Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

That's an interesting picture, Frugalsod, whereabouts did you get it and is there an article?

I have had the plumber around, one of the specialist gas plumbers who work on the communal heating and hot water systems at the Towers. Have water dripping through from the tank in the flat upstairs, might be the pipework feeding it, might be a split in the tank itself. Which could suddenly fail and then one shall be paddling indoors, shan't one?:rotfl:

Feeling self-satisfied in the habit of not having carpetted the floors, so only have Marley (vinyl) tiles over the concrete floors. Have removed the hall rug as a precaution against it getting wet, and have placed Henri d'Vac on the sofa, in case of water ingress into the hall and into his lair.

Am waiting with bated breathe for either a catastropic tank failure upstairs or them to co-operate with getting a repair done. The plumber says it can't be left long, they'll have to force access if necessary, which will entail a lot of faffing about and a bill for the other party.

Keep watching this thread for coming updates............. :rotfl:

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

That's an interesting picture, Frugalsod, whereabouts did you get it and is there an article?

I have had the plumber around, one of the specialist gas plumbers who work on the communal heating and hot water systems at the Towers. Have water dripping through from the tank in the flat upstairs, might be the pipework feeding it, might be a split in the tank itself. Which could suddenly fail and then one shall be paddling indoors, shan't one?:rotfl:

Keep watching this thread for coming updates............. :rotfl:

I got the photo from this article.

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/californias-run-water-act-now/

Do you think that your water problem and Californias is related?

jk0

GQ, the other day you said your neighbour doesn't live in the flat. Have they bought it then as a second home?

Would it be worth checking the flat(s) above that one in case the water is traveling down two floors?

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

I got the photo from this article.

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/californias-run-water-act-now/

Do you think that your water problem and Californias is related?

It was a dodgy batch of water tanks from somewhere in Scandialandia about 15 years ago, I've been told by SG, who is as thick as thieves with the gas engineers. It's a case of whoops there goes another rubber tree plant from time to time. If you're lucky, they overflow outside the flats through a special overflow pipe.........if you're lucky. Each and every one of them will pop, eventually, a few dozen have gone already.

They cost about £2k to replace and it takes 2 men the best part of the day's work. Highly-pressurised system connected to industrial gas boilers. I shall have a lovely hot bath tonight as a water leak from above might well short out the electrical controllers on my tank and then I'll be hotwaterless.

Don't want to get into a tub until I've had a call from my parents; they've just got my Nan back to her's after a surgery this afternoon on a cancerous lesion on her leg, so waiting for them to get back to theirs and then ring me with the update. Can't call Nan because she'll be exhausted and she can't speak too well after last year's slight stroke.

ETA; it's a council flat, jk0, and I think she lives elsewhere with her boyf (hasn't lived here for years, anyway) and pretends to live here. Your taxes hard at work warehousing her goods and chattels. I rang Housing circa 4 pm and she and the boyf rocked up at 6 pm, stayed 5 mins and took off again. It would be too much to expect that they might pop in on their way out and let me know when they intended to let the plumber in, I suppose.

Still, if Housing have to change the locks to let the plumbers in, they'll do it, and she'll get the bill. It's happened many a time before and it'll happen to her unless she plays straight.

jk0

GreyQueen wrote: »

ETA; it's a council flat, jk0, and I think she lives elsewhere with her boyf (hasn't lived here for years, anyway) and pretends to live here. Your taxes hard at work warehousing her goods and chattels. I rang Housing circa 4 pm and she and the boyf rocked up at 6 pm, stayed 5 mins and took off again. It would be too much to expect that they might pop in on their way out and let me know when they intended to let the plumber in, I suppose.

Still, if Housing have to change the locks to let the plumbers in, they'll do it, and she'll get the bill. It's happened many a time before and it'll happen to her unless she plays straight.

I'm surprised you haven't had a word in the right ear at the council GQ. Or did you, and nothing was done?

I'm shocked that people are leaving council flats empty when there is a shortage of them. I'm sure that's not allowed, is it?

I have had a couple of councils threatening to compulsorily purchase my flats if I take too long renovating between tenants.

DawnW

Hope they get it sorted soon GQ. What a pain! And horrible knowing that the tank could burst and damage your belongings

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

I got the photo from this article.

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/californias-run-water-act-now/

Do you think that your water problem and Californias is related?

Reading this article too the other aspect surfaces re water shortages, as in how to keep growing food?

I am thinking I should read up a bit on this vague idea I have that the Israelis (and others) have managed to work out systems for growing food in the desert.

Still wondering how my Californian friend is going to deal with this personally. I've been studying details of the houses she is currently looking at elsewhere in America and it looks pretty bone dry there to me too (never mind gardens...just think tamed desert). She has explained the financial aspects of moving to me and that they are restricted as to just where they can move to, in view of the fact they will soon be on retirement income and the different States cost such widely varying amounts to live in by the sound of it.

Frugalsod

There is a brilliant technique for collecting water. Which is used in India to drive the rainwater underground naturally. They are called Johads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johad

As flash floods occur they collect the water in a giant crescent shaped earth works. This slows the flow of water downstream, but it also gives it time to sink into the ground gradually replenishing the water table. Without these the water leaves the region and it gets too dry to live there.

GreyQueen

DawnW wrote: »

Hope they get it sorted soon GQ. What a pain! And horrible knowing that the tank could burst and damage your belongings

Thanks, pet. I've moved what I think would be wetted, although water can spread out over a surprising distance. I may just sling the living room rugs up onto the sofa when I go to work tomorrow in case water creeps out from the hall and in - this whole flat is very small, you see, nothing is very far from the hall where the tank and airing cupboards are.

Have done what I can and it's out of my hands, now, in between Housing, the other tenant and the plumbers. Plumber was saying if they can't get in there soon it will be a forced access job, it can't be left like this for long.

Have just spoken to Mum; they have got Nan back from her day surgery, she was called to be in the clinic for 1 pm and they called everyone for that time and didn't actually do the op (local anae) until 4.30 pm. Pretty hard on a woman who's nearly 92 and a long day with 4 drives totalling nearly 100 miles for my parents who are in their seventies. All pretty knackered and waiting for the results of the histopathology results.

moneyistooshorttomention

I hadn't heard of that frugalsod (from my limited knowledge of permaculture = that sounds like the swales used in that).

Just had a quick google and found that other technology to deal with this has been around for certainly 21 years (courtesy of an article in The Guardian) for desalinating seawater and using that.

I've also got an idea I've read somewhere of a permaculturist using permaculture methods to transform barren land into very productive food-growing land.

I do hope their powers-that-be are on the case, ie rather than on the make for themselves personally, and have this all well in hand and have been investigating all this stuff for years now and are ready to swing into action and deal with it....but, knowing human nature, I confess I'm not optimistic about it.