More Gravel Than You Can Imagine

I came home yesterday to find a new gravel pile in the driveway, and the hole filled with a lot of gravel. In the morning the geotech had come by and signed off on the drain field design and sump, so they'd gotten right to work on covering it up. It was impressive how fast they worked.

I did get confirmation of what the tube was being used for: funneling gravel to the basement. In fact, the guys are out there right now shoveling gravel down it, into a wheelbarrow.

From the other side.

Today they will get the rest of the gravel down there, level it off, and start to put down the Stego Wrap (moisture barrier). I think that somewhere along the line they're going to have to disconnect and fill in the old sump (to the right of the frame) and let the new sump (left) take over. The water level under the house may rise significantly when that happens, at least enough that water enters the drain pipe in the gravel and gets carried off into the sump as designed. Or there might not be enough water for the system to run; that extra several inches of elevation can make a huge difference.

Later this week they will start laying out rebar for the mat slab floor. It's so nice to see real progress being made!

posted by ayse on 08/09/05