Just to prove S**t really does happen!!

[myglaren]

If you lay them immediately they may go a bit mouldy from the moisture in the cement, not helped by the current weather and temperature.

[mickthemaverick]

I have the garage heater on Steve and the temp in there is around 18 so not concerned about that. This product was dry in under 30 mins and becomes strong after 4 hours so hopefully it will be well dried by the morning. Having said that I can lay the first 50cm row under the window whatever as that is not cemented and it will allow me to install the 40cm racking on Wednesday with Bob's help which is my main objective at the moment!

[myglaren]

Hopefully that will be OK then.

[mickthemaverick]

I ran out of time this morning due to a lunchtime appointment, but I got enough done to accomodate the tiles that will go under the racking. Thames Water turned up in the middle of it to have another rodding session and so the manhole was up again!! It looks like the tile pattern will result in four tiles to be removed to gain access in the future so quite happy with that!!

The first part painted!1

[Skull]

Good work Mick just watching iplayer BBC 2 'Thanes Water: Inside The Crisis'

[mickthemaverick]

I got up bright and early to start building the racking as Bob was coming over to give me a hand installing them. I got the first one done and was halfway up the second when he arrived and we cracked off the rest in no time. Then it was carpet tiles time followed by the install of the racks:

The racks installed ready for loading.

Then we decided to abandon work as we were both energyless and headed off for a delicious lunch break. With both of us on the Guinness 0 we thoroughly enjoyed a decent drink with the superb food and then headed back. Bob had come on his Honda so I suggested he head home to Reading to beat the worst of the traffic and then despite feeling half dead I decided to make a start on stocking the garage to reduce the amount to do tomorrow. It's the sort of thing that once you start it is difficult to pick a suitable place to stop for the night so I decided to plough on until at least all the tools and car related stuff was back inside, so SWMBO will be able to put her car away for the first time since Monday evening last week.

This is the current status and there is still a fair amount of stuff in the tent!!

Loaded up with car stuff and tools so far!!

Tomorrow I will have to see how to get the remaining ton of stuff back into the empty matchbox!!

[CitroJim]

Looking good Mick

[Gibbo2286]

Want a few more bit to top it up Mick? I'm trying to clear the last of my 'junk'. New old stock brake pads for I don't know what, trim clips all shapes and sizes (none to fit the Zoe), a couple of sealed beam lamp units, clutch cable, nuts and bolts and gawd knows what else.

[mickthemaverick]

Thanks Gibbo, I would possibly be able to releave you of some small parts, nuts and bolts, trim clips etc but I'll not know before I've finished the rest of the tent clearance. Maybe collect in May during the revived Wales Wander?

[mickthemaverick]

It's time for a Eureka!!!! Job done, last trip to recycling centre completed and a rest day tomorrow apart from sorting the last two wooden drawer contents into my multi store cabinets on the shelves. Another job I'd been meaning to do for at least five years!!

So now SWMBO is a happy bunny again with her baby safely tucked up for the night and the garden returned to relative normality!! Took the opportunity to power wash the raised patio too while it was clear of the usual flowerpot inhabitants!!

Two drawers left to sort

Happy Bunny No 1

Happy Bunny No 2

Hooray!!

[CitroJim]

Superb And all is now neat and tidy - as a Norbot might say

Almost time to 'do' my place again. Once I'm fit and healthy I very much intend to darken the door of our tip on several occasions with payloads in the Picasso. I can feel my place is all getting a bit cluttered again

[mickthemaverick]

Hopefully the final part has happened and can be found here!!

[Stickyfinger]

ONE drink and I would fall off the "deck" area....death (ankle) trap

[mickthemaverick]

ONE drink and I would fall off the "deck" area....death (ankle) trap

Not really a problem when returned to the normal usage

MTMO

[mickthemaverick]

An update:

I received this email this morning, I have redacted a few words for security, I'd be interested to hear others' views?

Thames Water
Customer Relations
PO Box 436
Swindon
SN38 1TU

Telephone: 0800 0093932
Fax: 01793 424291
Email: [email protected]

28 April 2025

Our Ref: xxxxxxxxx

Claim

Dear Mick

I’m writing further to our email dated 10 April about the problems you’ve encountered recently at your home. Thank you for returning the claim form to us.

Your case has been reviewed, and we can’t be held liable for the cost of damage to your property as we hadn’t acted negligently and didn’t cause the flooding at your home. When there are blockages in the line such as silt, it prevents wastewater from flowing freely down the drains and it will escape wherever it can, causing sewer flooding. There is no statutory responsibility when flooding occurs due to a blockage and in view of this we won’t be contributing to the cost of the damage to your home. We work in a reactive way and when we receive reports that our assets aren’t working properly, we have a responsibility to maintain them and restore them, so they are fully operational.

While we are under a general duty to maintain the public sewer system in any area, the law recognizes that we cannot reasonably be expected to know where or when a blockage/flooding may occur.

Most drainage pipelines are self-cleansing. This is because they have a slight gradient and the discharge of water from premises, connected to the line help wash away any solids through the system. If foreign materials such as, fat, silt, grease, roots etc. are deposited/found with the sewer they can cause blockages, meaning the sewer can become restricted causing flooding. Unless we’re contacted to advise of an issue, there is no way of us knowing that a problem exists within the public sewer system. This is the reason why we ask our customer to contact us every time in the first instance to investigate flooding/blockages.

By doing this, we build a history of the extent, nature and frequency of sewer flooding/blockages, allowing us to review whether any future investment or maintenance is required. As we have no previous history of issues within the sewer for this address, we would have no reason to assess the sewer prior to this incident.

It’s also important to note that as there is nothing written in statute, any liability we may have been entirely dependent upon proof of negligence. As we were not made aware before or on the date of the incident, this does not constitute negligence on our part.

Please note, unless provided with proof of negligence our decision on this claim, will not change

Next steps

I’ll now close your case but if you do have any other questions or if there is anything else I can do to help, please do give me a call on 0800 009 3932; lines are open 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

You can also:

Report some of the most common issues, such as blockages and leaks, on our website here.
Contact us on WhatsApp or via our Web Chat.
Call our Customer Contact Centre on 0800 316 9800. Lines are always open.
Find out more about our Priority Service Register here, if you or someone you know, needs extra support. You can call us on 0800 009 3652; 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Yours sincerely

A Person

Complaint Advisor

Customer Relations