Filthy, Finished, and Fatigued

We got up early both to beat the heat and to give us time to get this project completed so we could have the afternoon to relax.

The glueing of the pipes together went well.  Our house is set on a bell foundation which means that at the corners, the foundation walls flare outward with more concrete.  This caused a few problems with the downspouts fitting as securely to the walls as they were before, but that is a small concern.  Water always flows downhill, so the rainwater from the roof will still find its way into the underground pipe.

We are both absolutely fatigued.  We tried to put in the edge stones with the intention of getting the river rock, but when we started to lay out the string lines for elevations, we came to the conclusion that we need to put in the front paver sidewalk first.  Other elevations need to feed off of the sidewalk, so for now, the dirt just goes back into the hole.  We are too filthy and fatigued to worry about it until the fall.

The pictures tell the story better than I can at this point.

Over 51 feet of pipe snake its way along the
south wall foundation.

A view from the front before we added the
final section that comes up to the ground
level to disburse the water.

The final section of pipe contains a cap that
will keep grass and critters out, but will
pop up when the pipe fills with rainwater.

Mounds of dirt remain to be replaced above the pipes.

The finished project, for now,  has the dirt back in place.  If it
splatters, it splatters.  Dirt happens.

The lack of downspouts makes cutting our lawn
easier for the lawn service and gives Gladys
a cleaner look.

We have done a tremendous amount of work today, even though it does not look like much from the above-ground viewpoint.  We are just glad that this is the last major project of this winter.  We have never spent this amount of time in Gladys all in one stretch.  Rick is sick to death of painting, and I am just overall tired of getting up each day and working.  We are finished for now, and that is a good place to be.