Our House

Darin, Dan and Ryan get huge huge huge kudos for managing to pull off the impossible and 4 weeks after a flood have the entire yard not only back to where it was before the water came through, but WAY ahead! It started 7 days ago on Thursday the 3rd when Darin said about 4:30 let’s go pick up those Oaks you bought. It’s going to rain tomorrow and we should get them in…. turns out that meant get them into the ground in the dark and in the rain!

That night we got our first snow… but our new Oak stood tall. I still don’t know how we got it so straight in the dark!

Once you have a tree, you have to finish! Over the next 7 days Darin, Dan and Ryan installed sprinkler systems, all the edging, all weed barrier, the mulch beds and rock retaining walls to finish up everything around the house. Finally, today, a mud free zone to take the dogs out in! Just in time for a huge rain tonight! Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about the sod staying moist!

After the “Big Dry Out” the day finally arrived where we could pour the concrete that had been thwarted by the storm. It took forever for the thick goopy mud to dry on the north side of the house, but it finally did! So our concrete crew spent two days and knocked out our colored-patterened patio. I know it looks kinda mauve in the pics, but that’s just the color agent. I’m told once it’s cleaned and sealed that will be gone and the true colors will come out…. At least I hope 😉

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My last Blog was 10 days prior to move in… I had planned a big reveal with photos of the finished product all decorated with our furnishings and Tim and I leisurely sipping a Martini on the deck! We moved in on September 6th and spent the weekend getting stuff organized and put away. Monday the 9th the concrete guys came out to put the forms up to pour our concrete on Tuesday and Wednesday. Darin and team busted their butts to grade everything and get dirt settled down everywhere that we were going to concrete, gravel or sod. 

Alas, Mother Nature had other plans. On Tuesday it started raining and didn’t stop until the following Saturday afternoon. We had several flood surges as the rains poured down on Boulder County and several other areas around us. In all we got 18 inches of rain. The creeks rose to unprecedented heights, shattering local records.  The damns were at or over capacity. The water blew past the 100 year floodplain and tore into many homes and business. Many structures were filled with mud, some were carried away and others just demolished and broken to pieces where they stood.

We were soooooooo fortunate! South Boulder Creek tore our entire yard apart, rerouted the creek, carried all our retaining rock walls away, and sent all our carefully leveled dirt to Kansas. Everything surrounding the house became a muddy swampy mess. Luckily for us the water that entered the basement wasn’t from the creek, it crept into the cracks of the foundation when the water table rose. It was crazy! On Thursday night Tim and I moved everything up stairs that we didn’t want to get wet. We went to bed in the guest room not knowing what the basement would look like in the morning. We never got the evacuation call that went out at midnight because we hadn’t set up that connect yet. Almost none of our neighbors got it or left either. In the morning the basement only had a couple inches of water in it, about up to my ankles, that was enough to have us pull all the carpets. My brand new carpets I had only lived on for 7 days. Darin was a life saver!!!!! He was here all day Friday! He and Tim cut out all the carpet and hauled it into the mud. Then they jackhammered through the floor and dropped in a sump pump that Darin brought us. I shop vac’d water as it crept in and seeped across the floor. Once the sump pump kicked on the water stopped seeping. It was kinda crazy watching the water run through the sump pump hole west to east like a mini river running under your house !

Crazy and stressful and sad… that’s all I can say about the flood. We were so fortunate compared to so many others. We had ruined carpets, swollen door jams, dirty water from the well, and a leaky septic leach field, BUT, we had our home, our power, each other, our animals, and plenty of bottled water, food and wine 🙂 Many of our neighbors had the creek sweep through the house and tear our doors, dry wall, and furniture. Many won’t be dried out enough to put it all back together for weeks. Some might have to rebuild parts or all of their home. And that’s just our neighborhood. There are many areas where the devastation was so much worse. Were are thankful we had such a slight brush with this devastating flood!