I may, or may not, have mentioned that window in the back of my basement leaks sometimes. When it rains a large amount in a short period of time, the water gets down into the window well and comes in to the basement. It's done it three times since I bought the house three years ago. But my king sized bed is larger that the puddle of water that resulted. And it was always just a puddle not a deep amount.
So the news the last couple days has all been about this hurricane Sandy that's in the Bahamas right now. They sent an email out from the Emergency Management guy for the county today. He said if Sandy continues on it's projected course, the eye would pass just to the NorthEast of the county I work in, and probably right through the county I live in.
This could mean winds between 36-73 mph, extensive power outages, 6-8 inches of rain, with 10 inches possible locally. And if the water got in the basement with under 10 inches of rain three times, well it just seemed pretty damn likely that it'd get in WITH 10 inches of rain. And probably a LOT more than before.
So, Thursday, I took off in the afternoon, mom came down and we used some
sakrete to seal up the base of the window, which was pretty much just open (which is why the water so easily came in). We waited for that to dry overnight, and then this afternoon we used a bottle of that foam that fills in cracks (forget the name of the stuff) and filled in the cracks along the side of the window. Then we went to Lowe's, and I bought three sandbags. I put them around the window outside, hopefully that'll keep most the water from even getting to the window well. Mom got some gas for her car, we ate dinner (and I have no idea why the salads at
The Parlor House are SO much more tastier than those elsewhere, or even the ones I make at home), and then we to the grocery store. I picked a few canned items and snacks that dont need refrigerated, and some iced tea. Also at Lowe's got some battery for the flashlights and a new flashlight as well. Just in the powers out for a while.
Am I overreacting? Not with the window, I don't think, but the rest of it, I may be. Still, I'd prefer to be over-prepared rather than under-prepared. Since it's supposed to rain from Sunday into Wednesday, and sometimes heavily, I hope I've done enough. If the water still gets in, I have a bag full of old towels and sheets to throw down if the water does somehow get in.
I guess this time next week, I'll know how well I've done with the planning.
POLT
