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Sometimes I think it's safer if I don't book annual leave. Every time I decide to take a few days off something dreadful happens to cause me not to enjoy it very much. The last time I took a week of annual leave the London riots kicked off and I thought society as we knew it was going to break down. This time around water is leaking into my bedroom.
It all started on Tuesday night when I was woken up by the sound of drips landing on the window sill next to my bed. I had a look and the bedroom window was soaking. Also the whole window surround was wet and water was starting to spread around the window across the bedroom. Initially I thought it was really bad condensation, a problem which my parents have struggled with in their house for many years. The flat was brand new when I bought it 5 years ago and I'd never noticed any condensation before, however I'd accidentally left the window vents shut for a few weeks and it's the first winter since I invested in mega thick blackout curtains so I thought I'd bought it on myself. I dried the window off and laid towells on the window sill, then opened the window and turned the heating up to try and dry it out while I was at work.
When I arrived home on Wednesday night the damp had spread. I started trying to dry it off with a hairdryer but it made no difference. I also noticed that the carpet was soaking in the far corner of the room. By Thursday evening I'd realised that it wasn't just damp and that water was leaking into the flat from somewhere. It had rained constantly for several days so I thought maybe the seal of the window frame had gone. I was off work on Friday afternoon so I phoned the building management company and asked for a window person to be sent out to investigate. Later on that evening I noticed that the wall on the other side of the window which is normally behind the bed had started going mouldy.
My parents came round on Saturday to help me move the bed away from the mould and Dad noticed that although it wasn't raining water was pouring down the side of the of the building apparently starting at the floor above mine (I'm on the fourth floor of seven storey block). It now looks like it's a much bigger problem than just a dodgy window frame. The most likely culprit seems to be some kind of problem with the gutters and/or waste water drainage. Annoyingly, I'm now going to have to phone the management company back on Monday and tell them I need a plumber rather than a window person which will no doubt cause a delay in getting it looked at. Even more annoyingly they sent a plumber out to see me the Friday before last to look at the fact water was dripping over the front walkway from the edge of the false ceiling. The guy looked at the dripping (it didn't help that it was raining and dripping everywhere at the time) declared that it couldn't be the pipes in the false ceiling and went to have a look upstairs. He never came back and I heard no more about it. When I phoned on Friday I didn't realise the two things might be connected. Now I'm slightly p***ed off that the damage to my bedroom might have been prevented if he'd done something last week.
Now I'm counting the cost. From my point of view the most upsetting thing is that it's ruined the paintwork on two of the walls I took a week off work to paint in May. It took a long time to choose the paint colours and there's a chance they may not be available now. It's also spread to the ceiling and a damp patching is forming around balcony doors in the living room so I'll have to paint those areas too. My beautiful new curtains were damp so I sent them home with Mum to be aired. Luckily they hadn't gone mouldy. The bedroom carpet is soaked in one corner. It should be possible to dry it out, but I don't like it much so I wouldn't be heartbroken to have to replace it. My books are safe but I'm going to have to replace one of my Ikea bookcases - again not a tragedy.
I'm quite upset by the whole thing at the moment but I know that much worse could have happened. I'm insured so at least it shouldn't cost me anything. The worst thing is the horrible smell of damp which is getting into my clothes. At least I have some fun stuff planned for my week off to take my mind off of it all.
If anyone is interested in seeing the damage so far some photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_just_hide/sets/72157627945657323/
It all started on Tuesday night when I was woken up by the sound of drips landing on the window sill next to my bed. I had a look and the bedroom window was soaking. Also the whole window surround was wet and water was starting to spread around the window across the bedroom. Initially I thought it was really bad condensation, a problem which my parents have struggled with in their house for many years. The flat was brand new when I bought it 5 years ago and I'd never noticed any condensation before, however I'd accidentally left the window vents shut for a few weeks and it's the first winter since I invested in mega thick blackout curtains so I thought I'd bought it on myself. I dried the window off and laid towells on the window sill, then opened the window and turned the heating up to try and dry it out while I was at work.
When I arrived home on Wednesday night the damp had spread. I started trying to dry it off with a hairdryer but it made no difference. I also noticed that the carpet was soaking in the far corner of the room. By Thursday evening I'd realised that it wasn't just damp and that water was leaking into the flat from somewhere. It had rained constantly for several days so I thought maybe the seal of the window frame had gone. I was off work on Friday afternoon so I phoned the building management company and asked for a window person to be sent out to investigate. Later on that evening I noticed that the wall on the other side of the window which is normally behind the bed had started going mouldy.
My parents came round on Saturday to help me move the bed away from the mould and Dad noticed that although it wasn't raining water was pouring down the side of the of the building apparently starting at the floor above mine (I'm on the fourth floor of seven storey block). It now looks like it's a much bigger problem than just a dodgy window frame. The most likely culprit seems to be some kind of problem with the gutters and/or waste water drainage. Annoyingly, I'm now going to have to phone the management company back on Monday and tell them I need a plumber rather than a window person which will no doubt cause a delay in getting it looked at. Even more annoyingly they sent a plumber out to see me the Friday before last to look at the fact water was dripping over the front walkway from the edge of the false ceiling. The guy looked at the dripping (it didn't help that it was raining and dripping everywhere at the time) declared that it couldn't be the pipes in the false ceiling and went to have a look upstairs. He never came back and I heard no more about it. When I phoned on Friday I didn't realise the two things might be connected. Now I'm slightly p***ed off that the damage to my bedroom might have been prevented if he'd done something last week.
Now I'm counting the cost. From my point of view the most upsetting thing is that it's ruined the paintwork on two of the walls I took a week off work to paint in May. It took a long time to choose the paint colours and there's a chance they may not be available now. It's also spread to the ceiling and a damp patching is forming around balcony doors in the living room so I'll have to paint those areas too. My beautiful new curtains were damp so I sent them home with Mum to be aired. Luckily they hadn't gone mouldy. The bedroom carpet is soaked in one corner. It should be possible to dry it out, but I don't like it much so I wouldn't be heartbroken to have to replace it. My books are safe but I'm going to have to replace one of my Ikea bookcases - again not a tragedy.
I'm quite upset by the whole thing at the moment but I know that much worse could have happened. I'm insured so at least it shouldn't cost me anything. The worst thing is the horrible smell of damp which is getting into my clothes. At least I have some fun stuff planned for my week off to take my mind off of it all.
If anyone is interested in seeing the damage so far some photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_just_hide/sets/72157627945657323/
