Greetings , I have found this site after months of utter desperation
i guess you now know i'm a newbie .. well we have had a long term water leak (It is Wales we are talking of
) in some boxed in central heating pipes that Mr Nearly did some 18 months before we purchased the property in June 2005 .
sorry for the long saga but it may help you with suggestions etc.
Early on in July 2005 we foundthat a man we call " Mr Nearly " had nearly used some wire wool and flux on his handy work on the 22 mm pipes under the bath he nearly had the pipes at the correct heat as well because the solder was all blobby like pigeon muck on and around the pipes .. they were oozing water and when the hot water came trough hot pipe it dripped a wee bit. Thus warned I stripped off all the bungalow roof insulation and uncovered every copper joint .. we found twenty two leaky /suspect joints that he had had his incompetant hands on and every radiator that he had replaced ( four ) were leaking at the 10 mm microbore to rad unions.
We had to have the place re wired but that's another of his doings / story .
Siutably chuffed at getting a big three bedroom bungalow for £ 50k under the asking price I felt that having to sort out the leaks and do the rewire was a fair thing to have to do.
August 2005 saw us get a full grant for cavity wall insulation and the latest roof insulation . I know that when a property gets fully insulated it tends to sweat for about a year before all the walls & floors adjust to the new level of insulation , so I put in trickle vents in all nine windows and two doors ( there is an enormous 230 x 230 vent in the kitchen door ( which clown though of that ) that allows fresh air in at hurrricane speed to the oil fired boiler opposite the door . ( its the coldest room in the bungalow )
In early 2006 we noticed all my suits , shirts and anything leather as well as lots of my wifes things had taken on a slight mould bloom ..thinking this was due to the dry out period we just cleaned everything off and totally spring cleaned the whole bungalow .
late 2006 into 2007 saw me start getting chest infection after chest infection taking three or more different antibiotics to get it resolved in each case. My wife & daughter also started getting chest infections ,mean while mould patches started to appear on our clothes again and the bungalow developed a musty odour .. visitors could smell it some days but we living there could not but we did feel that we were sticky damp all the time ..which i thiought was down to our chest infections.
I checked out the incoming water supply .
I was at my wits end ... no water meter movement if the property was empty for two weeks , I removed the kitchen unit kick boards ..musty but not sopping wet . I dug a french drain around the property and laid 100 mtrs of 100 mm land drain pipe ( natural drainage through coalmine clay hills anyway as we live on a 117 mtr high hill) set at 250 mm deep below the path levels about 100 mm from the 1.5 mtr deep foundation raft and back filled with pea grit ,a porous membrane and sharp sand .
Nothing improved and as said , in April this year after a few days away we came home to a strong mushroom smell and the place sweating cobs.
In anger I opened all the windows and once things had cooled and cleared a bit I set out a very methodic search for water using a quality multimetre set on meg ohms.
Several places in our bedrooms gave high readings as did the edges of the laminate floor in the lounge and at every point where the laminate had curled up , in the kitchen there were high readings , same in the hall .
and in the bathroom skirting boards.
In desperation I tore off the bath side panel and saw a very slow moving puddle of water an inch deep under the bath .."Gotcha " I shouted . I then took off the panelled in mica filled hot water tank wood work and found the cylinder and insulation absloutley sopping .. a quick Auqa Vax job and it was in three sopping wet filled bin bags of mica chips outside .. But wehen the tank dried ,the tank was dry as a bone not a leak in site.
I phoned the insurance company on the saturday afternoon telling them I think we have discovered a water leak problem but could not pinpoint it. ...Monday evening at 17.35 hrs. " Jake the plumber turns up " ... It's your bath sealing that the caused of the problem Boyo , the leak is down to you".
I didn't swear nor hit him but after he left I used my digi cam and a lead lamp and photographed all the underside of the bath and walls ..dry as a bone not a trace of leak or creep . Discovered that the kitchen/bathroom wall was ozing water from the floor right up to about five feet high.
I sent the pictures and a polite comment to the insurers , 14 days later they sent me a surveyor who actually correctly identified the leak as being in or under the shower flooring .. The test and access man came a week later walloped off five tiles at the back of the shower where the pipes were boxed in ... " Its yer grout fellah , its down to you to get it repaired ".
Rather glum at this I started to remove all the boxed on pipe work and found the bathroom radiator pipe dripping faster than a syphilitic soldier of the Greniadier Guards ( there's a song about that ) Mr nearly has struck again he had bent the micro bore pipe on the olive as he was tightening the union nut making it as oval as the cricket ground .... drip drip ( that soldier again..) , when I put the circulation pump on it I got a mug full in just over three minutes. So the leek had been going for possibly 4 1/2 years ????
Lots of photos later and a big email to the insurers showing the leak and the verdigris staining on the pipe work etc as well as the fungal growth etc. I get a company appointed by the insurers to strip out the bath room & kitchen floor toppings . Boy did they strip things out ... nothing was moved gently or unscrewed
In come the renovation & flood damage experts , two gert double fans in each of the two blower units and a dehumidifier unit ... they switch them on in the kitchen and blow desert storm three through out the place making it inhabitable ..
