Tropical Storm Hermine Was Not My Friend
Tropical storm Hermine rolled through San Antonio in early September and made a mess. In addition to losing a tree in the back yard I also got almost a foot of water under my house. We got 3.5 inches of rain in an hour and most of what poured off my neighbor’s roof as well as mine ended up under my house.
Casualty of Tropical Storm Hermine
Eroded area where the water got under
So this week drainage improvements, including a driveway that won’t wash away, began. Things are progressing rapidly and should be done early next week. I’m excited about the concrete drive because the crushed granite, in addition to moving around when it rained, got tracked into the house all the time. I’ll have some serious landscaping improvements to tackle when the dust settles on this project, but finishing the kitchen really is the next thing on my home improvement to-do list and the weather is finally being more supportive.
Crushed granite ready to be hauled away
Inlet in the back yard
Aggregate being hauled away after regrading drive
Framed up and ready for concrete!
Driveway time! Forming the curb
Concrete had to be brought in by wheelbarrow
I know this isn’t considered the sexiest topic in the world, but I’m going to have to take on yard slope, drainage, driveway, and general landscaping soon, too. Could you talk a little bit more about the specifics that went into this project?
I live in a historic district in San Antonio, too! So the really specifics (how to deal with the dry climate, the heat, the shifting soil, what companies and contractors you used, how much you had to pay, permits you had to pull, lessons learned, etc) would extra-super-duper great to hear!
Alanna I am happy to share whatever info I can. I’m actually in a historic conservation district so I didn’t have to jump through any of the hoops that you’ll probably have too as far as permitting an approvals goes. We have a lot more flexibility.
When I knew I had a problem I talked to a bunch of landscapers and didn’t get a strong feeling that they would figure out and solve the issue. They would do whatever I asked, but weren’t offering a lot of opinions on solutions. I ended up going with Andy’s Sprinkler and Drainage (I’ll email you the guy I worked with’s contact info). He was super helpful and very knowledgeable.