January 29, 2010 - In order for our engineer to properly design the foundation for our new studio building, he asked that we provide him with a topographic survey. A topographical (or topo) survey is the tool engineers use to design and manage drainage. Surveying is done by gathering information through observations, measurements in the field, and research on surveys on file from nearby properties. The topo survey measures the elevation of points of the land, and presents them as contour lines on a plot. The topo survey would also help us to accurately establish boundaries and the elevations of the property.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on January 30, 2010

January 10, 2010 - Over the past two days, Houston has been experiencing a cold snap that has plunged temperatures into the low twenties. My blood must have thinned out over the years because twenty degrees here feels far colder than the same temperature up North. I learned to take the cold seriously after a pipe burst in our kitchen wall in 1999, causing several thousand dollars in damages. So, as we watched the cold front move Southward on the TV weather map, we insulated the pipes on the outside of the house and relocated some potted plants indoors.

By Sunday afternoon I thought the worst was over. It wasn't. When I returned home at 3:00, I found water bubbling down the exterior wall of our home. I shut the water off and went inside, where I found the laundry room and my study flooded. Over the next two hours we moved everything outside to dry, and mopped up most of the water. A couple of small circulating fans did most of the drying.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on January 12, 2010