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Flooded out!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Rod

My parents had underfloor heating. Not impressed with it at all. We have water filled radiators - much simpler and more effective in my opinion. Also not sure whether - if it is electric - that it is a good idea in houses prone to flooding to have underfloor heating. We removed anything under the floor that might corrode. Also no electric wires in the floor. I know of 2 properties (one a library) that had copper heating pipes under the floor that corroded and began to leak. If you have tile floors there is no reason why you can't have mats, rugs or rush matting on top. If there is underfloor insulation it should be ok. Our floors have no insulation so are cold but we live with it. Would have been a massive job to dig out the floors and we don't know what we might find underneath. I discovered a 12 foot deep well just by the back door.

Anyway seems like you have moved on from the despair stage and now into the 'lets get it sorted' stage. As long as your claims from the insurance are reasonable then they will probably agree to what you want to do.

Keith

 

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Rod

get your assessor 

they will fight your corner and know the trick of the trade and the other sides weaknesses they can interpret your policy to your advantage.

dont worry about carpets walls plaster kitchen units etc they will deal with this  

they may also help you counter claim against the highways authority as they appear to have failed in their duty to keep the road gullies clear directly resulting in your flood. 

You need to do this !!!!! Please don’t let the insurance company or the highways authority/ council run roughshod over you.

 

you wouldn’t go to court without legal advice  so don’t tackle the insurance claim without professional help .

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

We have underfloor heating and it’s ideal for a retired couple who don’t go out to work every day. Not sure how effective it would be if the latter applied because the thermal lag is significant. 

Rgds Ian

PS our house is brand new so the insulation is 100%. 

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No insulation can be 100% - if it were, just the body heat of the occupants alone would suffice to raise the temperature inside to 37 degrees C.

But I get your drift!

Ian Cornish

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On heating.     I don't want to lessen Rod's predicament, as  mine is trivial in comparison, but I'm most grateful that it hasn't been that cold yet.      My gas boiler failed a few weeks ago, luckily I have a maintenance contract and the engineer attended next day.    The boiler gave a Fault code, like a modern does a OBD code, but just the same, that doesn't diagnose what is the problem, and while he got it going again, it recurred last week.  This time they sent the senior engineer!    Lovely guy, couldn't find the exact fault, but found TWO problems, one of which made it necessary for him to "condemn" the boiler!

This isn't as bad as it sounds, it meant that he had to switch off and disable it, until it could be repaired as the fault was potentially dangerous.    And he couldn't do that, only the modern equivalent of the Gas Board (Cadent) could, but they would attend within two hours.    Which they did.    But they could neither test their repair, not turn on the boiler as it had been disabled by the boiler engineer.    Who needed a part, which had to be ordered.   On a Friday afternoon.

So I looked forward to a weekend of cold showers and cold rooms.    But, I thought, I have an immersion heater, and a hot water tank full of hot water!    So I could wash up, and have a hot shower in the morning, and use the heater for the next day!    Next morning, I wash, and then go to turn on the heater.   FLASH!   BANG!    It fuses the the ring main!     Fortunately, I have circuit breakers, so restoring power is simple, but there's no way I'm trying that again!    So, it's been a cold and slightly smelly weekend.

But the boiler engineer is here this Monday!  Callooh, callay, I chortle in my joy!  He (the junior one again) spends at at least two teas of time in the cellar, and then announces that he cannot turn it back on - "the fan has failed"!      I frog march him from the premises - which was very warming - and set to to find an electrician.

Watch this space.     It's been warming just to relieve my frustrations on you!

John

 

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They are NOT engineers, they are technicians.

Sorry to say that the title Engineer has been degraded, soiled, whatever by gross misuse in the UK.

On the Continent, one would not be able to use the equivalent of Engineere without suitable qualification - one thing which the Continentals have got right!

End of rant!

Ian Cornish

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I agree Ian. As a professional engineer, it annoyed me that people think that I can fix their washing machine. My usual response was no but I can design a better one or a factory to make them.

Also end of rant.

Mick

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Apologies, I should know better.

And better news!   The electrician came, as arranged at 0800, and sorted the immersion heater.    He was a man after my own heart, and I think that of others here, as he was not only competent, he was adaptive.    He diagnosed the problem, which was caused by the heater having lost the plastic cover that sits on top.    The metal collar that surrounds it and seats the cover had slipped and shorted a bare mains terminal.     But the contact breakers had done their job, no damage done, save for a burn mark on the terminal.     We have hot water!

