Reworking our Driveway and Drainage

We always knew that our driveway needed some help so Delwin came back in June and July to work with with Jim at creating a vertical rock wall between our driveway and lower house level, creating a sump to handle torrential rain runoff, placing posts for our fire storage shed and digging drainage troughs to take torrential rains safely away from our house.

Can they see me up here on their driveway?

I'm sure I'm hidden now...I'll watch them rebuild the driveway from here...they'll never see me.

Delwin, always at ease in his bucket, getting ready to smooth things out and move things about.

Lost the porch so Delwin had lots of room to move his equipment around.

Jim and Delwin used shorthand signals back and forth re each rock's carefully planned placement. 

Last thing they wanted to do was nudge the house with a massive rock!

Jim ran all day working with Delwin, on 3 separate occasions.  Sore, hot and tired each evening.

Improvements are happening. The driveway is 17" higher than before and the more gentle slope looks great.

Jim used a heavy, vibrating compactor to pound the gravel down across the whole raised surface.

On June 21, as we began the driveway work, I slipped on a small pile of hardi plank siding and broke my left arm just above the wrist.  It wasn't a bad break and I'm fine now. Needless to say I had a steep learning curve in becoming ambidextrous.  Learned what I could do and what I needed help with. Jim was very patient with me and helped whenever I asked.

For a number of weeks Jim worked tirelessly in my 'absence' to move loads of rocks and gravel around, raked paths and banks, cut back overgrown grasses, planted more seed and sifted piles of dirt.  I did almost all of my normal activities but backed way off on house construction of any sort while my arm healed.  Since it's now August we'll take it a bit easier and enjoy summer life on our island.

Of course, we had to tear off the old porch for 2 weeks of driveway chaos.  Then Jim built a new ramp. 

Access restored at the higher grade.
This simple ramp allowed an idea to germinate about our future porch and how it will attach to the house.

Did someone say there was dirt to move and rocks to move??? 

And places to put that dirt! We're both covered in a thin layer of dust by day's end.

If I hide here watching them maybe they won't see me either...

The rooster and his two or three girls continued to visit us all through July, inspecting Jim and Delwin's progress on a regular basis.

A lunchtime torrential rain caused this damage in about 30 minutes. 

Because we were redoing our drainage we weren't prepared for this rain.  It was swift and unforgiving.
It will take some time to redo the paths, fill in all the erosion and remove some debris but we'll do it.

Looking straight down from the porch at the newly erected rock wall and what flowed freely through it during the rains.
That's a large rubber mat half hurried at the top right from dirt and gravel that came from the road down our driveway.  

Delwin's back again and this time he's brought along an auger to make holes for poles.  It's big, heavy and noisy but they keep going until all eight holes are dug.

Phase 2 - placing deer posts as wooden supports for our future firewood storage structure
which will be built right next to the driveway with a roof that accentuates the house roof.

Delwin worked easily with Jim to ensure each pole was in the right position.  I love watching them communicate so well together.

The sump, which will help to direct water to the buried runoff pipes.

Delwin dug a deep trend to hold two 4" pipes to take the rain runoff away from the house and down the edge of the property.   Next week...we'll be putting in the underground runoff pipes and filling in the trench.

We took full advantage of Delwin's help and asked him to give Jim a hand unloading our galvanized
siding, which will look spectacular and industrial around our future front door and porch.  

After Delwin left, Jim protected each pole hole from loose dirt while he moved earth and gravel around.
Later the tea towels were removed and fine sand and gravel were pounded in around
 the base before water was added to help it all settle.  

These 8 posts will hold our firewood structure.
It will likely be built in the next year or so.

Work to be continued...

Tricia and Jim Bowen