New Waterproof Flooring After Floods Or Leaks

 A leaking radiator caused damage to flooring.

If flooring is stuck down, you are charged extra by the people who come to fix the next flooring because it is hard to removed the stick down flooring.

So I prefer jigsaw flooring, that fits together.

First, if one part of the floor is damaged, you can replace just that section.

Second, the replacer won't charge you extra for removing the first flooring.

I recall the man laying the new flooring telling me the  flooring was not stuck with the proper glue but a glue which made it impossible to remove the carpet, normally to tear it back. Instead, a stronger glue had been used which left the carpet in little clumps, each of which had to be removed separately, which took him hours, for which I was paying a large amount as he charged me by the hour.

Some flooring companies offer fitting in the price.

Others , like Tapis in Brent Cross, included the free measuring up. But they added for removing the old flooring, taking away the old flooring, laying the flooring, for the glue, underlay, flattening the undersurface which is necessary for jigaw tiles, though not for blue down tiles.

We looked at two types of lino tiling. It is not a solid tile but a laminate. We opted for the thicker one. 

Installing A New Towel Rail

 We had a problem with a towel rail. It leaked. Then developed a hole. The regular plumber for the building did not work on Sundays.

I looked online for a plumber on a Sunday. Up popped an advertisement for a 24 hour plumbing service provider.

Plumber 1 'A' - Emergency Service

I called them and they told me I had to pay a call out fee in advance. I did so. The time was about 2.30.

Their plumber was half an hour away on another call.

I got a call he was delayed. About 3.30.

In December  in London. it gets dark after 4. As it got nearer 5 I was losing hope.

Finally I got a call to say that the plumber had agreed with the tenant to call next day at 8.20 am. She would meanwhile leave bucket under the dripping.

I checked the suppliers of towel rails, to the public and trade. They were closed by 5 pm on Sunday.

So the new towel rail would not be available until tomorrow anyway. 

What I and the tenant did not realise, not being trained or experienced plumbers, was that the leak situation could get much worse suddenly, unexpectedly, seriously damaging the property.

Nor did I know where to turn off the water supply.

An hour or so after that I got a call from the tenant. Water was gushing everywhere. I said, call the porter to turn off the water.

The porter called the fire brigade who turned off the water to the flat, and the electricity, to prevent the danger of water plus electricity.

The next day the plumber called to fit the new towel rail.

The cost of a new towel rail and valves was what seemed to me like a huge sun, over eight hundred pounds. Nearer nine hundred total including the call out fee, which was deducted so I had to pay the difference.

I went over to the flat. To my horror, the wooden flooring of the large square hallway and the smaller bedroom beside the bathroom had both sections of what looked like buckled planks.

The feedback I got from the emergency plumbers was that to prevent a recurrence, the system needed draining, which meant ll the radiators in the flat, and turning off the water supply in the building, vast cost.

I contacted the management. I was told that to turn off the water supply in winter meant compensating al the other flats in the block. They suggested I contact their regular plumber to discuss the situation.

Plumber 2

When I called him, he told me that the towel rail was not on the same system as the radiators, but on the hot water supply, which was turned on and off within the flat.

He said the report I received from the other, first, plumber was wrong.

He arranged to come over and check the situation with the new towel rail.

Plumber 3

Meanwhile I had phoned my son, whose plumber was too busy to come to me. However, hearing of my disaster, and expense, he agreed to come over.