But even better, the technician applied common sense.    Unhappy with leaving the collar loose to short again, he knew that he could not source a cover for this old heater.   So he helped me find a plastic tub the right size in my recycling box, and adapted it to form a cover that could be held on by the original screw, and this holds the collar in place too! 

Safe and warm, job done, thank you!

John

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Ah, common sense - now that is a skill that is so often sadly lacking in many cases.

Good to know that you had a skilled and helpful technician who can think out of the box, and that now you have hot water.

Ian Cornish

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I have two friends that started life as apprentice trained aircraft technicians.

As a side line they both (unknown to each other) went into plumbing. There is a fair bit of commonality between aircraft and plumbing.

Eventually the side line got so big both abandoned the aircraft and did the plumbing full time.  There must be some money in plumbing.

 

Roger

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My heart goes out to you, some years ago we had a serious fire caused by a faulty freezer stat . A neighbour suggested  using a loss assessor to negotiate on our behalf. the whole proceedure went smoothly thereafter, he was able to help us get things done promptly and fairly . See post from Hamish 

Keith

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An update for those interested. Brand new shiny Worcester Bosch external boiler arrived in my drive yesterday to be fitted in days. This has been a fight but anyone that knows me is aware that I only go down fighting if at all. May put the old one in the garage till it falls apart, toasty work shop dream.

Tiler has finished laying oak floor tiles after excavating a two inch drop on all sides in the sitting room and using self levelling compound. About to order 40 plus meters of Oak skirting board and architrave. Cannot start the kitchen till the boiler has been changed due to the mess likely to be created.

Every step of this process has been a nightmare firstly getting tradesmen to provide quotes ( as requested by the Loss adjuster) Five heating firms showed up tutted and buggered off again promising to provide a written quote. Three tiling firms quoted stupidly as in 40 bags of tile adhesive and two weeks to do the work. Work done quickly and expertly by members nephew whom I had used before, thanks John Morrison.

The issue is that every tradesman seems to be at a premium and the loss adjuster has rates agreed with their preferred contractor who was to travel from Glasgow each day (1.5 - 2 hours each way every day) This would be at my insurers cost and ultimately mine.

Each time it rains heavily we worry ourselves sick, fight like fighty things. all due to stress of the loss. It gets cold in the log cabin during the night but I was damned if I would leave site to allow shoddy workmen access and the pyckies to rob me .

I have decided to take a break with the camper after we finish and also drive the TR every dry day I can to make up for the loss of the late summer. West coast of Scotland in the Autumn is awesome particularly with a good bottle of wine and walks with my Black labs along the beach is fun. god do we need some fun after this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Onwards and upwards

Rod

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Gald you're seeing the rainbow after the flood, Rod!     After my relatively trivial problem, I can sympathize, although I have been lucky with the tradesmen/technicians I have had.    I found the electrician though Google - the modern equivalent of Yellow pages - after one who didn't answer his mobile, and one who was "Far too busy, Sir, to come in less than a fortnight"!   Good for you, mate!      My final choice was a local firm, with on-street premises, and as I showed above, their man I'll ask for again!

John

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A salutary lesson faced with this situation take Photos and video as back up for what ever you wish to state as you will get creamed. If a Company called "Rainbow" are sent to carry out the drying process refuse to allow them entry as they are liars and cheats. These people came in like a swarm of seagulls crapped on me and then lied about it. They caused damage and then denied to the loss adjuster. After wrenching the skirting boards of the walls and destroying the plasterboard bottom and corners where the boards dug into the p/board they denied having removed them. I intend seeking legal advice about this as they caused my insurance company to refuse to pay for the skirting board damage.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and it only now becomes clear what I should have done but did not fully understand the process that they work under. Even if it seems illogical document every step of the process. We were just overwhelmed by it all.

We are getting there and still camping into winter it will be a long haul yet but we will be better and stronger as a result.

I hope the Council are well tooled up because I am really determined to hold them to account. I have a letter from the Scottish office and our MP dated back in 2009 detailing the steps they should take not reduce any flood risk and they have ignored it for all this time. They have linked rainwater drains to the sewage and this is going to hurt them dearly.

