home owners

Way back in August/September time frame we had our first major induction into the world of home ownership. It started small, just as a small wetness on our sidewalk that looked like the humidity wasn't allowing the last rainstorm runoff to evaporate or drain completely.  We waited for it to go away, but it didn't. Instead it grew. Long story short, we were soon facing this:

 If you look closely above L's head you can see ripples in our little pond indicating where the water was literally bubbling over, as if it were a natural spring in a very unnatural place.The water was probably between two to three inches deep before it would drain down the pipe. 

 After calling an expert (a neighbor knows a guy), the help of a seriously cool gas-powered concrete saw, and a lot of digging while pumping out the water, we found the culprit. That's a pretty big rock!

 For no apparent reason, the rock had been pressed right up against the main water pipe coming into our house. The pressure from the rock caused a crack in the pipe, which resulted in a major stream of water - this was taken when we barely turned our water back on - by no means was this full pressure. 

 More pumping, and a trip to the hardware store later resulted in a fixed water main! Yay!

We chose to put it all back together ourselves to save money, so it's not as aesthetically pleasing as a professional would make it. But we did it, and it's done. Now we just need to pressure wash that sidewalk. :) 

Can I just tell you that having any home issue with a resident as a spouse is not the best combination in the world. I love my husband, I love his job and the training that he's receiving, and I love my house. I just think the timing of the latter two wasn't the best idea. Oh well. Come what may and love it! :)