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

[mickthemaverick]

Had Thames Water ring the doorbell around 8.30 this evening asking if they could have an inspection of our sewer manhole as there is a blockage somewhere!! I had to remove a lot of stuff to gain access to the cover as you can see here:

Manhole exposed

Once open the gulleys were clean and clear so everything was replaced and I came back in to watch the Liverpool game. As time went by I did notice the familiar sewer odour occasionally penetrating my senses but ignored it as I knew they were working along the road. At 9.45 SWMBO arrived home from visiting her mate and on opening the garage door was greeted with a 'tidal wave of ****'. She immediately reversed back off the drive and went to tell the chaps up the road. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

The tanker

The suction hose

The garage now

Close up of the inner end

Once the football was over I went to see how much of my kit had been damaged and which parts I could recover to the shed. At that point I placed a plank across the river and helped SWMBO get across and down to the front door so she could get inside and warm up. As I was now wearing boots I asked her to go through the house and unbolt the back gate so I could take stuff round to the shed. I heard the little scream of surprise while I waited for the gate to be opened and once I had access I saw the reason for that:

The kitchen drain

So I am now looking for a film to watch while the chaps do their stuff and clean up all our houses which have been affected. The slight irony is that I have the chap from Trading Standards coming to see me tomorrow morning about the lethal spring compressors, so I'll be amused to hear his take on Thames Water!!

So there you are, undeniable proof that the saying is true "S**t happens!!"

[Rp0thejester]

[MattBLancs]

Oh heck, that's grim!

[CitroJim]

Oh gosh! That's horrendous Mick

Here's hoping all can be resolved and there has been no significant loss/damage

[Paul-R]

Yuck, terrible.

[myglaren]

Well, that just crap.

Good for the roses, allegedly

[mickthemaverick]

Apart from the carpet, which I only cleaned yesterday, the only real damage is to my 50m extension lead and my welder, neither of which I would ever want to plug in again. Everything else can be cleaned and used so waiting for Thames Water assessor to come and appraise it before I do anything. They still have more cleaning to do this morning as the tanker got full and overheated at 3am !
Trading Standards man due at 10.30!!

[myglaren]

Have you a

for him?

[mickthemaverick]

Funnily enough not necessary Steve cos I'll have to show him indoors as the garage/workshop is out of bounds!! I rescued the necessary kit last night which had been above the high tide point so ready for him now!!

[mickthemaverick]

Still waiting for the assessor, who was due 30 mins ago, but in the meantime I have erected a temporary shelter for all the undamaged stuff which still has to come out after the assessment to get to the racking and chest that were damaged. Once they are cleared then the cleaning team can get in to finish the job, I have been advised that they will be here in the next 1 day and 18 hours!!

My temporary store!

[CitroJim]

Did the TS Assessor turn up in the end?

I have been advised that they will be here in the next 1 day and 18 hours!!

Oh, I do like a precise time - especially one like that

[mickthemaverick]

Yes Jim, He arrived within 3 minutes of his appointment and we had a very interesting conversation which I may relate at lunch next week!!

On the other hand still no sign of the Thames Water assessor who should have been here by 15.00 !!

[CitroJim]

Yes Jim, He arrived within 3 minutes of his appointment and we had a very interesting conversation which I may relate at lunch next week!!

On the other hand still no sign of the Thames Water assessor who should have been here by 15.00 !!

Looking forward to hearing all about it

Fingers crossed The TWA soon puts in an appearance...

[Skull]

Mick you seem to have taken this event very well

I presume there's some sort of compensation coming your way

I hope your fan is in the garden for when the 5h1t hits it

[mickthemaverick]

I have no idea about compensation at the moment. I hope to get my 50m extension lead and my welder replaced and maybe a couple more things yet to be recovered but at the moment the main concern is to get the garage back into usable condition so I can close the doors and secure it. I have left the roller door 6" open and the side door wide open to promote airflow and help with drying
The problem of security means that we have to lock the front gate to stop access to the side door which means early rising to unllock for delivery men!
No point in getting angry or upset about it as that really only makes it worse, so my attitude is get on with fixing it and look forward to a resumption of normality in due course!