Totally relate to that feeling of DIY being straightforward until you actually start working on it...then suddenly you're second-guessing everything, haha. We built ours last summer on a tight budget, and I was also convinced higher vents were the way to go. Ended up chatting with a neighbor who had done theirs a few years earlier, and he pointed out the same thing your inspector did—lower vents made all the difference.
One other thing we noticed was the placement of our shelter door. We initially put it facing directly into the wind thinking it'd make entry easier if a storm was coming from that direction. Turned out, having it slightly angled away was better because debris wouldn't pile up right at the entrance. Had to make a quick adjustment there too, but it wasn't too expensive or difficult, thankfully.
Glad yours passed inspection without any hassle—it's always nice when these projects wrap up smoothly after all the tweaks and adjustments.
Yeah, the door placement thing is spot-on. We learned that lesson too—ended up having to clear branches and leaves after every storm. Angling definitely helps keep the entrance clear and saves hassle later on. Glad everything worked out smoothly for you.
We ran into the same issue with one of our builds a few years back. Thought we'd nailed the placement, but after every heavy rain, debris piled right at the entrance. Ended up tweaking the angle slightly and it made a huge difference—lesson learned the hard way, haha. Glad yours passed inspection without any hiccups... always a relief when things go smoothly.
Had a similar issue with a basement entrance a while back. Thought we'd accounted for drainage, but after the first big storm, leaves and mud piled up right at the door. Ended up having to install a small retaining wall and adjust the slope slightly. Funny how even a tiny angle tweak can make such a difference. Curious—did you guys plan ahead for drainage or just luck out with placement? Glad it worked out either way... nothing beats passing inspection first try.
We had a similar situation at our last flip. Thought we'd nailed the drainage, but after one heavy rain, we ended up with a mini swimming pool right by the basement door. Not exactly the water feature buyers were looking for, haha. Ended up having to redo the grading and add a French drain—lesson learned the soggy way.
Did you guys do anything special like drains or gravel beds beforehand, or was it just good fortune with your placement? Sometimes you can plan all you want and still get surprised by nature. Glad yours passed inspection first go-around though... that's always such a relief. Nothing worse than inspectors finding something you totally overlooked.
Funny how these little tweaks—like adjusting slope angles or adding a small retaining wall—can make such a huge difference in the long run. Makes you appreciate how much thought goes into something as simple as water runoff. Anyway, congrats on getting it right the first time around. Always nice when things actually go according to plan for once, isn't it?
