Thursday 10 October 2019

Feeble.

Yes, I will admit it.   Where anything practical is concerned I am absolutely useless.   One marriage of   thirty nine years and one of  twenty three - in both cases to wonderful and very practical men - has left me entirely hopeless at any practical job which needs attention.

Now a situation has occurred where I need to apply some thinking at least - and it is beyond me.
The damp patch on my bedroom wall is spreading along the top of the skirting board and has now surrounded the electric socket.   Until an hour ago, in spite of frantic phone calls, I had been unable to rouse a builder or an electrician.   At last the builder has contacted me and is going to try to get over to look at things later today.   I spoke to the electrician on the telephone and he says unplug the plugs and switch the whole thing off and it should be alright.   (OK he did suggest trying the trip switches in the fuse box to see if I can isolate this particular socket - but - see above - quite beyond my capabilities) 

The builder has been, isolated the problem (which  involves digging up part of the concrete patio) and put me on his list of jobs.   He has drained off the excess water and says the wall should begin to dry out.   My saviour.
Tess has returned from her walk with her dog walker - she watched another of the dogs have her treatment in the Hydro Therapy Pool but kept her distance.   Henry (the airedale) got too close and fell in which I think put Tess off for ever.

24 comments:

Gwil W said...

Good that your man has found it. We had a damp wall and a man came round with a damp measuring meter and took readings. In the end it turned out to be a big job. Hope yours is something simple and soon cured.

Derek Faulkner said...

Possibly the concrete patio is higher than the bungalow's damp course, allowing damp to get into the cavity between the outside and inside walls.

bbarna said...

Glad someone came to have a look. We have little stickers next to the electrical switches (to turn the main power on and off) that are labeled for each room that they are for. Handy when needing to turn off the power.
Barb

Sue in Suffolk said...

It's often difficult to get someone to look at small jobs is what I've found - a shortage of local people willing.

Rachel Phillips said...

If there is a problem that happens it will throw the trip so there is nothing to fear before the man comes.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I'm reasonably competent at DIY but I don't mess about with anything electrical; it comes down the pipe rather too quickly for my liking! Glad you were able to get someone out to look at the problem.

angryparsnip said...

Electrical is sometime I never mess around with. I am happy you found someone to look at the problem.
parsnip

the veg artist said...

We once bought a house where water was dripping off the sockets in half of the house, it was that damp (and that was the new/Georgian extension!) We had to have an electrician isolate the few rooms that we wanted to use before the total renovation began.
The same house also had a path which had been built so that its entire length tipped towards the wall instead of away from it - and there was no damp course! Sometimes the problem is obvious to a builder and moving or lowering a few slabs might not be that much of a job (fingers crossed).

THE ONLY TRUE HACKER IN THE WORLD ® said...
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Sue said...

Poor Henry! Hope you get the damp issue sorted soon, it's a problem you really don't need.

The Weaver of Grass said...

The builder came - very nice chap. Did a thorough search of possibilities and finally decided that it was the soakaway from the downspout - it was backing up the pipe. We have had a huge amount of rain. He has suggested digging up the concrete where the soakaway is situated and investigating the problem thoroughly. In the meantime he has done what he can to clear it. He is ring me with a date when they can do it.

Bovey Belle said...

If you can borrow a dehumidifier (and a strong man to manhandle it) that will help dry the wall out inside. What a worry though, having damp and electricity together as they are not good neighbours.

Heather said...

That would worry me too. Glad you found someone who knew what to do and how to deal with it. My husband worked away from home for some years and I became mildly practical, but now everything has changed so much I am ignorant again.
Poor Henry, how undignified!

Virginia said...

Electricity scares the bejeebers out of me so I' would have been just as unwilling to touch the thing. But, Weaver, you can manage this, and be prepared for next time. I had to work it out when I had a problem not dissimilar and after it was sorted, I worked out how many plugs were on each circuit by plugging a light into each socket in turn while I traipsed back and forward to the fuse box, until I had a plan of which sockets were on each circuit. That helped me not overload a circuit, as I had been doing. Of course getting another circuit installed is the answer, and a jolly expensive answer too! I hope fixing your drainage problem isn't too costly.

Tom Stephenson said...

Electricity and water don't work well together, but I concur with Rachel.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I'm rubbish at anything with my hands, I envy anyone who can do that stuff

Joanne Noragon said...

Well, you did get it all sorted, and that's good.

Cro Magnon said...

I recently had a tiny plumbing job done at my UK home (which is let). I noticed on the bill it said £60 for the first hour, then £15 for the work. £75 for a tiny job that took five minutes. My tenant is like you; she's never had to pick-up a spanner.

Librarian said...

Glad the builder came and could isolate the problem. Still it sounds definitely like something you don't need! Like bbarna has said, here in this house the switches in the fuse box are labeled so we know which is for the kitchen stove, which one for the washing machines and so on.

thelma said...

Well I am no use with electricity but the tale of Henry accidentally falling in the water with Tess looking on in sheer horror made me smile.

wherethejourneytakesme said...

We had a damp wall like everyone else on our road where the same gable wall faces the driving rain coming off the moors above us. The reason for ours is the original builder using quite cheap porous bricks. Although the damp patch was at the bottom of the wall the rain was getting in higher up and then running down through the cavity and coming out near the skirting. Luckily my DH is an architect so when we had builders round to look at it (he never mentions his job to start with so he can test them out) they all told us a different tale of why the water was getting in so he knew most of them hadn't a clue and often just guessing. Some of them were convinced the water was a rising damp problem. Only one of the four got it right. We have all had to have the walls rendered to protect the bricks - a costly job - but no more water getting in now.
The water was running into our socket - we just didn't use it and all was fine - Hope yours is sorted soon.
Out of interest why have you a soakaway and not a proper drain taking the water away from the down spouts - I didn't think your little bungalow was that old not to be connected to main drains.

Derek Faulkner said...

That's a great piece of advice by "where the journey" and illustrates how our trust in particular contractors can sometimes be both costly and not a solution to the problem.

Terra said...

I am like you in my lack of mechanical know how. I was married for 45 years to my hubby who was very talented in those areas, and indeed, he by himself built us our very first home. So no, I do not deal with the fuse box either. It sounds like you had the right expert come over.

The Weaver of Grass said...

where the journey - I have no idea why soakaways -most of the bungalows on this estate (my bit built forty years ago - other bits added since) - certainly the older ones like mine have soakaways.


Thanks everyone. Electrician coming in the morning. Builders coming to do the job next week.