Swim for the hills, my room is flooded...

B

Big Tone

My life just gets worse and worse...

My lean-to flooded the other day so after ripping up the weird carpet thing, and the lino underneath that old man Bloggs stuck down a million years ago, I’ve got a couple of questions...

I’m struggling, in this cold wet weather, to dry it out. I can’t afford a dehumidifier and don’t know how well they work anyway. I do have a portable air conditioner but the condenser part doesn’t kick-in unless the room is warmer than 18 degrees. (It’s currently about 10 deg). I thought of hiring an industrial heater but again I think that would be prohibitively expensive.

The flooring couldn’t be made of worse stuff; unprotected chipboard, aka blotting paper. So I’d be very interested to know what others have done in these circumstances? I have been using a fan heater which is taking forever and probably costing as much as new boards to run. I think I am going to get away with not replacing them although I won’t know for sure until they’re completely dry. They are curling a bit at the edges and one or two other places but maybe over time it’ll flatten down, I hope.

My second question is what would you do or use to help protect the flooring in the event of another flood or would you just put soft waterproof flooring over the top and seal all edges? I feel, given what’s happening in this country in recent years with the floods, it may be of use to lots of other people too.

Any advice is most welcome please. Oh, here’s a picture. It was absolutely sodden two days ago; the whole lot looked dark brown with water, as you can imagine. I think I added a bit more with my tears. Actually, you can tell how it must have looked from the edges in the pic. The pic is a bit deceptive, even the dry looking areas are still damp; you can smell the dampness filling the air as you walk in.

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I would say that this problem is threefold:

1. When did your area last flood?
2. How likely is it to happen again, bearing in mind the growing concept of climate change?
3. If you (and others-neighbours, council, engineers, etc) don't think it will happen again for a very long time, then you can dry it out (over time)and lay new flooring next year. Or,
If the perceived wisdom is that it will happen again, you need to raise the whole floor structure above the anticipated water level. Its a lean-to, and given that you haven't mentioned flooding within the house, which means to me that the floor is at ground level and below the threshold into the house. Bring the floor up to the house threshold, if possible. Or you can build a small wall around the lean-to and have a slide-in-when-necessary gate to prevent water getting to the structure. No easy answers.
 
Ah thanks and sorry, I should have said that although this may be useful for others, (suggesting mine was a river flood), it was actually of my own stupid doing. The phone rang so I dashed out to get it thinking I’d turned the tap fully off, but I hadn’t. (Hence why I didn’t want to mention it in my OP :oops: and I wanted to keep the post short'er). There’s no overflow to the sink, the previous owner plugged it up, and I didn’t go back in there until the next day. It was only a small flow but it had a day to turn the place into a swimming pool.

Because there’s a sink in there and the washing machine there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong again. It’s a very cold room with exposed pipes too. I could/should cover them but a sharp cold spell could easily cause a pipe to burst I think.

Can I ask you Kev, should I be concerned about the water that has gone below or is it best to pull the boards up just to check? I imagine it’s just gone between the joists where it will eventually dry out with the help of a warm day and under-floor air flow?

Thanks again Kev :)
 
switch the heaters off & just replace the chipboard.

The stuff costs peanuts, electrikkery dont :D
 
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switch the heaters off & just replace the chipboard.

The stuff costs peanuts, electrikkery dont :D
You’re absolutely right of course but if I’m honest I’m DIY’d out, having spent every waking minute of the last few weeks doing my kitchen.

So, to quote Reservoir Dogs, right now “I need this like I need a bag on my hip”. I will do it if the push comes to the shove, I’m a strong believer in ‘if a jobs worth doing it’s worth doing well’ but I would be creating a lot of extra work for myself so it’s a last resort really.

I’m going to sound like a wimp now but there’s another reason: Whoever put the boards down did a great job, much better than I could. It's not in picture shot but they’re nicely cut around pipes with difference sized boards all fitting together neatly without room for a feeler gauge between them. I sure I could do it and do it well but I bet the chippy had every tool that Machine Mart sells.
 
The important fact is that its "only" a small lean-to (not subject to building regs?) and you can, with a modicum of common sense, do what you want. The boards look like they are drying, albeit slowly, as time goes on. I would be tempted not to heat the place up without any ventilation to take the damp air away. Maybe consider leaving the door to the garden (is there such door?) open during the day with the heat switched off. I would leave the floor uncovered until maybe late spring early summer next year, then re-cover it.
 
yeah but the trouble with carpboard is,when it gets wet it loses its stregth so if its only a small lean to,rip it up and replace,shouldnt take take you more then a couple of hours to do?.

and while doing it,give yourself a kick up the arriss for being a muppet for leaving the tap on. ;)

bit like me a few months on leaving the oven on for about 4 hrs with nothing in it :oops:
 
I would be tempted not to heat the place up without any ventilation to take the damp air away.
There are two vents high up at either end and two more lower down. They're not powered extractors but I have opened them up.

