Kathy and I looked at three houses today. One was awesome, but too expensive. So, let’s just ignore that. The other two houses were… well, one had small trees holding the house up in the basement instead of regular lumber. Literally with bark on and everything, just sitting down there resting on the basement floor, going up to the ceiling, and holding up the house.
I had heard that basements in Nashville were full of that kind of stuff, but I’d never seen that, until now.
But the other house…
Y’all.
It has a moat.
No, I shit you not.
A moat.
Kathy took pictures.
But we both agreed that it must have been a last strategy for dealing with some terrible water problem.
But the expensive house?
Oh, world, come on. Someone send me $60,000. Shoot, with the dollar being what it is, can’t one of you Europeans send me 12 euros?
Ha.
Well, shoot.
Tiny Cat Pants 
Ok reading about the moat just gave me the willies because there is this house in Murfreesboro (on Warrior Drive for those of you familiar with it) that has been building this GIANT fence around and in front of their house for like two months. It’s SO HUGE. Last week I drove by and they had this ditch-like thing dug all around the house, inside the fence. Then the other day I drove by and saw the ditch had turned into a moat.
And for some reason, I thought of you. I thought you would appreciate a house with a moat. (Well, at least a house that has a moat on purpose.)
If you want another opinion on the water problems, email me. I think Megan is right though. I could totally see you living somewhere with a moat.
I have old cedar posts in my basement holding up my house. It was pretty common in the early 29th century. Cedar is extremely moisture and rot resistant.
Thus endeth the lesson.
Do you have a time machine? May I borrow it?
I am hoping to get the financing for a new home myself and I right now am very excited and enjoy looking online at the homes that are up for sale. I know my price range and know the homes arent going to be the best but ey its my first home so I will be happy. Aunt B. the right home is out there for you and I know Kathy T. will find it! Give her alittle more time…She is awesome!!!!!
A moat? No, seriously. A moat?
Could you tell at all what kind of a water problem would require a person to build a moat?
Prolly a swale, huh? A drainage ditch to keep water from getting into the basement/crawlspace when it rains heavily. You see them sometimes when a house is at the bottom of a slope. A prettier alternative is to build a little rounded embankment and sod it over.
It’s a shame, too, because we’ve looked at some really nice rehabs and this one just seems to be slightly terrible.
Hey, I saw that house on your street. Why don’t you go convince the owners that having me live there is more important than them making money on it?
Who is ‘you’? You mean me? You mean the yellow house? Isn’t it awesome? No, no, I mean you don’t want that house because it’s new construction and therefore probably riddled with building faults, plus it’s a huge house on a not so huge lot so what kind of garden would you have, plus there are little kids next door so you would never get any sleep, plus I notice that they put in an electric stove so really, who wants to live there? Or you could quietly rent out the attic and the basement to pay for it, you know. Because I couldn’t sweet-talk those people into anything because they aren’t from the neighborhood.
I’m with the folks who suggest that it may be some sort of intentional water diversion. Which does not bode well for the house. Eep.
If it were a real moat, there would be crocodiles.
And also, Megan, if that’s the house I think it is, they don’t need to be worrying about no dern moat. They need to be worrying that the water in that “creek” (HA) that forms the Hutchinson farm boundary is going to get up in their house and float them over toward Old Fort Parkway. (I know whereof I speak; that thing floods every few years and has actually cost lives. P.S. Y’all be careful if you live over that way.)
Still sending good house-finding thoughts your way, B. I think you and Kathy T. need to be introduced to all the owners of the houses you find irresistible and then say, “Having me live here in your fine house and take care of it is much more important than you making money on it. Really. This are not the droids you’re looking for.” And then flash them the boob freckle. That’ll take care of any residual doubt.
Actually, if they went to the trouble of putting in a swale (which the photo indicates it is) the foundation may have been saved from any damage.
nm, the thinking is that if they went to the trouble of putting that moat in, then they probably already had issues which caused them to do something that drastic.
That ain’t no swale. That’s a ditch. Looks like a 4′ trapezoidal. TDOT standard. You’d think they could have been a little more subtle about it.
Grandfille, you’re probably thinking of the right house—it’s the biggest one on the street and it’s so tall they need a crane to change their porch lights. Seriously, I saw them doing it once. Also, people have started calling that creek back there “the Stones River,” so hahaha, it’s definitely flood territory. We don’t live near enough to it to worry about flooding though, thank jebus.