeks, but I dug the ditch.


You may be able to see the cable line that I found (right side of ditch). I did, in fact, call Miss Utility. It's a good thing this line is abandoned, since water can screw with the signal. To be clear, the line was not damaged.



You can certainly see the enormous root in there. It's not clear whether it's alive or not. I'm guessing from the black walnut tree.

The ditch was lined with weed blocking fabric, filled halfway with rocks (40 bags or so), lined with weed blocking fabric a second time (it was there, I said why not?), more rocks, and now is being covered over with pavers. I only have about half as many pavers as I need, so, you walk a bit on the streambed and a bit on the pavers. Note to self: fix that before Halloween.

This, and the renovations to the porch, have completely eliminated the basement water problem. It's dry. We had 2-3 hurricanes come through this summer/fall, and while the ceiling leaked, the basement...the basement was lovely and dry.

Saving a Cell Phone Once Immersed

I'm going to divert from the main topic of this blog to publish some very important information which is potentially useful to anyone who lives in our modern world.

It helps that I got to apply this information last week, in part of a much larger post which will be forthcoming, ie. the current plumbing situation.

So, you've dropped your phone in a tub/sink/toilet full of scummy backed up water. Can you save it?

YES. But you have to act fast. (note: this will void your warranty. Chances are it's expired anyway)

1) Do not turn it on. Do not try to turn it on. In fact, the first thing you should do is:
2) Remove the battery. The water itself is relatively harmless, it's the water+ions+bias that screws with your board.
3) Remove the SIM card.
4) Take the phone apart. You don't have to separate all the pieces, but you do need to be able to get into all the little parts. Save the screws and rubber pieces until you need them later.
5) Mix up a solution of deionized water and isopropyl alcohol. Soak all the pieces (except the battery and SIM card) for a few hours. If the water was really scummy, mix up a new solution and soak it a second time. The goal is to diffuse all the ions off the board.
6) Wipe the SIM card with a q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol.
7) Dry the phone in a warm location. This could be a sunny windowsill, on top of the fridge, or a cool oven. Don't let it go over 60C(140F).
8) A good way to check if it's dry is if the condensation on a glass fronted screen (usually on the outside) is gone. Let it go 12-24 hours.
9) Put it all back together. Pop in the SIM card and the battery. Power it up.

I didn't get mine 100% dry...I needed it right away...so the speaker is still sounding funny. But, it should last until December when my contract expires and I can get a new phone.

Termite news

The major drawback of the house is the termites. I bought the house knowing full well that there were termites, that the damage was extensive, and that eliminating the attractors and then the bugs themselves needed to be the first set of projects.



About Termites
What I've learned: termites need moisture, dirt and wood to survive. If you eliminate one or two of these, the termites will have less of a desire to travel in your house. In the beginning of an infestation, termite workers will swarm up from the soil, following moisture into your house. They build "mud tunnels" in order to keep dirt with them, and to protect them from the elements. Apparently, if they find a happy enough home (wet and woody), they will actually bring enough mud into the house so they don't have to return to the soil - and can start a satellite colony with their own queen and king breeding in your walls.



Gross.

Though, if you happen to catch a queen, Terminix will pay you $50K.

So, in the first six months of owning the house, we removed the attractors. The water was rerouted, the porch (and the worst of the termite damage) was removed and the materials were replaced with less woody options - pressure treated, advantec plywood and polymer composite. The basement is now dry (YAY!!!) - I love Bitchithane.

Ok, so, causes gone, time to kill the little bastards and get on with beautifying the house.

Riiiggghhhttt.

I got 4 quotes this week on different ways to treat the bugs...and I'm pretty sure I heard 4 different ways of killing them. Two are probably very similar...and about the same price. The other two look like preventative methods...not so much for a huge infestation like I have.

The Terminix guy today was a hoot...now that I've calmed down and can laugh. He was impressed by the extent of the damage. He spent two hours poking his screwdriver into every nook and cranny of my house, trying to figure out how many structural members I need to replace (yeah, I know. Nothing to do with his job. But he was having fun). He went and poked his head into the attic where he saw 1) mud tunnels and 2) a Hibachi grill. Between that and the "evidence" of a fire (yeah, no record of that...I'm not sure I believe him), he thinks they were cooking meth in my house. Just what I need...worry about meth leeching out of the building and into my cats.

But the fact that my termites have extended 2 stories above ground is bad news. We knew that some structural members would have to be replaced, but were hoping they were just that corner, or just in the basement.



So I freaked out. I started to have visions of having to strip all the sheetrock off the house and replace every single beam and stud. I felt very small and alone and poor.

So I mowed the lawn and called my folks, who talked me down. We'll do this in an orderly fashion...one piece of sheetrock, one stud, one room at a time.

But I'm pretty sure this means there will be no renovating of the upstairs bathroom for a very long time.

This is the House on Winding Hill Way

This is the house on Winding Hill Way.




This is the wall that doesn't stop water
Uphill from the House on Winding Hill Way.



This is the moisture that enters the basement
Because of the wall that doesn't stop water
Uphill from the House on Winding Hill Way.

These are the termites, munching on wood,
that follow the moisture that enters the basement,
because of the wall that doesn't stop water,
uphill from the House on Winding Hill Way.



This is the porch, falling to pieces,
weakened by termites, munching on wood,
that follow the moisture that enters the basement,
because of the wall that doesn't stop water,
uphill from the House on Winding Hill Way.

This WAS the House on Winding Hill Way, 6 months ago when I bought it.