There had better be a really bright fucking dawn after this

[andrewducker]

So, at 4:30 I got a phone call from the damp experts. Telling me that the rot wasn't just in the four joists near the (wet) wall, but also in the other joists along the edge of the room. And that I needed to talk to the insurance people and clear this with them.

So I phoned my loss adjuster, to discover that he was on holiday until Monday. So I phoned head office and got passed on to their replacement. Who ummed, erred and then told me to go for it.

So I phoned the damp experts back, and they told me that because of the way that my flooring is laid (from the window towards the door), and because it's clipped together, if they were going to get to the final joists they were going to have to take up _all_ of the flooring. Which means clearing everything off of it.

The problem being - there's absolutely nowhere to put it. The bed has about a foot on three sides, and touches the wall on the fourth. The living room is already packed full and covered in dustsheets. That leaves the kitchen and the bathroom.

Which is why we're about to take the movable contents of the study, and fill the kitchen end to end. And then hope that they get the flooring taken up, sorted, and put back down by tomorrow night, so that we can get back into the kitchen again. Because we don't fancy takeout for _every_ meal until Monday.

It's a joy, it really is.

Comments

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

well if you have no kitchen, you are welcome here on sunday night and i'll cook you guys something.

[andrewducker]

Thanks - we'll see what state we're in on Sunday!

[call-waiting.livejournal.com]

Good grief. I don't suppose there's any way you can argue with the insurance company that it's just not possible to live in the flat during that time, and that they should spring for a hotel for you while they do the work?

[cairmen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's occurring to me, too. There are some nice self-catering hotel-style apartments around the city...

[andrewducker]

Accommodation isn't a problem - Julie has a key to Roy's old flat, and others have also offered beds. The problem is packing up all this stuff!

(Especially considering intense tiredness after getting home at half-midnight last night and then being up for builders this morning.)

Currently planning to keep tidying for another hour, then sleep until 6 and do the last bits.

[mindwanders.livejournal.com]

Do you still have that portable stove Hugh?

[andrewducker]

It wasn't supposed to get this bad, or go on this long. If the insurance guy wasn't away tomorrow I'd be whining at him. As it is, we'll see what the state of play is on Monday!

[matgb]

Or at the very least a storage/removal firm. OTOH, at least you've got insurance.

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

I was very very angry about all this yesterday. I feel that this is the responsibility of the insurance company and they should be providing storage for our stuff. But I guess thats just it, it is an insurance company who want to pay as little as possible.

I even felt like suing them last night for not fixing the problem earlier in the year and causing all this upheaval. I'm asthmatic, and I can't bear to be in either rooms for very long. In the last week I've used my inhaler more (even taking the preventative one) than in the last 3 months.

(Sorry rant not directed at you :) just so fed up)

[naath.livejournal.com]

Or indeed to argue with the insurance company that stuff has to go somewhere and they should pay for storage (and shipping stuff to and from). But arguing with insurance companies is a lot of effort.

[andrewducker]

If we hadn't been able to fit it all in, and if we weren't getting free accomodation, I'd have got money out of them no problem. If we had kids I'd have been out of there weeks ago...

[recycled-sales.livejournal.com]

I might be able to store a box or two if that would help?

[andrewducker]

I think we'll be ok. It's not like we _need_ a kitchen :->

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Buggeration.

[andrewducker]

That was pretty much my thought too!

[nmg.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, better this than finding out about the extent of the damp when the floor suffers structural collapse.

[andrewducker]

Absolutely. I only found out about it when I went to drill a hole between two rooms to run some Cat5, and I'm very glad I did!

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds deeply wretched, I hope this all gets fixed soon.

[andrewducker]

Thanks!

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

hopefully the problem will get fixed once and for all this time. Not that that makes the packing stuff away any easier... small flats are a bugger for that. Which is why I have not yet go tnew carpets when I have needed them for 2 years.

I hope your guys do a great (and quick) job for you.

[andrewducker]

Thanks!

[awdrey-gore.livejournal.com]

Jaysus, Andy. This really puts me bitching about our ant problem into perspective.

[celiaka.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. This is all sounding horribly familair. If there anything I can do let me know.

[andrewducker]

Well, we're looking forward to thanksgiving stuff at yours next weekeend :->

Source of damp...

[zornhau.livejournal.com]

Did you find out where it's coming from?

Re: Source of damp...

[andrewducker]

There doesn't seem to be a source, other than "The useless bastards sealed stuff back up and repainted it when it was still soaking wet." and "Foot-thick brick/rubble walls take a very long time to dry out."

On the plus side, I get free damp proofing out of this - as apparently the lack of damp proof seal is meaning it takes longer to dry out.

[anef.livejournal.com]

It sounds frightful! All I can say is you have my sympathy, and one day it will be over. Maybe by Christmas?

[andrewducker]

Floor ended up being back down last night, but we stayed away until today, so we could have an evening off, and then spent today moving all the stuff back in. We have the plasterer arriving on Monday morning, and then painting by the end of the week. Should all be over in 7-10 days, hopefully!