The Art Establishment Project: What Tom Did on His Summer Vacation

So Tom started his "vacation" on Sunday, which means he'll be working long days down at the building. A few days of this kind of vacation, and he probably won't be able to wait to go back to work!

His first plan of attack is to try to remediate the water (dampness really, not standing water) in the basement. The walls have been wet for weeks now and never seem to dry. Of course, we've had much more rain this summer so far (about 3 times the normal amount), and seeing as the basement is halfway underground, a little dampness is to be expected, but it's getting a little ridiculous and must be taken care of.

Tom's Plan of Attack:
Change the grade of soil around the exterior so water flows away and not towards the building.

How Tom spent his Father's Day.

This is what 2,600 pounds of topsoil looks like!

Seal around the foundation on the parking lot side.

Foundation sealed and Tom and his dad put extensions on some of
the downspouts to get the water away from the building.

We already know this sealant works because we had a downpour
later in the day and water was pooled in these 2 spots -
water that would have previously gone in the basement. Success!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, I was busy painting over the window covers. This is also part of Operation Dry Basement. Re-paint all of the window covers, re-caulk them, then put a new wood cover over those and caulk again. There is definitely water coming in through these. By the way, these covers were put on years ago as a way of insulating the old, original windows. There is a piece of Styrofoam board insulation between the wood panel and the window. Some before and afters: