OneGuyFromBarlick

Tizers posting reminded me of when the M56 was under construction. We used to travel to my friends house, and take his canoes up to the road workings, the whole area had turned into a water park. Where I now live used to be rough farmland, and you don,t have to dig far to reach water. Maybe the fact that it is bordered on both sides by the river Bollin and the Mersey account for why it never floods.

Stanley wrote:What is the opinion, based on local knowledge, about how long it will take for things to get back to normal?

How long is a piece of string? Nobody knows how long it will take because there are so many variables and it also depends on what we define as normal (I'm beginning to sound like a politician!). In terms of the flooded houses being freed of water and ready to start drying out, they're hoping it will be weeks rather than months but it depends on the rainfall. For those folk the next stage then begins and it'll take them at least a year to get sorted - some people got flooded in 2012/13 and had just got back to normal this Christmas when it happened again. The floods on the main roads may be cleared in the coming weeks but again it depends on rainfall, and then there will have to be work on them to repair the damage and subsidence - they have to cope with articulated lorries and grit wagons as well as cars and vans. For the farmers, who knows? They're waiting to see if the grass grows or not and it isn't simply a case of waiting to see when the water disappears from the fields, it needs the water table to drop substantially or the ground will be too soft. There's already a smell of the seaside here - in other words, rotting vegetation like you get from seaweed. That smell is OK on the beach but it's not pleasant out of context here in the countryside! At least now there's a promise of money to repair roads and to start some protection against the most severe flooding. I remember the local TV showing the inside of a house that hasn't flooded before but was now surrounded by such a depth of water that it was spurting in a jet through the keyhole of the French windows!

In this country it seems to take an eternity to get flooded premises back into a habital state. Many times I have been asked to help my customers to recover from flooding damage. I have no memory of any premises taking longer than a week to dry out and a month to have back to a pre flood state. There was only one exception to this where it took six months, but the installation was under a 100ft of water. Most business customers would only lose one days trading. A local Nat west bank which had its toilets in the basement, would regularly be flooded when the storm drains backed up and forced water through the toilets. It would take less than three hours to pump out 4ft of water, then sanitise the area, and return to service.

I'm reminded of the old foreman who, when told that Rome wasn't built in a day replied that he wasn't in charge of that job.....

When you have nothing to say, it is best that is all you say.

hartley353 wrote:In this country it seems to take an eternity to get flooded premises back into a habital state. Many times I have been asked to help my customers to recover from flooding damage. I have no memory of any premises taking longer than a week to dry out and a month to have back to a pre flood state. There was only one exception to this where it took six months, but the installation was under a 100ft of water. Most business customers would only lose one days trading. A local Nat west bank which had its toilets in the basement, would regularly be flooded when the storm drains backed up and forced water through the toilets. It would take less than three hours to pump out 4ft of water, then sanitise the area, and return to service.

Wouldn't things depend on what they are made of?
'Modern' houses seem to be a mix of plasterboard, chipboard kitchen units, faux or real wood floors over concrete base, mineral wool etc insulation external 'chip'(or orientated board), softwood studwork and a brick(effect) skin, all of which are not exactly designed for steeping in aqueous standing water for a length of time. Wasn't there some kind of rule of thumb that dry out is approx 2x the time it is wet for ? Certainly after remedial damp works and on new builds its 6-12 months ( at a constant warm, but not hot, internal temp ) for drying out before internal decorations and shutting of cupboard doors is recomended.

The materials you mention are all cheap and easy to remove, and very fast to replace. We never used temperature to remove the dampness, this will only perpetuate the damp. De humidifiers are the way to go, and with some of the modern ones it can be dificult to keep up with emptying the water they are very efficient. Today I watched an update of the floods, and again they showed all the furniture, and personal effects floating about. It is very difficult to understand why folks wouldn't move them upstairs, or move their cars before they became inundated. Simple analogy if you want to demist your car quickly switch on the aircon, if you want to do it slowly switch on the heater.

I can't speak for other parts of the country but those people in the Somerset Levels who have been used to water in their ground floor rooms will move the furniture etc upstairs when the rivers look like overtopping their banks. This year the flood water appeared in many unexpected places that have always been safe before and householders were evacuated before they could shift anything upstairs - they could only take what could be carried on a boat or in some cases a rescue 4x4 and are now living in temporary accomodation. Even those who were unexpectedly flooded in the previous winter were told by the Environment Agency that it was a 1 in 100 event and wouldn't happen the next year. An EA representative said the same to me in a public meeting and I had to tell him he was wrong, it would happen again, soon, in future winters. I'm worried the locals might now declare me to be a witch and hunt me down!

hartley353 wrote:The materials you mention are all cheap and easy to remove

Not when the chipboard sheeting runs under the stud walls. I had an interesting insurance job to quote on near Wapping. New build 3 storey town house. The Float valve in the water tank in the loft space failed. The tank overflowed while the owners were on holiday. The carpets / wood floors etc were all soaked and had risen and the flooring ran under the fitted appliances etc in the kitchen and utility rooms. To repair would have meant gutting the house completly. No easy task and I pulled a figure out of thin air in excess of twice the re-build cost of the house, I didn't mind not getting the work on that one. Interesting to view though. Normally the flooring sheets only abut the stud and structural walls. Oh- and it was a terrace and the excape of water had affected the two adjoining properties too.

