The Renewal of the Drainage Nazi, Part 1097

Lake Bonneville, part 2

As I've probably said more times than anyone would want to count, sometimes I begin to doubt. Could I possibly be going overboard? I've been called the Drainage Nazi - a term I assume with some glee. No wait, not glee - that word's kinda gay. How about if I assume the term with pride? With gumption? With an evil sneer? That's better.

Psychosis Recharged

At any rate, it comes down to this: every time I start to think I'm too psychotic about drainage, I get a new lesson that tells me I ain't seen it all yet. Today was one of those kind of days. Basement entry door. Right after I get done spilling my guts to the client about the many, many ways that water can get into a home, I run into this. 

Inside a very finished and beautiful basement great room, I open the basement back door to check out how things are doing out there. You could have kept fish in this pond. And the water level? I have absolutely no idea why it hadn't spilled over into the family room. Thankfully and miraculously, the carpet was dry. 

Where's The Villain? 

So now the question is Why? and Where from? Was it groundwater? Was it surface water? From the roof? From the sprinklers? Broken head? I didn't want to test anything because another drop would certainly have began the flooding disaster in the basement, and I didn't want to be sued today. Not today. 

Bottom Line Me

The drain was small, but it worked. Too well. After skipping a lot of steps here that didn't get skipped at the inspection, we found that the water was actually being caused by a sprinkler head on the other side of the concrete. It soaked the ground there, and subbed down against the basement entry, then via water pressure pushed its way back up through the drain, where lake Bonneville 2 was now located.

Moral of the Story

I've never said this before, I know. Don't spray the house. Keep water away from the foundation or it will find its way to places that ruin your day. 

Just for good measure, and a good laugh, this is another shot from the same house. As I described in my book: Don't spray that house. It won't grow.