Rain Rain Go Away

Drove over the construction site last Friday afternoon hoping to see a poured garage and basement floor.  No such luck!  When I saw standing water in the basement on top of the gravel base it was quickly apparent why it had not been poured.  Lots of rain all week.

So after getting over my disappointment I figured I had two options.  1)  Wait for things to dry out naturally which, given the forecast, could take days or even weeks or 2)  Provide some mechanical help.

With the help of my friend Bryan, who happened to be at his lake house for the weekend, we made a quick trip to Galena for some supplies and proceeded to hook up a sump pump in a temporarily dug pit and ran 50 foot of hose out to the adjacent lot to make sure we got the water away from the foundation.

Standing Water

After plugging it in it ran non-stop for at least an hour while we were there and was still running when we left.  We decided to grab some dinner and come back and check on things.  When we returned after another hour or so the standing water was gone.  Progress!  It was still running off and on when we left for the night.  At the  rating of the pump I figured we pumped out almost 10,000 gallons of water.

Temporary Pit with Pump in the Bottom

Water Discharging from Hose to Adjacent Lot

Bryan called me on Saturday to report the hole was dry and the pump had stopped running.  That was great news.  This afternoon I got even better news when I was notified the contractor had worked all day and finished the floors!  I can't wait to see them.