OneGuyFromBarlick

Home sweet home, at least for a couple of days. Then France here we come for the summer whilst the house dries out.

I know I must seem boring but I shall do what I need to hold my life together and write yet another article...

More boxes for me. Getting there! Just a few more to go!
Found the bread-maker today...in a box marked "sewing room"...

That figures.....

Bad news, we had the industrial drying people round today and they say the walls of the house aren't drying at all, we will have to gave the wall paper stripped and possibly even the wall tiles in the bathroom, which we only did two years ago.

Oh dear...how did the wet come about?

What a mess Sue, hope you can get it all sorted whilst you are sunning yourselves in France.
I shall be recovering from a busy few days having friends to stay and a night away in Liverpool to see Neil Young at the Echo Arena.

Sue wrote:and they say the walls of the house aren't drying at all

My problem was that the overflow pipe from the loft header tank wasn't sealed properly. When the ball valve leaked the overflow was useless and it filled the loft with water. The loft insulation must have held about 20 gallon of water before it finally came through the ceiling. All this had to be removed before we could even think about drying things out.

Somewhat similar, luckily there were two air vents opening into the loft so water came down that way, plus under the roof to outside. Unfortunately the wall partitions are honeycomb plaster board and it seems the water has settled in the pockets. If has also gone under the floor tiles of the bathroom and the ensuite. We may have to rip all of these up too.

Nowt worse than water in the wrong place.... I feel for both of you.
Finishing the article I almost wrote yesterday... It fought back!

Sue, when our hot water system burst, our entire ground floor was flooded .( we had a 180 litre tank). A great portion of the area was tiled and crackled when we walked on them. The insurance assessor advised us to wait until everything had dried out before making the assumption they would have to be removed/replaced. He was right...they settled perfectly...didn't need replacing. I don't know the science behind it and never would have believed it until I saw it happen.

I've finished the article and sent it off. They often go better after a night's sleep....

Our leak and flood, mentioned somewhere on OG, occurred on 14th June and it's just about dried out but we're giving it longer to be on the safe side. It was caused by the water inlet joint to an upstairs (dormer) loo cistern springing a leak while we were out all day - a cistern which was fitted only about 6 months ago. Water soaked the carpet tiles of the bathroom and the 1980s chipboard flooring in the dormer, then ran down onto the hallway ceiling below and down the hallway wall. That part of the ground floor is in the oldest part of our house (1800s) and we believe their is some cob (clay & straw) in the old 18-inch thick wall, and that would take longer than brick or block to dry out. The water also fused all the electrics and we had limited access to power until the cables dried out. 2014 must be the Year of the Leak!

All nasty events. The problem here is the water can't get out of the walls where ii is sitting in pockets due to the honeycomb nature of the plaster board. Having removed some wall paper we can see the walls beginning to dry. We have solid floors so similarly water is stuck beneath the tiles and the flooring.the cupboard that took most of the force has waterproof vinyl paint. This apparently has to be scratched with some sort of appliance, but no one has come to do it and we go to France tomorrow for some time. The walls on the outside of the hall cupboard are fully tiled being the bathroom on one side and the ensuite on the other so the water can't get out that way either. Bob has started to remove the mirror tiles so we can scratch the wall underneath there too.when the drying company came yesterday they said there was no change in the walls even after ten days of use of the powerful drier because the water can't get out, and they are as wet as they can be, this is one month after the initial flood. Luckily skirting boards, the study carpet and our bedroom are now dry. It us nearly 25 C in our house due to the heat generated by the drier!

Sue wrote:All nasty events. The problem here is the water can't get out of the walls where ii is sitting in pockets due to the honeycomb nature of the plaster board

I once did some work on an old Georgian house that had been completely replastered with a waterproof render underneath. We had to drill holes, through the plaster, just above the skirting boards to let water out that had leaked through from the lead gutters above. It took weeks to dry out

Kitchen worktop maintenance today, a bit of re-oiling. What an exciting life I have

That is why we are off to France.,we have taken some skirting boards off, Bob is busy sanding walls now to break the waterproof barrier. We will have the damp level checked in 10 days and then again early August when we come home for a couple of days for a wedding. Repairs are booked for the first week in September so fingers crossed.

I once lived in a house with stone walls, rubble filled. That was full of water, when I drilled a hole on the plaster water ran out. Only cure was to strip it back to the stone and wait before re-plastering... A lousy situation.
Another article today...

When Bob took te skirting off in the cupboard yesterday there were puddles of water round the floor, at least now it can get out. As we are on a water meter As Bob says, we have paid for all this water.

That's adding insult to injury Sue. Trust Bob to think of that!
Another article today. I want to build up a stock because a friend is sending the text of a book to edit and comment on.... Could be a big job.

Another article written yesterday and there will be one today.... No day is wasted.....

Muck-spreading once Wendy has visited this morning. In support of the Deep Clean, two pairs of curtains in a hot wash as I write. Yesterday I wrote an article, washed all me nets and put them back up, cleaned the inside of the windows and the inside of the back door and finished off by cutting me toenails. Don't laugh! At my age all this climbing about and bending down is a major project! My cleaners come tomorrow to keep the rest up to scratch. I shall invite Wendy to have an inspection this morning!

Oh...do let us know her opinion...did she don the white gloves? I expect you will pass muster, Stanley. How much mess can one gent and one dog make?

Depends on how long you give them Maz!

I hope I don't have to inspect his toenails!