Sewage Works. Not For Me It Doesn't....

Oh why is wit always quickest when you have been drinking? It's crazy really, but reading some other people's LJs, I could make an ascerbic comment or two but I have decided against it. I still have that element of rationale about me to know I may regret it in the morning, no matter how funny I may find it now.

My flat is still flooded and it's going to take over a week to sort out. All of the floor boards are going to have to come up, the floor disinfected and then the boards will need to be relaid again. It's going to take time. The whole floor needs drying out but at least the infiltration of water has stopped. There is a thick silty layer in my bathroom which smells of faeces. I have decided to give it a wide berth for the forseeable. All of my possessions have been saved and evacuated from the premises thankfully.

The cause of last night's flooding has been found and it has been resolved. Hopefully.

Five years ago, this building was turned into flats and some cowboy builders were employed to work on the sewage pipes. Unfortunately, in connecting the sewage pipes of this building to the main sewer, they encountered a gas main and instead of using flexible tube to go around the pipe, they used rigid tube to sort of go over it. Just not very well. Then, to hide their shoddy workmanship from the inspector, they filled the area with backfill so it was impossible to see what they had done.

In doing all this, the workmen created a 2" gap between the new sewer pipe and the main sewage channel. Effectively, this meant that the sewage from four flats in this house could easily escape from the sewage pipe and taint the surrounding area. Furthermore, the connection between the new sewage pipe and the old sewage network wasn't flush. Basically, the pipe has been offset by a third meaning two fifths of the area of the new pipe was not connected to the sewage system and thus sewage could easily leak out into the surrounding ground.

This meant that sewage had infiltrated the ground surrounding this building and built up until, last night, it flooded my apartment, which is about 6ft underground and therefore vulnerable to such events. The water may have evaporated now but the stench still remains and much work needs to be done in the room to makeit habitable again.

In the meantime, I have been relocated from Room 3 in the basement to Room 9 on the top floor. The landlords are being quite understanding about the whole situation. They are giving me free beer and have said they will pay for any material damage caused (which, in reality, comes to about £50 - I got incredibly incredibly lucky that I was in and noticed this when I did). Still, it doesn't shake the colossal sense of sadness I feel about seeing the place I have called home for the last two years in such a state.

I am not angry, just sad. Friends have expressed how they can't understand why I am not livid. The reality is that apart from it being a massive inconvenience, nothing has really been lost. I see this as a catalyst to move on - to leave Middlesbrough and live with Wolfie in Leeds. I just hope I can get round the obstacles that are preventing me from doing this.

I am off to Birmingham tomorrow to buy something I have wanted to buy for over two years. Then, I am going to see Twll, Cosmo, Fairlight, Panthras and hopefully many more at a little gathering, which I am sure will be fun. Getting out of Middlesbrough is the right thing to do as it will enable me to consider my next option more rationally.

Sewage Works. Not For Me It Doesn't....

Oh why is wit always quickest when you have been drinking? It's crazy really, but reading some other people's LJs, I could make an ascerbic comment or two but I have decided against it. I still have that element of rationale about me to know I may regret it in the morning, no matter how funny I may find it now.

My flat is still flooded and it's going to take over a week to sort out. All of the floor boards are going to have to come up, the floor disinfected and then the boards will need to be relaid again. It's going to take time. The whole floor needs drying out but at least the infiltration of water has stopped. There is a thick silty layer in my bathroom which smells of faeces. I have decided to give it a wide berth for the forseeable. All of my possessions have been saved and evacuated from the premises thankfully.

The cause of last night's flooding has been found and it has been resolved. Hopefully.

Five years ago, this building was turned into flats and some cowboy builders were employed to work on the sewage pipes. Unfortunately, in connecting the sewage pipes of this building to the main sewer, they encountered a gas main and instead of using flexible tube to go around the pipe, they used rigid tube to sort of go over it. Just not very well. Then, to hide their shoddy workmanship from the inspector, they filled the area with backfill so it was impossible to see what they had done.

In doing all this, the workmen created a 2" gap between the new sewer pipe and the main sewage channel. Effectively, this meant that the sewage from four flats in this house could easily escape from the sewage pipe and taint the surrounding area. Furthermore, the connection between the new sewage pipe and the old sewage network wasn't flush. Basically, the pipe has been offset by a third meaning two fifths of the area of the new pipe was not connected to the sewage system and thus sewage could easily leak out into the surrounding ground.

This meant that sewage had infiltrated the ground surrounding this building and built up until, last night, it flooded my apartment, which is about 6ft underground and therefore vulnerable to such events. The water may have evaporated now but the stench still remains and much work needs to be done in the room to makeit habitable again.

In the meantime, I have been relocated from Room 3 in the basement to Room 9 on the top floor. The landlords are being quite understanding about the whole situation. They are giving me free beer and have said they will pay for any material damage caused (which, in reality, comes to about £50 - I got incredibly incredibly lucky that I was in and noticed this when I did). Still, it doesn't shake the colossal sense of sadness I feel about seeing the place I have called home for the last two years in such a state.

I am not angry, just sad. Friends have expressed how they can't understand why I am not livid. The reality is that apart from it being a massive inconvenience, nothing has really been lost. I see this as a catalyst to move on - to leave Middlesbrough and live with Wolfie in Leeds. I just hope I can get round the obstacles that are preventing me from doing this.

I am off to Birmingham tomorrow to buy something I have wanted to buy for over two years. Then, I am going to see Twll, Cosmo, Fairlight, Panthras and hopefully many more at a little gathering, which I am sure will be fun. Getting out of Middlesbrough is the right thing to do as it will enable me to consider my next option more rationally.