Sorry to be at odds again, but i have seen to the repair of a couple of properties with floors as described running under stud walls. It is not a big job and the fact that the floor has swelled under the stud walls actually assists with the repair. My local papershop and general store suffered such damage about a month ago, they didn't even close whilst the work was done, and it was completed within a week. You just need to get the right people to do the work. There is a lot to be said for fitting an electric valve on the incoming water supply. This will prevent floods whilst the home is unattended, lots of commercial premises will have these, operated by a time clock. My local shop was fitted with one of these, but unfortunately the water came from domestic premises above.

It surprises me that new builds still have water tanks in the attic.

Tizer wrote:I can't speak for other parts of the country but those people in the Somerset Levels who have been used to water in their ground floor rooms will move the furniture etc upstairs when the rivers look like overtopping their banks. This year the flood water appeared in many unexpected places that have always been safe before and householders were evacuated before they could shift anything upstairs - they could only take what could be carried on a boat or in some cases a rescue 4x4 and are now living in temporary accomodation. Even those who were unexpectedly flooded in the previous winter were told by the Environment Agency that it was a 1 in 100 event and wouldn't happen the next year. An EA representative said the same to me in a public meeting and I had to tell him he was wrong, it would happen again, soon, in future winters. I'm worried the locals might now declare me to be a witch and hunt me down!

As a yorkshire man I have always relied a lot on common sense, if I lived in a potential flood area and could see folks around me being affected, I would hope that I would be popping out regularly and checking on the situation for myself. Relying on others to warn you makes no sense to me, and if my neighbours were old or infirm I would be watching out for them as well.

iving on a flood plain does/nt make sense, unless in dry weather you want to make a few bob selling the gaff

Two things caught my attention this morning. First, have a look at this LINK for the latest report on climate change. Leaving aside the apparent increase in extreme weather events, this survey of all the latest data leaves little doubt that the smart money should be on accepting the fact and planning for worst case. Problem is of course that climatic conditions are a chaotic system and we can't accurately forecast what the outcome will be. What is certain so far is that the poorest people in the most vulnerable regions are already feeling the effects.
The second thing that I noted was that dredging of the rivers in the Somerset Levels is starting. See this LINK for a report on the measures that have started and what is still under consideration. On Radio4 this morning a county representative pointed out that the main pumping stations need upgrading and in the long term, barrages need to be built to reduce the sit being washed down into the drainage system from the Moors. How far these measures are taken depends of course on the funding and how well owners of private watercourses cooperate by doing better maintenance. Local funding has been cut of course under the Coalition economies. Nobody can 'cure' flooding on the Levels of course but these measures can help to avoid the worst effects.

British goverment official spotted passing dictate to IPCC conference in japan. It would seem that the report was to moderate for our masters. What they wanted was something that would terrify people, and fit with their plans, seems another load of eyewash is to be espoused. Lets see how many of the lily livered scientists will stand up and be counted by revealing the truth. The UN should never have been allowed to run this, it fits in to well with their Agenda 21 plans.

...and just for Hartley's sake they should reveal likewise that the Earth is flat.

Well, that's what Oom Paul (Kruger) told Joshua Slocum when he said he was sailing round the world. He told him he was mistaken, he was obviously sailing round the edge.

I am well aware that the world is round, My only wish is that scientific thinking was more rounded. Or could it be that with their egg shaped heads this sort of thinking is not possible.

The shape of the head governs intelligence? I thought that phrenology had been dismissed many years ago... (I must be wrong again....)

Don't worry Stanley you are allowed senior moments at your age.

It would appear that in fighting has appeared amongst the climatoligists, some are breaking ranks to say that what is being espoused is wrong. When will this sham be exposed for the lie that it is. Still no definitive evidence. Just total falsehoods and fools with a modicum of intelligence that believe it.

hartley353 wrote:It would appear that in fighting has appeared amongst the climatoligists, some are breaking ranks to say that what is being espoused is wrong.

Evidence please.

Here's a LINK to Roger Harrabin's latest report on the climate change situation. It all looks sensible to me and reaches balanced conclusions. Certainly worthy of close attention by our leaders! (And Planet Hartley)

Stanley wrote:Here's a LINK to Roger Harrabin's latest report on the climate change situation. It all looks sensible to me and reaches balanced conclusions. Certainly worthy of close attention by our leaders! (And Planet Hartley)

Yesterday's `Life Scientific' was excellent with Jim Al-Khalili interviewing the Met Office chief and top climate scientist Dame Julia Slingo. However the last bit was disturbing when she told how, like a number of other climate scientists, she has received threats because of her work. But she's tough and has forced some of those people to meet her face to face. Interesting too that Nigel Lawson has been his usual misogynistic self and calls her "that Julia Slingo woman!" but she doesn't mind because it shows he's beginning to realise he's losing the battle.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015sqc7

I heard that as well and I agree with you about Lawson's attitude. There's an increase in misogynistic behaviour in the air at the moment and I don't like it.