Insulation and Ditch digging.

First day of significant work since the holidays. Felt really good to do something of major import, as we re-did the drain out front and upgraded our attic insulation, both of which are the kind of high-impact projects that will make a big difference down the road, even though they aren't all that sexy.  

The drainage out front has been an issue for years apparently,  and the 1/4 inch of dry mud in the garage seemed to indicate as much.  Early in the fall,  we woke up to about 4" of water in our garage, the result of water streaming down our street, down our driveway, and clogging the 3" drain at the base.  

The previous owners had hacked together a connection to the city sewer through the broken drain at the base of the driveway,  probably in reaction to immense amounts of water coming into the garage.  problem is, they put in a pipe even smaller than the 3" drain to attach it to the sewer.  Even if the drain didn't get clogged, it would get choked when a lot of water caem down. 

So we dug a ditch,  changed out the wimpy 2" line and necked it up to a 4"line.  on top of that,  we filled the ditch with gravel and added a perforated pipe to take on any overflow from the existing drain.  finally, we bought a new drain hole cover that has a raised screen to avoid the quick blockage the bottom of our driveway causes.  

Helping us out was none other than Lyle Rauh;  a gentlemen, a scholar; a man quick on his toes but slow with his words; often a beard, always a smile; and one snappy dresser. 

The insulation over much of our hose,  but primarily the family room, was significantly under code,  so we bought a bunch of the loose fill insulation, rented a blower, and blew in a bunch of the stuff with a giant reverse vacuum looking thing.  We upped our insulation from R-13 to somewhere between R-38-45.

The Key Here is at about the 1:45 mark where a light goes on.  Hint:  I have no idea how to use this machine. 

We will be having another big work weekend the 14th and 15th.  windows, drywall,  doors...