Apocalyptic weather

Well it’s going bonkers here. Three days of the worst air quality in the world and my eyes turning yellow. Yes that happened! (Now I know why Indians (from India) have yellow eyes. I just thought they all had cirrhosis of the liver because they were all piss heads).

Anyway…. Now we had the mother of all rain storms that have caused flash floods in the city and the cancellation of most of the NASCAR (yah!) and whilst we were walking in the storms to grab a nearby brunch a large tree split apart and almost crushed a cyclist right in front of us. It was pretty wild!

I went over to said cyclist to see how she was doing but she was speechless with shock. The tree missed her by less than a foot. A little further to the left and she would have been a total goner.

This City living is not for the meek!

Having said that… we are wondering how the soon to be purchased house is holding out near the Forest preserve and the Nearby Des Plaines river. We have a sump pump in the basement but it would be a massive shitter if the place was flooded before we even moved in!!!!

Chicago: Living the Dream!

Where’s Karl Mark when you need him! Record rainfall in Chicagoland and two El underground train lines pink and Blue completely flooded out.

And so it begins!

Chicago: Doomsayer!

If only someone had told us the climate was being fucked we could have done something about it. It's like fucking brexit.

Can we have a referendum, see if we want to stay with the old climate or move to the new one?

Puddles!

Puddles in the brand new basement of the brand new fully rehabbed house. Not from leaks from the wall but from the water table below the house. Well if I can get the developer to rip up the basement tiles and re-waterproof the fucker then that would truly be a miracle.

Although Tricky likes puddles. I am thinking of flying him over with some of my comics so he can drink them up. I suspect if this is indeed a water table problem then he will be busy.

And no you cannot use the comics to absorb them you fucker!

Chicago: Preparing plane tickets. .

That's not how you prevent water in the basement. You need a sump pump and pit which is an easy retrofit, but if they've built a house with a basement in an area with a high water table and not included a sump and french drain then I would be concerned as to what other corners they've cut....

A man who sees only opportunity rather than problem.

TBF calling that a swimming pool is a bit estate agent-y. I'd go with "self washing tiled floor".

There is a sump pump in the basement. Clearly we need to investigate how effective it will be and if it's location is ideal. The inspector I hired really is excellent and he keeps going back to the house to make sure that his recommendations are taken care of. I think this will be resolved. Hopefully the punch list is agreed upon from the seller as he is the biggest arsehole we have ever had to deal with so it's not a given he will cooperate fully.

Chicago: Playing a waiting game.

Does it also have a French drain? You really need both if you have a high water table - the drain collects the water all around the footings before it reaches floor level and routes it to the sump pit, and the pump pushes it out to the storm drain.

Any which way, waterproofing beneath the tile is not the answer to a rising water table. Nothing the contractor does to waterproof will be enough to prevent it from rising, you'd be basically trying to turn your house into a boat. You have to evacuate water before it reaches the house, not try and push it back.

We are working on extra drains and spouts now. It’s quite complicated and trying to resolve what is actually going on is for the inspector and the contractor. The seller is very unstable so we are trying to get the full information without pissing him off.

I wish I had paid more attention during this process but I foolishly assumed the professionals would handle this.

They probably will but it does make things a little stickier when it comes to getting to the finish line.

Chicago: Trying to be patient.

Ouch!

No doubt Tricky will blame me.

Chicago: Checking the new HVAC.

Can't afford it as we bought a stupid house.

Chicago: Visit-less

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