Yesterday It Rained

Yesterday we had thunder boomers and a moderate rain. Ever since I retired, I have enjoyed a good thunderstorm, however, it is not conducive to outside labor. Nothing happened, project-wise, yesterday and it doesn't appear anything is going to happen today. This is, therefore, the end of this day's entry. You may find the rest of this posting boring unless you enjoy plumbing and guttering. Continue reading at your own risk. Do not continue if you are operating machinery and/or have a history of dozing off due to excessive boredom.

T and I went out on an errand yesterday afternoon. When we returned, we found Vern (the outside plumbing contractor) in the backyard looking at the situation. A pile of rubble was is still surrounding the porch. I told Vern that Mike told me that his plan was to breakup the garage slab and haul that debris, along with the porch debris, by the end of the week. Vern said that was good since he was targeting to be on-site next Tuesday (after Labor Day) to start the sewer trenching. The demolition work needs to be completed before his work begins. As we stood in the back yard chatting about the project, taxes, politics, etc., it started to rain and the perennial topic of gutter downspout discharge came up (doesn't it always?).

I have been continuously confused about the local politics of downspout discharge. We have five gutter downspouts (probably should have six). Four tie into the sewer system via underground laterals. The fifth just discharges to the sidewalk (why is still a mystery). Vern asked me if we had validated the integrity of the laterals. To which I responded, "No, should we?" Vern reminded me that his scope of work was to replace the existing clay sewer line (the original 19th century line) with a new 6" PVC line, reconnecting all the existing laterals that tie into it. If those laterals are not intact, it is not in his scope to either inspect or repair. He suggested we should have someone "scope" out the laterals and determine if they are functioning properly BEFORE he digs up, replaces and reburies the sewer line. Makes sense, right? While it was raining (not hard), we walked around the perimeter of the house and looked at the downspout discharges. One of the four downspouts that are connected to sewer was overflowing...BAD NEWS. Obviously, it is plugged up. The others did not show any signs of overflow, but again, it was not raining very hard. Vern ventured a guess that, as is the case with many of the old houses in the area, the laterals actually run under the foundation. So, I asked sheepishly, what if we find one or more of these need to be repaired? Do we have to dig up the basement and foundation or can we just abandon the lateral and discharge the downspout into the yard? To this, Vern said "yes, we can do that, but not legally unless we get a variance from the City". Great! I told Vern that I was under the impression that "they" were trying to get people to get rain runoff out of the sewer system. Vern agreed that the MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District) is trying to do that so that they don't have to process rain water. However, it is the City, not the MSD, who would have to grant the variance. Obviously, not the same entity.

Bottom line is that after Vern left, I called Mike and relayed to him that Vern was recommending we get someone to scope out the laterals and determine our options if they are not functioning properly. Mike was also confused about what our options might be, but he said he would call Mark (inside plumbing contractor), who has a bore scope. I have not heard anything since then. Waiting to hear from Mike.