To be honest John unless you have gone through this no one can really understand what it feels like to have your home destroyed through no fault of your own..

Rod

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Sincere sympathy, Rod, and I do understand that my experience is trivial to yours.   And in the circumstancs of your last post, I apologise for the rainbow reference, which was more Noah than No Hoper!

John

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Hi John, I mean no offence and meant as a general comment but would make this point that each and every tragedy is a greater issue and we all react in different ways. The Rainbow reference was purely co-incidence and unfortunately that is the name of the company is a country wide one that specialises in renting out massive heater fans and dehumidifiers. They seem to be both contractor and at the same time project manger on the same project, unheard of in business and any project I have managed.

Rod

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When floodwater submerged a transformer site feeding a city of 150,000 the repercussions were widespread as this analysis revealed:

https://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/living-without-electricity

Was it a lack of foresight by those in charge or the profits of privatised power companies ?

Peter

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Hi Peter,

There does seem to be a real lack of knowledge and foresight across the board in all walks of life. About 20 odd years middle management was decimated by mass redundancies and firings. So many of these people were a asset to the businesses as they had gone through the business from the shop floor to management and had massive experience and knowledge of how the Company worked.

This was particularly true of Councils who got rid of "Roadmen" who had intimate knowledge of their piece of road and kept the ditches cleared and the foliage down, the same is true of the road drains and a singular failure to keep them clear causes back up and eventual aggressive flooding when it overflows.

In my experience everyone wants to be a manager with the title but does not know how to or want to actually manage anything.

Locally our council is due to spend 23.5 Million pounds rolling out a recycling program that the spent millions on 6-7 years ago buying the equipment that has sat in storage at taxpayer cost, is not now compatible with bins bought subsequently and recycling centre reception.

Planning dept seem to be insane and allow mass building on flood planes or where the infrastructure is at a maximum capacity already. You only need to talk to the old locals and they say things never flooded before all the new building.. In my view you need a ten year plan for the infrastructure before allowing any building work. The water system is in places is still working with Victorian cast iron pipework that needs upgraded whilst keeping up supply so it gets ignored and so water is wasted in massive amounts annually.

Rod

Edited by Rodbr
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Hi Rod, I agree. UK power supply resilence has plummeted sincs Thatcher abolsihed CEGB. Now in times of winter with no wind Tesco is asked - and paid - to switch off its freezers so the grid can cope. And 10GW of coal generation is soon to be dismantled, about 15% of supply.

Wales planners with Assembly consent (or over-ride ) have been permitting building on flood plains, and even a small town like Rutihn had a brand new housing estate flooded by a nearby river. Now the lawyers are trying to shift blame between developers, county council, Nat Res Wales and rivers authority. The house owners are piggy in the niddle of  a melee of expensive men in suits. The cause was a trash grid around a culvert entrance that blocked with debris in storm deluge. So the lawyers contend over who installed it? who was resonsible for checking/clearing blockage?, why was the berm protecting the houses too low? who deisnged it? approved it? built it?   Buck passing. 

I do hope you are up and running in warm and dry abode soon, and can avoid a legal run in with the  CC.

Peter

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Hi Peter,To be honest I would take great pleasure taking these arrogant SOB to court and I'm certain I would win. My issue is that I am the only home to get flooded inside the house and for 13 years they have ignored the issue and taken the regions massive budget emergency surplus and lost it with poor greedy investment with Icebank but no one ever takes on responsibility. They decided in their wisdom they know the financial markets and failed catastophically. The drainage "experts " decided to site a road drain outside my front gate with one exit approximately 110mm to flow into the main road drain. All talk by assessors and the like has been of "black" water, (RAINWATER, SEWAGE and Kerosine from my boiler.) no one has suggested how this residue will be removed but will only be dried out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong as I feel my issues pail into insignificance when compared to some other flood victims, they lost so much more than we did. Perhaps when there are many the efforts to sort things out are greatly increased from one isolated incident. We moved in less than three years ago and within a matter of weeks our council tax increased two whole bands. I fought and lost my appeal. I feel that as a bare minmm they are due to reduce my Council tax for failed or just plain **** amenity they seem so keen to value houses with these days.

Things were so much better when local councils were made up of local people who were not paid lackies.

Rod

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