So...What is a Cuneta?

This is what our driveway looked like before the installation of Cunetas.  After much grading, many truckloads of dirt and gravel and more Colones than we like to remember, it was necessary to protect our investment from the torrential rains of the rainy season.  This is where Cunetas come in.  They are a 1/2 round of concrete about 19" at the mouth and a meter long.  We purchased 100 to do the job.

The Cunetas were first laid alongside the driveway at the steepest incline.  You can also see our wheel

barrel and the cement used to seal the Cunetas together to keep water from seeping through the area where they come together.

A little further up the driveway.

 Wilson, his son and another worker did most of the work and we were very pleased.  Don pitched in a little but it is not a job for someone who doesn't do a lot of physical labor in their every day life.  Youth is also a wonderful advantage!

As you can see one of the men wore a back support!  Smart!!  

A Cuneta is installed by gently setting it into place and then wiggling and snugging (don't you like my technical terms) the new Cueta up against the previous Cuneta and so it goes all the way to the top.

The is the "snugging" action!

 

Don was helping with the digging.  Before the Cunetas can be set into place, the ditch must be dug to fit. Once the Cunetas are installed, dirt is snugged up around the edges on both sides to encourage the water to use the Cunetas to get where it wants to go.

These last two photos show what the job looks like completed, including the cement that is added to seal the Cuntas together.  We also dug and created narrow ditches that go across the driveway to the Cunetas. These too were cemented.  We are happy to announce that all of our Cunetas and ditches are working fantastic.  Our driveway still looks great after a number of serious rainfalls! And, you now know what Cunetas are!