Urgent calls to the insurers and we moved out that afternoon into a hotel . A Total Loss adjuster is appointed ....he turns to be out just that " ....A Total Loss .
Three weeks later the EXPERTS from the flood damage & arrive whilst my wife is collecting the mail , they take their units and declare the place dry .
On the Saturday after this I cut a channel through the bathroom floor down to the wpm ready to take the pipe work for the redesigned bath room /wet room and find water seeping from the highest above ground end of the bungalow across the WPM into the channel I have cut .. many pictures later several emails .....
The professional renovators did not do any core drilling or test other a than a two pronged resistance meter test on the wall that had sweated before they took their gear away ( Professionals indeed).
The TLA arrived a week later and agreed that the damage is caused by the water leak , that the appointed company is responsible for .. smashing through the floor topping down through the sub floor through the water proof membrane in nine places , wrecking every lower kitchen unit & work top , breaking the washing machine door , smashing the bathroom , sink , toilet pan and both bathroom window cills ( AND THESE ARE TRADESMEN ?)
The insures pay for all types of cleaning & the storage of all our goods as well as putting us into a magnificent rented bungalow for which they have footed the bills so far and replaced all our grit filled PC's ,printers ,scanners etc etc..
The renovators returned red faced and insert two enormous dehumidifiers and two double fan units .. these ran 24/7 from mid May till end of July . These experts then make six test drills of two holes 40 mm apart and 75 mm deep insert a resistance meter calibrated to a supposed moisture content down these hot drilled holes and then declare everything dry ready to proceed with the refurbishment.
5 week later it still stinks , today I have removed all skirtings and carpet grippers throughout the empty bungalow ..they are mouldy on the underside and very damp to feel .
My theory is that the water is wicking by capillary action up the outside edge of the WPM and that the concrete slab ( 30 year old granite chip based ) is still saturated at the WPM level ...... I understand that 30 yr old concrete is almost impervious to water unless it has been soaked in if for several years " DING DONG that rings a bell ".
So people , can any of you guys advise me where to locate a company that will take deep excavated floor concrete chippings and mix them with Calcium Carbide and do the acetelene gas produced comparisons as to the real moisture content of the floors .
I'm getting more than concerned that the TLA says "Well in all my 30 years as a TLA I have never heard of that sort of test being done .. the mouldy smell usually clears up after you repaint & move back in " .
Yes and a year and a day down the line the insurance company will deny any responsibility for a poor repair etc and they won't be liable for our long term health due to living in a home full of mould spores.
i guess you now know i'm a newbie .. well we have had a long term water leak (It is Wales we are talking of
) in some boxed in central heating pipes that Mr Nearly did some 18 months before we purchased the property in June 2005 .sorry for the long saga but it may help you with suggestions etc.
Early on in July 2005 we foundthat a man we call " Mr Nearly " had nearly used some wire wool and flux on his handy work on the 22 mm pipes under the bath he nearly had the pipes at the correct heat as well because the solder was all blobby like pigeon muck on and around the pipes .. they were oozing water and when the hot water came trough hot pipe it dripped a wee bit. Thus warned I stripped off all the bungalow roof insulation and uncovered every copper joint .. we found twenty two leaky /suspect joints that he had had his incompetant hands on and every radiator that he had replaced ( four ) were leaking at the 10 mm microbore to rad unions.
We had to have the place re wired but that's another of his doings / story .
Siutably chuffed at getting a big three bedroom bungalow for £ 50k under the asking price I felt that having to sort out the leaks and do the rewire was a fair thing to have to do.
August 2005 saw us get a full grant for cavity wall insulation and the latest roof insulation . I know that when a property gets fully insulated it tends to sweat for about a year before all the walls & floors adjust to the new level of insulation , so I put in trickle vents in all nine windows and two doors ( there is an enormous 230 x 230 vent in the kitchen door ( which clown though of that ) that allows fresh air in at hurrricane speed to the oil fired boiler opposite the door . ( its the coldest room in the bungalow )
In early 2006 we noticed all my suits , shirts and anything leather as well as lots of my wifes things had taken on a slight mould bloom ..thinking this was due to the dry out period we just cleaned everything off and totally spring cleaned the whole bungalow .
late 2006 into 2007 saw me start getting chest infection after chest infection taking three or more different antibiotics to get it resolved in each case. My wife & daughter also started getting chest infections ,mean while mould patches started to appear on our clothes again and the bungalow developed a musty odour .. visitors could smell it some days but we living there could not but we did feel that we were sticky damp all the time ..which i thiought was down to our chest infections.
I checked out the incoming water supply .
I was at my wits end ... no water meter movement if the property was empty for two weeks , I removed the kitchen unit kick boards ..musty but not sopping wet . I dug a french drain around the property and laid 100 mtrs of 100 mm land drain pipe ( natural drainage through coalmine clay hills anyway as we live on a 117 mtr high hill) set at 250 mm deep below the path levels about 100 mm from the 1.5 mtr deep foundation raft and back filled with pea grit ,a porous membrane and sharp sand .
