It’s been the wettest spring, wettest summer, and perhaps it will even be the wettest fall on record here in Missouri.
Last week we got a whopping nine inches of rainfall, totally separate from anything Hurrican Ike delivered elsewhere. (Thankfully, Ike merely skimmed this part of northeastern Missouri, so we were spared any extra rain.)
It’s really been messing up my building schedule, as I’ve had to delay re-building my reciprocal roof frame. There’s just not much one can do when it’s raining all day and night, and the ground is completely saturated. Thankfully, this week’s forecast is looking solidly sunny thus far…
(Climate change = changing weather patterns? Huh? Who said that?)
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Here’s a normal cob wall (with no/near zero significant water damage):
And another wall that has been pelted in a flash flood:
The damage isn’t that significant (it’s just surface runoff), but it sure still bugs me…
Rainiest year. Ever.
When I left DR three weeks ago, I figured all that rain we’ve been experiencing had left us, too, but boy was I wrong. Yesterday, we experienced yet another incredible flash floor, dumping a good 2″ or so of rain on us in less than half an hour. We just can’t seem to get a few dry days.
The day was gorgeous until a mere hour before this storm rolled in. We went to a party at Sandhill Farm, and before we left I decided against covering my house, noting the clear skies, but I should have known… never take a chance… (Covering the walls is really annoying at this point because it takes a good half hour to do it right, hence my reluctance.)
Needless to say, my house was left exposed (although it was quickly covered pre-storm with the help of some folks who were staying back at DR, the wind [60 MPH+!] whipped any and all tarps off the walls).
The north wall took a bit of a beating, washing away a decent amount of cob surface material, exposing a lot of straw. But really, it’s only just surface damage (although it still really sucks to see), and the integrity of the walls has not been lessened.
Let’s just say: lesson learned. I don’t want to see that happen again. (But I wonder if it really would have even mattered had I myself tarped the walls before we left… oh well…)
