Robin, be very careful digging down too far, especially with all the water flow you've had lately, just don't get down to where it may be unstable. :)

Robin, I am sorry, I don't think anyone meant any offense. Just so you know, my brother didn't have to dig out the entire foundation, only in two spots on his foundation where it was cracked. They dug in those areas and repaired the issues, and installed drains in two window wells. He said it was a little over $6k. But yeah I know, it's pricy. After he pulled out his basement drywall and carpet for the second time, he'd just had enough.

No it wasn't rude, it was stress and worry.

Lorikeets came back this morning while the sun was out so you can see the colours better

Wow roo... they are so friendly! And colorful!

Night ladies, I've got to take my mosquito bites to bed, they're pretty tired, talk to you all tomorrow :)

No Robin, you didn't sound rude at all ........... just totally exasperated and I totally felt for you.

I'm going to be waiting at least 2-3 weeks before doing any digging - barring any other deluges. I've done trench rescues before and I'm not willing to be 'that gal'

Those birds are amazing! The colors are beautiful.

There are a number of waterproofing membranes that are used for basements. Anything from a 40 mill self adhering modified bitumen sheet with a 20 mil HDP protective drainage barrier board to a 66 mil self adhering Modified Bit barrier sheet........all of which goes down the vertical surface over the footing and down the face of the footing........with a perforated drain pipe at the lowest level of the footing to drain off the water. Usually this is done at the time of construction, the membrane is applied, then the pipe is laid with a fabric filtration sleeve over it with gravel underneath it and around it. Then the HDP protective drain board is placed against the wall and the back fill started. Below grade water infiltration is stopped at the wall, drains through the HDP cover board to the drain pipe..........I have yet to understand the reluctance of builders to install this type of system at the time of construction........the typical residential application you're probably talking about $2-3K at time of construction that is easily passed on the buyer and if they're really smart used as a selling point for home owner assurance that their basement is waterproof and will be ready to finish out whenever they're ready...........but, nooo, if they do anything at all, it's usually a sprayed on coating that does nothing but blacken the surface or maybe a sloppy troweled on bit by some day labor who doesn't give a damn whether or not he completely coats the wall and the footing or misses whole sections............I've seen builders who troweled on a coating the last 18-24" of the top of the wall and claimed the basement was waterproofed from top down to the footing. By time the evidence reveals it elf the builder is long gone and the warranty expired.

When it's done after the construction, the remedy can be double and even triple the initial cost due to the labor intensive digging that is required..........

Oh, rats, night mforr - just got a shot of my very rusty birdcage stand for you ............... thinking in progress.

I'm still here roo, like your round stand, rust and all! It's so cute!

So true, STK. My last house had the black plastic dimpled waterproofing membrane, but only because they screwed up and had to do a cold pour on the high side of my foundation/lot. I'm pretty sure all they did on this house was the black gunk they sprayed on.

And yes Robin -- please don't be 'that girl'! No trench rescues, please!!

Both of the trench collapses I've been involved with were when it was really wet and mucky and in very confined spaces (newer developments with barely 5 ft to the next house). I have a good neighbour to the north (where I will be digging) and no fence in the way.

mforr - it will stay outside so debating whether to just leave the rust - would that qualify as a "rustic look"???? - or repaint. I'm just going to put a nice hanging plant into it. If your's is going to be indoors I wonder if you could get a nice timber platter, attach it at 3 points and then put your candles or anything else decorative onto it. Could have some nice pebbles around the candles.

As I was saying... I will have lots of space to work and I don't have to worry about pulling out the sidewalk. Phew.

Yeah babies! Don't have time to read everything but I will in la manana. However, Mr. Mushroom is HISTORY!

Back in his cold dark hole I hope!!!!! I got that thread fixed I couldn't switch off notifications too, and got a nice email back from Houzz. Nice when they acknowledge the way they do. Hope you get a good night's sleep. Does it stay hot overnight??

Miss 7 is teaching me Spanish too.

Roo, spray it with a matte polyurethane so it won't rust any more than it has. Should last a good long time.
Mine will be outside too, but under roof, thought I'd put some bigger shells in with candles. Looking for better cage though, not the best fit.

B'bye Mr. Mushroom!

This time I'm really gone, sleep tight, and have a great day, roo

Not really fussed if it doesn't last that long, just can't throw it out. Been lying around a good 30 years now and still very solid.

