My buddy Dave in Portland rebound a 400 page dictionary with a simple pamphlet stitch two years ago and it is still holding. I told him straight up that was dumb and it would split in a week. He just shrugged and said he only needed it to last through his kid's spelling bee season. That was in 2022 and the thing is still on his shelf, spine intact, no wobble. I felt like a real jerk after talking all that trash. Now I keep my mouth shut before I call a binding weak.

My neighbor put in a French drain after his garage studio got 6 inches in a 2021 storm, and it worked, but the trench has to slope right or it just moves the water around. He dug his about 18 inches deep and filled it with gravel and perforated pipe that runs to a pop-up emitter at the alley. I used to figure gutters alone were enough, but watching his setup handle the next big rain changed my mind. Get the slope checked with a level before you dig, that part matters more than the pipe.