Floor Preparation (Jan ’14)

The 21st January 2014 was the first day of the floor works. The contractors have not sealed the upper floor but they happily continued with their work.

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They removed the old floor and presumably the old adhesive. Then they installed the new adhesive and left all the windows closed.

When I arrived at 18:15 the flat had condensation and some blue dots on the floor. This was the same condensation problem that we have experienced on November 2013.

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I also found some new marks on the entrance door which is the favourite item that contractors love to destroy but hate to protect with masking tape or other procedure.

On the 22nd January 2014 there were no further works on the flat. The new pictures I have taken with my phone can be found below:

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On the 23rd January 2014 I received a phone call from Mr Ricky who is working for The Revival Company regarding the condensation in my flat.

The contractor mentioned that the humidity inside my flat is very high (83%) and the temperature inside the property is 14.2 degrees of Celsius near the door. He also said that the condensation starts to form when the temperatures go below 12.6 degrees of Celsius.

The above measurements are done via the letterbox since the keys are not on the locker outside because the floor specialists took them when they left the flat.

The Revival Company contractor also mentioned that no works are taking place at the moment and he does not recommend the wooden floor to be installed until the cause of the condensation is found.

My understanding is that 27.5 litres of water were used in order to apply the STOPGAP 300 HD adhesive. That amount of water can create condensation when it evaporates during the drying time of the adhesive. Read more here.

Mr Ricky from The Revival Company will visit my property next Monday 27th January 2014 in order to evaluate the situation with the condensation.

In the evening the condensation was less than before. I opened the window slightly and turn the heating to mark 2. I have also noticed that the floor contractors have removed the wooden parquet from the kitchen.

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Finally more damages were visible on the hallway walls from the condensation as well as some imperfections on the floor. In some areas the floor was not smooth. See the middle photo above.

On the 25th January 2014 I visited the flat and there was no condensation. I closed the window and left after I noticed the uneven and cracked floor. See photos below.

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On the 27th January 2014 Mr Ricky from The Revival Company visited the property and said that all moisture levels are now good. Mr Ricky told us that the floor guys will come tomorrow to start laying the floor even if the wooden parquet is not in the property in order to adjust to the correct temperature and moisture!

In the afternoon we found out from Mr P.M., BRICS Contractor Manager from GAB Robins Ltd, that nothing will happen until the investigation is ready from Mr Ricky. He also informed us that:

The condensation problem is unique to your property…

This issue has never arisen at any other property where this task has been completed.

However the above statements are not accurate because the manufacturer of the product informed us that condensation can occur and it is not unusual. So either the manufacturer does not know its products or Mr P.M. from Gab Robins Ltd does not tell us the whole truth.  Read our investigation here.

On the 29th January 2014, we informed Ms Lisa S. (Senior Property Claims Handler of Zurich Insurance), about the waste of insurance money concerning the condensation and its consequences. She said that this was a matter for GAB Robins Ltd to solve. What happens if GAB Robins Ltd is the cause of the problem?

On the 04th February 2014, we found out from Mr Ricky that his report was ready since the 27th January 2014 but his office sent it to GAB Robins Ltd on the 31st January 2014. That was another week wasted at a cost of £7,344.90 (accommodation + food).

The update from Mr Michael C. from E.J. Taylors was unfortunately wrong since his colleagues still believed that there is moisture on the flat which is not true (see above).

On the 05th February 2014, the following activities took place:

At 12:17, we have been informed from Mr P.M., BRICS Contractor Manager from GAB Robins Ltd, that all requests have to go via the Lost Adjuster, Mr Adrian M.

At 12:24, we also received an email from Ms Abi D., from E.J. Taylor & Son Ltd stating that: “We are currently waiting for the Loss Adjuster Adrian M. to advise on how to proceed.”

At 16:03, Mr Adrian M., form GAB Robins Ltd called me. He mentioned the report that Mr Ricky has completed as well as some minor problem on the outside wall. He said that he will arrange for the problem to be solved and then rechecked the property for dryness.

I requested to check if the wooden floor can be brought to the property to acclimatise while the minor works take place.

At 18:45, I visited the property and I discovered the following:

left side Living room door right side Living room door new condensation

 

sattelite cable and holes

The report mentions that the hole for the satellite cables is the reason for some condensation on that wall. However as you can see from the photos above as well as from the photo on the left ,the source might be the huge holes below the window frame.

Those holes were supposed to have sealed when the contractors had installed the window frame. Obviously that has never happened.

On the 06th February 2014, we sent another email to Mr Adrian M. attaching the photos above. We mentioned the new condensation and we have requested an update about the report that was completed by Mr Ricky. We also asked to know if there is any update with the works.

Today I have discovered by searching different websites that after you install the windows you will have to finish the job by doing the following:

  1. Saw off or chisel away any protruding shims.
  2. Fill any large gaps around the frame with expanding foam. You will need to protect vinyl window frames with low-tack masking tape (blue painter’s tape) if they have no protective film because the foam may damage the finish. Once the foam is dry, trim it neatly using a utility knife.
  3. Apply a thin, neat line of cement (a fillet) around the joint with the wall to hide the foam.

Obviously this did not happened in my flat. We sent the above information to the Lost Adjuster and we asked for an explanation.

 

revival1We also received the first page of The Revival Company’s report. Please see the photo on the left.

It says that on the 24-01-2014 the humidity was 86% RH while on the 27-01-2014 it was 36.9% RH.

 

revival2On the second page of the report it mentions some condensation in the kitchen window and some high readings on the living room area where the cables are.

There are no recommendations for the condensation in the kitchen area. What about the holes on the lower part of the windows frame?

On the 07th February 2014, someone has visited the property and change the stairs protection. It changed from totally useless to useless.

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As you can see from the first photo the stickers are attached to the floor. How will they install the wooden floor if the cover is attached to the floor? Is they remove the cover in order to install the floor then the upper floor will not be protected from the dust.

On the 10th February 2014, Mr P.M., BRICS Contractor Manager from GAB Robins Ltd has requested access to the patio that is located below my flat. I spoke with the residents on the same day and they gave me some dates and times that are suitable to them.

I sent that information to Mr P.M. who did not took even 2 mins to acknowledge that he has received the information.

Read the next chapter “Source of the floor problems