Nothing improved and as said , in April this year after a few days away we came home to a strong mushroom smell and the place sweating cobs.
In anger I opened all the windows and once things had cooled and cleared a bit I set out a very methodic search for water using a quality multimetre set on meg ohms.
Several places in our bedrooms gave high readings as did the edges of the laminate floor in the lounge and at every point where the laminate had curled up , in the kitchen there were high readings , same in the hall .
and in the bathroom skirting boards.
In desperation I tore off the bath side panel and saw a very slow moving puddle of water an inch deep under the bath .."Gotcha " I shouted . I then took off the panelled in mica filled hot water tank wood work and found the cylinder and insulation absloutley sopping .. a quick Auqa Vax job and it was in three sopping wet filled bin bags of mica chips outside .. But wehen the tank dried ,the tank was dry as a bone not a leak in site.
I phoned the insurance company on the saturday afternoon telling them I think we have discovered a water leak problem but could not pinpoint it. ...Monday evening at 17.35 hrs. " Jake the plumber turns up " ... It's your bath sealing that the caused of the problem Boyo , the leak is down to you".
I didn't swear nor hit him but after he left I used my digi cam and a lead lamp and photographed all the underside of the bath and walls ..dry as a bone not a trace of leak or creep . Discovered that the kitchen/bathroom wall was ozing water from the floor right up to about five feet high.
I sent the pictures and a polite comment to the insurers , 14 days later they sent me a surveyor who actually correctly identified the leak as being in or under the shower flooring .. The test and access man came a week later walloped off five tiles at the back of the shower where the pipes were boxed in ... " Its yer grout fellah , its down to you to get it repaired ".
Rather glum at this I started to remove all the boxed on pipe work and found the bathroom radiator pipe dripping faster than a syphilitic soldier of the Greniadier Guards ( there's a song about that
) Mr nearly has struck again he had bent the micro bore pipe on the olive as he was tightening the union nut making it as oval as the cricket ground .... drip drip ( that soldier again..) , when I put the circulation pump on it I got a mug full in just over three minutes. So the leek had been going for possibly 4 1/2 years ????Lots of photos later and a big email to the insurers showing the leak and the verdigris staining on the pipe work etc as well as the fungal growth etc. I get a company appointed by the insurers to strip out the bath room & kitchen floor toppings . Boy did they strip things out ... nothing was moved gently or unscrewed
In come the renovation & flood damage experts , two gert double fans in each of the two blower units and a dehumidifier unit ... they switch them on in the kitchen and blow desert storm three through out the place making it inhabitable ..
Urgent calls to the insurers and we moved out that afternoon into a hotel . A Total Loss adjuster is appointed ....he turns to be out just that " ....A Total Loss .
Three weeks later the EXPERTS from the flood damage & arrive whilst my wife is collecting the mail , they take their units and declare the place dry .
On the Saturday after this I cut a channel through the bathroom floor down to the wpm ready to take the pipe work for the redesigned bath room /wet room and find water seeping from the highest above ground end of the bungalow across the WPM into the channel I have cut .. many pictures later several emails .....
The professional renovators did not do any core drilling or test other a than a two pronged resistance meter test on the wall that had sweated before they took their gear away ( Professionals indeed).
The TLA arrived a week later and agreed that the damage is caused by the water leak , that the appointed company is responsible for .. smashing through the floor topping down through the sub floor through the water proof membrane in nine places , wrecking every lower kitchen unit & work top , breaking the washing machine door , smashing the bathroom , sink , toilet pan and both bathroom window cills ( AND THESE ARE TRADESMEN ?)
The insures pay for all types of cleaning & the storage of all our goods as well as putting us into a magnificent rented bungalow for which they have footed the bills so far and replaced all our grit filled PC's ,printers ,scanners etc etc..
The renovators returned red faced and insert two enormous dehumidifiers and two double fan units .. these ran 24/7 from mid May till end of July . These experts then make six test drills of two holes 40 mm apart and 75 mm deep insert a resistance meter calibrated to a supposed moisture content down these hot drilled holes and then declare everything dry ready to proceed with the refurbishment.
5 week later it still stinks , today I have removed all skirtings and carpet grippers throughout the empty bungalow ..they are mouldy on the underside and very damp to feel .
My theory is that the water is wicking by capillary action up the outside edge of the WPM and that the concrete slab ( 30 year old granite chip based ) is still saturated at the WPM level ...... I understand that 30 yr old concrete is almost impervious to water unless it has been soaked in if for several years " DING DONG that rings a bell ".
So people , can any of you guys advise me where to locate a company that will take deep excavated floor concrete chippings and mix them with Calcium Carbide and do the acetelene gas produced comparisons as to the real moisture content of the floors .
I'm getting more than concerned that the TLA says "Well in all my 30 years as a TLA I have never heard of that sort of test being done .. the mouldy smell usually clears up after you repaint & move back in " .
Yes and a year and a day down the line the insurance company will deny any responsibility for a poor repair etc and they won't be liable for our long term health due to living in a home full of mould spores.
