Patch Job

From the beginning of the construction on the new house on the front lot, various contractors and other people have been parking in our driveway. We've posted a sign and even roped off the entrance on occasion. Yesterday afternoon, a big truck pulled in and parked. I put on my shoes and went out to hassle them (this is an almost pleasurable event most of the time).

These guys were there to do an asphalt patch in the right-of-way to the front lot house. I tell them that they can’t park there and that I might need to pull out of my driveway. They say that they’ll move their truck as soon as I need to leave. This kind of pisses me off, but then I have an idea. My wife and I created a nice little scar in the asphalt between our driveway and the catch basin last week, and maybe these guys could do a patch to make it look and function better (the water from the neighboring driveway/street doesn’t quite make it to the catch basin any more and instead finds its way into our trench through the broken asphalt).

The asphalt guys say that they can do the work and since they are already there, they’ll knock off a hundred bucks. I tell them that I need to talk to my spouse and that I’ll get back to them in a little bit. I call some other asphalt companies to find out if the price these guys quoted me is fair. After a couple of phone calls, I realize that their price is very fair; in fact, it’s quite good. I call my spouse and we agree to do it.

It took them about an hour and now the asphalt is sealed (the edges are covered with sand in the photo) and ready to direct water into the catch basin. This is a very good thing since it’s supposed to start raining later this week.

Regarding the French drain, we finished shoveling last night. The trench is full and ready for the rain.