I meant to ditch the cage and just use a platter. Shells are nice too............. and a starfish.

Nite, Michelle.

I wish there was ice cream in the freezer...

Robin, not to throw a scare into you or upset you more.......that wasn't my intentions at all, but basement water mitigation is one of those areas that are very susceptible to what I call "snake oil salesmen" who will promise their system is the best thing since sliced bread to cure the problems forever, when all they are doing is plugging existing cracks and do nothing to resolve the problem........like the dutch boy and the leaking damn, sooner or later you run out of fingers and toes so to say. When water intrusion is plugged at one spot, it will seek out another route.......the problem is you have negative pressure inside the basement compared to the positive water pressure of the saturated sub soil, pressure always goes from the point of high pressure to lesser pressure........stop it at one point and water always finds another way to get to that lesser pressure grade.............I have seen basements that looked like road maps with all the patching and cracks filled with leak plug material and for awhile it works long enough for the owners to think the problem has been resolved and they build out the basement. Only to find that in time the water intrusion starts weeping through the concrete itself leading to mold, rotting framing and ruined finishes.......unfortunately, this is one of the issues that the solution is one that is usually pretty expensive at this point.

STK - my dad is a general contractor so he's got loads of experience with this (thankfully). If I listened to friends at work, they'd all be telling me about the miracle solution where you can patch your leaks from the inside then wipe your hands of it. My pops and I discussed this at great lengths when the first leak was discovered a few months ago, and it was decided then that digging it out was the solution. Due to limited finances, I have to do as much as I can myself, but I have backup plans if I get in over my head...

Not to say he knows everything...

You are amazing, Robin, truly. There are a lot of things I'll tackle on my own... but you wow me with the stuff you'll attempt on your own. Glad you have your dad to guide you along the way, too. That helps a lot.

Thanks Kimdee. We're still trying to establish if its stubbornness or stupidity. Both run in the family.

Endocrine system..... I can tell you all about that. Have had to learn more about it than I ever cared too. In 2000 I was diagnosed with a 2.5 cm pituitary tumor that resulted in a condition called Acromegaly.......in short my whole Endocrine system is totally dysfunctional........the Pituitary gland is the traffic cop of the Endocrine system. The worst part is that the condition causes the Pit to produce an over abundance of the Human Growth Hormone which the expensive monthly shots act as an inhibitor not allowing the HGH to attach itself to my body cells......unfortunately, by time a person is aware of the tumor. the damage is already done and can not be undone. I'll be on total supplements for Adrenal gland, Thyroid and testosterone for the rest of my life along with the HGH inhibitor shots.........counting the 13 years I've been on the meds, the 2 surgeries, the Gamma Knife procedure, the yearly MRI's, the quarterly blood work up my medical expenses are pushing the upper limits of $1.5M...........I'm guessing that the insurance company is hoping that prognosis of 10-15 years shortened life span kicks in soon..............

Robin... it's neither stubbornness nor stupidity.......it's character and pride in doing a job the right way the first time and fixing the mistakes and short coming of those who lack character........it's something that is becoming more rare in our industry with each passing year as the old guard doing things the old way retire........today's builders are more concerned with the bottom line, not quality of workmanship.

Well folks, I can tell the adrenalin is about gone for the day..........I can feel the wall approaching quickly and I still need to take the dog out.........calling it a night. I can hear my pillow calling my name..........until tomorrow, this is Rooster #2 signing off..........with the warning to watch out for chicken poop..........it's mess to get off your shoes. Good night all.

Good night, STK. Sweet dreams!

Kittypa...You truly are an encyclopedia of knowledge!
Robin...Glad your Dad is in the contracting business and can help out some!
kimdee...we are being hogs and having a pizza at this time of night! LOL
Unfortunately, I also have hypothroidism..on synthroid. One of my sister's had a thyroidectomy while in her 30's...she had a lump on it which was not cancerous. Two of my Aunts also had thyroidectomies...hoping I won't need one..mine still functions to a point.
judyg..sounds like a nightmare you went through
Hi Handymam
Hi Angela...
Roo..those birds are so cool...Your granddaughter seems quite gifted!

Jayme-hi, here but have another paper due tomorrow so busy typing right now.

I'm on synthroid too :(

Robin, that is so good you have your dad to help, at least you don't have to worry about trusting him - half the battle these days.

Kutchie - honestly, I will never EVER complain about being sick again. You are truly amazing, what you have been through yet your sense of humour is still right up there.

