When I designed RECESS, the plan called for a drain in the center of the bunker floor to evacuate rainwater (seep), spills, blood from the slaughter of animals, or human waste.
As plan became reality, I recognized the flaw in my design: property. The bunker was the lowest point in my backyard, so in order for the water to flow out, the pipe would need to exit the side of the hill that my house sits on. Unfortunately, that "hill" was subdivided thirty years ago, and the downhill side is owned by a neighbor whose roof line sits level with my backyard.
After about a month of discussion, I managed to convince my neighbor that the 3" white PVC pipe I wanted to punch through our shared block wall was a good idea. He has a large garden at the base of my drain pipe. I suggested the water overflow would be to the benefit of his prize-winning squash.
During the first phase of construction, I'd plumbed the drainpipe out past the deck so that I could more easily tie into it. Now, I had to relocate that pipe and dig a very narrow trench sloping downhill to my neighbor's yard to set the extension into.
Once the pipe was tied in, I carefully measured down the block wall on the property line, and chiseled through the find the pipe. The result is fairly discrete. The drain pipe exits the wall, turns 90 degrees straight down, and darts into a length of perforated PVC buried in my neighbor's flower bed. If an emergency ever requires me to begin flushing solid waste, I could hop down and crack the length of pipe extruding form the wall.
This was a terrible chore, and one of the most labor intensive tasks of the bomb shelter construction. It was also the last transformation the yard would undergo as a result of the RECESS construction. Everything remaining is landscaping (concealment), fascia, or interior preparation (waterproofing, stockpiling, comfort improvement).
As plan became reality, I recognized the flaw in my design: property. The bunker was the lowest point in my backyard, so in order for the water to flow out, the pipe would need to exit the side of the hill that my house sits on. Unfortunately, that "hill" was subdivided thirty years ago, and the downhill side is owned by a neighbor whose roof line sits level with my backyard.
After about a month of discussion, I managed to convince my neighbor that the 3" white PVC pipe I wanted to punch through our shared block wall was a good idea. He has a large garden at the base of my drain pipe. I suggested the water overflow would be to the benefit of his prize-winning squash.
During the first phase of construction, I'd plumbed the drainpipe out past the deck so that I could more easily tie into it. Now, I had to relocate that pipe and dig a very narrow trench sloping downhill to my neighbor's yard to set the extension into.
Once the pipe was tied in, I carefully measured down the block wall on the property line, and chiseled through the find the pipe. The result is fairly discrete. The drain pipe exits the wall, turns 90 degrees straight down, and darts into a length of perforated PVC buried in my neighbor's flower bed. If an emergency ever requires me to begin flushing solid waste, I could hop down and crack the length of pipe extruding form the wall.
This was a terrible chore, and one of the most labor intensive tasks of the bomb shelter construction. It was also the last transformation the yard would undergo as a result of the RECESS construction. Everything remaining is landscaping (concealment), fascia, or interior preparation (waterproofing, stockpiling, comfort improvement).
