DIY disasters

[ellenscult]

I finally put the bathroom cabinet up yesterday evening. That went fine. It even looks level. Yay! and *happy dances* and suchlike.

I also took the sealant off the side of the bath (again). And took the side of the bath off to check that it's just the water from the which is leaking down under the sealant and causing the wallpaper in the kitchen to bubble up, and a big patch of salts to appear on the brickwork in the ginnel.

Oh dear! Under the bath, several floorboards and a joist have been replaced. But I can see one of the old floorboards. It has holes in it, and a litter of dead bugs on top. Now I remember why those tiny bugs were bothering me earlier this year - they're what woodworm turn into. Oh joy, as it looks like under the laminate flooring are the rest of the old floorboards. Which will probably be afflicted similarly.

Then, with the aid of a torch, I look further under the bath. Yes, there is a large soggy pool of mank, and it looks like it's only the sealant which has not done a great job of sealing, rather than a pipe which is leaking.

There is also wet rot. There's a little shelf at the head of the bath. Looks like the water is getting under the tiles there, as the plaster is bulging out underneath in an alarming way.

And as I look a little lower, what's this? Oh joy! It appears I have dry rot there too. Fantastic! What do I win for getting all 3?

So tonight I will mostly be looking through my survey documents to see if I have any comeback on the surveyors (though how they are supposed to have spotted all this without ripping out the side of the bath and ripping up the laminate flooring, I don't know. And I'll be reading through my buildings insurance documents to see if I can claim on that to pay for this.


Can anyone recommend a builder, plumber and plasterer?

Does anyone know of a nice, unsecured bank I can rob? Or does anyone know any rich but gullible americans morons people who want to buy a bridge?

Comments

Meep :(

[gaxx.livejournal.com]

Something worth trying is making sure that the legs on the bath are adjust such that it doesn't rock at all. If it does then it will break the seal the selant creates when you put any weight (such as people) in there :-S

Re: Meep :(

[ellenscult]

It's more that there's far too big a gap between the tiles and the bath for the sealant to be effective. And water gets down behind the sealant strip stuff. And sealing that only lasts a couple of days, probably because it's not designed to be sealed. :(

I don't think the bath moves when I get in it, but I'll check this evening. I do fill the bath with water when I try filling the chasm with sealant, which is what I'm supposed to do. It helps a little - but the gap's just too big. They cut the tiles too short. And now I think the whole bathroom is going to have to be ripped out, treated, plastered and re-floorboarded, so a problem with sealant is the least of my worries. Bah!

Re: Meep :(

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

The other problem with the sealant/bath thing is that (bath + water + me) still weighs somewhat more than (bath + water) - thus replicating the strain is a bit of a challenge! I was rather chuffed when I did the sealant round my bath the first time (simple things), but it's gapped again ...

Re: Meep :(

[ellenscult]

There's hardly ever anyone actually having a bath in it, so I don't think that's too much of a problem. It's the 3 of us showering every morning that's putting quite a lot of water down the side of the bath. I taped binbags around it last night, but I suspect the water will get underneath it quite quickly. :(

You know, if I'd left it longer, the kitchen ceiling would have come down. And then I'd be able to claim on the insurance for definite. Not sure whether I can for this. :(

Re: Meep :(

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Well, if there are 3 of you in the shower at the same time ... [grin]

*huggs*

[fire-kitten.livejournal.com]

if you find thos gullible people please let me know as I have an eiffle tower to sell on as well...

:-)

Re: *huggs*

[ellenscult]

Will do... *big hugs*

[wiseoldbob.livejournal.com]

What bridge? I rather fancy owning a bridge. Or, better still: a viaduct!

[ellenscult]

I was going to offer up York's very own Millenium Bridge, but there's a rather nice viaduct in Milnsbridge going cheap...

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Dude, we've got one down here in London you could have ... very famous ... [grin]

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

What do I win for getting all 3?

A large shipment of [hugs], sympathy, and the sound of fear emanating from Addiscombe with added doubt and worry.

[ellenscult]

*hugs back* It'll get sorted. Do you want to join me in my life of crime? I'm going to embark on a bank-robbing spree to pay for this. *grin*

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

I think I will - I'll need the money to fix up the getaway car!

[(Anonymous)]

Hey! I'm a "psuedo" american moron. We have feelings too.
Ian.

[ellenscult]

*grin* Sorry! It wasn't meant to read 'american morons'... My bad. I was thinking of the people who bought Tower Bridge, who weren't morons, just gullible and American. Then there's morons, who I'd be able to sell said bridge to. Then there's the general catchall of 'people', any of whom might want to buy a bridge.

Anyway, can you email me? I have a proposition I want to discuss... *grin*

[clotilde.livejournal.com]

Various members of the Bell family are good. Alan is the builder, Colin is the plumber and gasfitter. They've done lots of work on the houses of people I know. I'll email you their numbers if you like.

Joe Booth is also supposed to be a very good plumber.

[ellenscult]

Yes please. I'm going to phone around for timber specialists to come and look at the mess, and see what they say. But very shortly I'm going to need people to fix this for me.

[kyryn.livejournal.com]

My sympathies on the bath/flooring problems.

However, I've got a question. I'm usually pretty good about making sense of British words, but I must ask: What's a ginnel? That's one that I've not heard before.

[ellenscult]

Thank you. ;)

I live in a terraced house. It's a small row of 4 houses, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. Between me and next door (2 - 3) there is a passageway which allows access to the back gardens, as there's no alleyway behind the gardens. Just more gardens. Then more terraced houses. ;) A ginnel is a local word for that passageway. York also uses the term 'snickleway'. I think there's a word for it in most dialects... Why have one word when a hundred will do? *grin*