Maybe consider leaving the door to the garden (is there such door?) open during the day with the heat switched off.
Yes there is, at each end. I had them both open on the first day as much as I could, in between the rain.
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I would leave the floor uncovered until maybe late spring early summer next year, then re-cover it.
Really
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That long! Maybe changing the boards is the way to go after all. I've also just noticed that by walking on them the supports underneath are starting to show through, like brass rubbing, which means my lard-ass must be depressing the boards.
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Anyone got a dunces cap for me?
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Thanks again all.
 
yeah but the trouble with carpboard is,when it gets wet it loses its stregth:
Ah, I think we just posted at the same time so you may have missed my last post before yours. You're right, as I'm finding out.
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It's strong when dry but turns to mulsh if you sneeze on it.

..so if its only a small lean to,rip it up and replace,shouldnt take take you more then a couple of hours to do?.
I wish! There's more there than meets the eye. I reckon a good day at least. There's all my crap to move and the sink unit etc. and put it back in again of course
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and while doing it,give yourself a kick up the arriss for being a muppet for leaving the tap on. ;)
The truth hurts ;)

bit like me a few months on leaving the oven on for about 4 hrs with nothing in it :oops:
Ah you're just trying to make me feel better.
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(Thanks :D )


Out of interest, if I do rip it all up what would you put down? What's used these days, MDF or the compressed rice husks I've got there already?
 
Come to think of it, I’m not impressed with the strength of the old floor anyway!
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He did a good job, sure, but the material he used?
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When the washing machine was centrifuging my skids it used to do the dance of the seven veils across the floor until I placed it on a 2’ x 2’ concrete slab. Really! My washing machine was like a demented woodpecker!

So I’ve got a thought which may stop me from killing myself tonight... If I leave it to dry-out and it ends up looking like a ploughed field, (like my stomach used to look like :D ), couldn’t I just put or pour something on the top and maybe then cover with cheap floorboards or something?

Help me out here, I'm drowning
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No pun intended ;)

I don’t know the “something” but I’m thinking you wouldn’t linish an entire wall completely flat when you can just skim it with 'something'. (I come from an electronics/electrical and mechanical background BTW)

I'm all ears
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you could always install 18mm wpb if your pocket wont stretch to marine ply. :LOL: :LOL:

but i wouldnt put chipboard down again. ;)

listen m8 ripp the lot up and start again,why o why would you spend dosh stuff to pour over it to make it flat,(self levelling screed)i think thats what your on about.

get rid sharpish. :p
 
you could always install 18mm wpb if your pocket wont stretch to marine ply. :LOL: :LOL:

but i wouldnt put chipboard down again. ;)

listen m8 ripp the lot up and start again,why o why would you spend dosh stuff to pour over it to make it flat,(self levelling screed)i think thats what your on about.

get rid sharpish. :p
My pocket won't stretch to buying a used piece of chewing gum at the moment Gregers. What's wpb and is marine ply the same as ordinary ply? (You credit me with more brains than I have m8 ). I got that bit, I do texts as well ya know :D

I know about electronics and mechanics and stuff, not so much on the DIY. I feel like a Op Amp 741 with only seven legs or a piece of alloy being forward-fed into a milling machine with too deep a cut causing the arbour to bend.

Two can play at this game
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;) :LOL:

Seriously, I appreciate any/all the help and advice. :) I'm going for a beer now; I deserve it...
 
Tone, only you know whether or not the floor is damaged beyond repair. Reading through your opening post again, it appears that the chipboard was reasonably well protected from water (2 layers of flooring above) and I guess the water could only get to the bulk of the chipboard from around the edges, which is why the edges are taking the longest to dry.

I guess there isn't any rush to do anything, so wait and watch.

Rgds
Kev
 
tone like the wit m8 :LOL:

as kev has said,if you really think it will dry out then leave well alone,but do keep it well ventilated,and keep a close eye on it all for any potential rot??

wbp is water and boil proof ply.

marine ply you need a mortage for. ;)
 
Oh thanks bud, nice of you to say :)

It's still the same but I've got my friend from work, who passes my door each day, to drop off a dehumidifier in the morning. I've been reading about them and I think it could do the trick.

This weather is just dragging it on too long and I really need to put all my stuff back in there; dead bodies and WMD etc. :D It's stuck all over the rest of the house driving me nuts at the moment.
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I can live with a few rumpels on the floor, it is just a lean to after all, but there is a side to me that likes things to be perfect so I'm still in two minds...

Cheers again and thanks. I like the sound of that wpb btw
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