At Last - We're Making Progress!!

So it's now been two weeks since we got the 45-gallon steel barrel in the bathroom basement re-sunk an extra 16"-18" deeper into the ground and we've got the sump pump working properly.  We've got the surplus clay that we've been digging out of the sump hole and the trenches carted outside and about 3/4 of the excavation for the drain tile dug out.

We've got the ABS rigid plastic-pipe materials to start the discharge lines for the baggage room basement on hand - we only have to start gluing the bits-and-pieces together.  I've got a 45-gallon steel barrel on hand for the baggage-room basement sump pit which I'm going to take the oxy-acetylene torch to on Saturday to get the bottom lid and the two holes in the side for the drain tile cut out. 

There's still a lot more work to do but we're making good progress in the bathroom basement.  Already the clay is starting to dry out and things aren't as muddy and gooey as what they first were.

This has all been done one shovelful of clay at a time.  One bucket at a time.  Hauled through the basements and dumped outside.  Slowly but surely the work has progressed to the extent that the bathroom basement is starting to dry up.  If we can only keep the work moving along like this, we'll start to see some definite progress.

It's the old story - how do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
How do you drain the swamp?
One shovelful of clay at a time.
One bucketful of clay at a time.

The lads have been very good at eating the elephant - one bite at a time.  It isn't glamourous work - far from it.  It's grunt work. It's dirty, muddy, sweaty work - especially in this hot humid weather that we've been having these last couple of weeks. 

How important is this work, you ask?  All you have to do is look at the hardwood flooring in the main waiting room.  Hard to believe that the flooring was laid down only 20 years ago.  The individual boards are starting to curl up and separate from their next door neighbour.  This is a clear sign that the dampness in the basement has been affecting the structure of the hardwood flooring.

If this keeps up for another 5-10 years, the dry-rot will start to set in.  If we can keep the basement drained and reduce the moisture, we can postpone that decay for another 10-15 years.  If we can install a couple more sump pumps - one in the baggage room basement and another in the gift shop basement, we can reduce the moisture substantially.

Now, if we had the time, the manpower, and the financial resources, we could add 6" of clear 1" septic bed crushed stone, cap it with 6" of concrete and we'd have an environment akin to what you have in the basement in your house.  Not exactly perfect but the best that can be done under the circumstances and with the limited amount of money that's available.

There are only four constraints to achieving this goal - time, manpower to do the grunt work, money, and the Board's enthusiasm for the job, .  I've got no problems with the first three - time, manpower and money.  I'm  retired so I've got the time to oversee and give guidance to the project.  We've now got a bunch of hard-working conscientious young lads who have done a good job in digging out the clay and moving it out of the basement.  A couple of folks have stepped up to the plate and have committed or have spent the money where needed (so far our costs have been less than $200).

But I do have some reservations about the Board's enthusiasm.  That's always been a problem. So, if you get the chance, please do two things for me (and for you and for the Museum).  Tell the powers-that-be that this is a very important project.  And those young lads are really doing a good job.  Without those lads and the financial support of a couple of key people, we wouldn't be making the progress that we've made.  Keep up the good work, gang!

We made a huge amount of progress this Thursday.  We're about 3/4 done digging the trench around the perimeter of the bathroom basement.  Next week should see the trench completed and the excess clay moved out of the bathroom basement so that we can lay in the "Big-O" drain tile and bring in some 1" "clear" septic bed crushed stone.  I got a couple of high-wattage power-saving light bulbs so that we can now see what we've been doing in the bathroom basement.  I'm going to get a couple of high-wattage power-saving light bulbs for the baggage-room basement so that things will start looking a bit brighter.

There's one thing I especially want you to notice in all of these photos.  Those wet spots on those T-shirts?  That's honest-to-goodness sweat.  That's a sign of good hard work.  Everyone involved with this project deserves a big pat-on-the-back and lotsa credit for what's being done.  Make sure you thank them all next time you see them.   

See y'all again next week when we can say "Hello Houston.  The "Big O" has landed!"