Jayme, Miss 7 is one of those kids who just never stop. She just can't learn enough/do enough in one day. Just hoping she doesn't suddenly reach an age where it all stops, that happens with a lot of kids, but DD tries to keep her motivated. She bought her a lovely set of books to do schoolwork, write stories and even write a journal while she is here. She finds with the long summer vacation, kids in early years of schooling tend to forget a lot of what they have learned so she wants to be sure she doesn't slip behind. She is lucky she is in a top school district too, an area that people buy into just for the schools, so is getting great teaching and has a lot of healthy competition.

Angela, keep those fingers flying, I'm sure you are doing really well.

roo, the doctor can prescribe iodine if your levels are too low! Who knew?!

This doctor also said that iodine used to be in breads, but was taken out and bromine(?) was added instead and that it does not allow the absorption of iodine or something. I think that coupled with people using less salt may be making the iodine levels low. According to a box of iodized salt a half teaspoon of salt provides 45% of the daily requirement for iodine. If I cook my meals from scratch, which I often do, there is no way I use that much salt!!

Eztia – I remember last year getting a postcard from a helicopter service, advertising commuter flights from the shore area to NYC. The rates were astronomical, and I couldn’t imagine anyone doing that to “commute” .. $250/day?! Since I’d still have to get from their heliport to where I was going yesterday, I’m not sure that it would have been worth the $ except as a once-in-a-lifetime splurge!

DIAspoton – Pretty much every time I’ve driven into Manhattan, the last 5 years from the shore, I’ve said, “Never again!” on the drive home! The “evening rush hour” from Manhattan probably starts at 3 pm and goes until 8 pm; so it’s not that easy to just “kill a few hours” until traffic cuts back.

Mforr – window well covers – it would be a big project to attach them, so most of the time they just sit there until they blow off or crack. Frankly, I like being able to look out the basement windows. When I used to be on the treadmill regularly, the little raccoons would stand outside watching! Can’t believe that I was out for about 5 minutes in the dark the other day, and got 2 mosquito bites on one ankle .. I HATE those suckers!

Roo – I LOVE your lorikeets .. they’re so incredibly colorful & friendly!! The only time the birds get that close to me, is when I have the feeder pole down & am filling things, and someone doesn’t realize I’m standing there .. and lands on the top! I’m lucky I haven’t been pooped on yet.

Some people can't have too much iodine. Like me :(
I wonder if its because I've had so much radioactive iodine, I'm also allergic to betadine, and that's been for a long time. Who knows? Certainly not any of the doctors I've seen. I'm a little off doctors, I'm sure the treatments for my thyroid disease were the cause of the cancer.

Astraea, I don't have a finished basement. When I did all the work at the main house, the contractor wanted to expand and finish basement and for all the reasons we've all talked about in earlier posts, I absolutely said NO. I want nothing to do with possible problems. When we do get water in, it's from a little pipe that comes from one side of house, goes into pipe under floor and goes out the other side thru a drain. The end. Everything down there is stone and cement and I have no worries, all the mechanicals are raised. My beach house has no basement at all, no worries there either.
The mosquitoes around here are tiger mosquitoes from Southeast Asia, very mean!!!

I guess some of these creatures don't live very long; the last couple of days I've found dying dragonflies on the boardwalk .. also large light brown beetles.

My window wells don't have drains, and since I installed the French drain & sump system when I was moving in, I know there was no intelligence/design to connect anything.

Handy, I am already on thryoid meds. Too late for me. I cut out salt years ago for the supposed health reasons, but I never used iodised salt anyway, never knew anything about it then.

Mr Mushroom is back... http://www.houzz.com/user/kevin-chen1353

I just commented on his post too.. Silly me.. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-should-i-add-but-i-am-always-thinking-that-i-am-missing-somethin-dsvw-vd~540517

That is a strange house, it's inside a mushroom!!!!! Of course, why didn't I see that right away!!! He's found his way back ;)

Thanks rinq. I have been hoping that treating him like a joke will spoil his fun and get rid of him.

Post it mforr and then we can give you the award of the week and hopefully shut the discussion down.

It shall be done, olldroo ;)
Good evening to you!

It is done Madame, as you wished, and now a big curtsy to you :)

rinqreation, mforr - Is he an adult or child? I commented on that discussion; my "designs" from H.S. made more sense!