Fly tipping

[philpjuk100]

I had a fire on Friday, My kitchen inglenook had had the area between the bressumer and the more modern inset fireplace filled in with plywood and then short joists and finally heavy boards, plasterboard and then skimmed.I lit the fire at about 3pm and about 8pm my wife smelt smoke.We soon realised that the roaring noise was not normal and soon bits of burning wood started falling from the area between the bressumer and the current fireplace.Quickly realised we could not deal with this and phoned 999, the fire service were quickly on the scene and called for a second engine /ladder and ripped the ceiling down and dealt with the fire.They looked around with their heat camera and looked down the chimney from the ladder.They then started a rough clean up shoveling the soot/rubble/charred wood into tarpaulins and dragging them out the back door.They shook me by the hand, gave me an incedent form and fitted some extra smoke detectors (my detector in the kitchen bleeped when you pressed the test button but did not detect the smoke), My son Miles came to help with the clean up yesterday and when he arrived told us that several tarpaulins full of our rubble were on the on the grass verge at the end of the road so we collected it (several wheelbarrows full)We will not do anything about this just thankful for the service from the brigade.Have already had a quote for rebuilding the stack from a chap who specialises in old chimneys, he came armed with pics of work he had done and can start work on Thursday, he is not local but seems to know what I want and yes he will be fitting a liner.

 

[Feltwell]

Woah, a lucky escape by the sound of it! Glad that (most importantly) you & your family are OK, and secondly that the damage is not too severe.

I'm surprised the debris made it much further than an appropriate distance from the back door into your garden - I presume it was pulled outside incase it was harbouring any embers that could reignite the fire.

 

[philpjuk100]

Yes was very lucky,we could have turned in for the night.The rubble was a long way from the house, I cannot believe they dragged it that far,on thinking about it maybe it was there to be collected.I always thought we had a liner,had it swept and the sweep said "that was easy" what we had was four one metre lengths of pipe which would not reach the top and plywood is not suitable for chimneys!To me the chimney looks sound but the "chimney man" says the bottom rows need repointing,it`s a big chimney.

 

[88v8]

...filled in with plywood

Errk!!!
Lucky it was during the day.

If you could find out who did this you could sue them. Makes one wonder what else they got up to.

So, you're going to reinstate the inglenook?

Ivor

 

[Lime]

It could have been so much worse.
Don't look upon it as a loss, look upon it as an opportunity to do something that should have been done long ago.
The chimney man will soon put it right hopefully.
Happy New Year!

 

[philpjuk100]

And a happy new year to all forum members.I will spend today reinstating the electrics and cleaning so we can get the pets out of the kennels and my 94-year-old father in law out of the care home.The wife is beginning to see this as an opportunity to get that kitchen she always wanted! Stripped out the damaged kitchen units and downstairs carpets and then noticed we still have the Christmas tree up! Living on takeaways,found a chippy open on Sunday and new years eve.

 

[philpjuk100]

If you could find out who did this you could sue them. Makes one wonder what else they got up to.

So, you're going to reinstate the inglenook?


[/quote] This was really shoddy work, different thickness boards, joists just hammered in and everything made to look OK with a thick coat of plaster.The house was "done over" in the 80s and the work is very good, the p.o. was a great carpenter and all his work is "top class" this fireplace is out of character and I think must have been done by someone else.No I will not be reinstating the inglenook,tempting but have to keep the woodburner as we need the heat and have access to a wood.More problems now though whilst carting out debris this morning I broke my leg so sat on the settee with the laptop instead of preparing for the builder who is now coming tomorrow.

 

[Zebra]

Oh no philpjuk, a broken leg, how awful, wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[philpjuk100]

No pain, a real nuisance my fault, walking down a wet grass slope, carrying a rubble bag wearing "cloggies".Fracture clinic tomorrow to see if it needs pinning.I NEED to be mobile,cannot drive, took my 94-year-old father in law to a care home ten miles away after the fire and put the pets in kennels,my wife has not driven for over ten years although the car is insured for her.Never mind,one day I will laugh about it.Phil (feeling sorry for himself and overusing the emergency services)

 

[88v8]

O Lordy, have you been breaking mirrors?

Clogs can be a bit of a menace. Driving, up ladders, dodgy things, clogs.

Both our woodburners are in full-size inglenooks that were previously infilled with an inset.

Ivor

 

[CliffordPope]

Sorry, but what's this got to do with fly-tipping?

 

[Flyfisher]

A reference to the fire brigade leaving a tarp full of debris on a grass verge?

It does seem a bit odd, but perhaps this is normal practice after a house fire and it would have been collected by the council in due course? But all credit to Philip for clearing it up himself - hope the leg mends itself soon!

 

[philpjuk100]

Yes, I think this may be the reason it was left there.The chimney man finished today, he has done a great job, started a day early, repointed the lower part of the inglenook chimney spending hours inside and showing us phone pics of his work, replaced the missing ceiling with 25mm fireproof board.fitted a 6", 8 metre flue liner and a new pot.2.5 day with two men for less than 2k including the removal of three builders bags of soot/rubble/I am very pleased,I have been absent for most of this having work done on my leg,two hospitals,three pots and loads of Xrays,ps, am I able to recommend the builder?

 

[88v8]

... am I able to recommend the builder?

That is a fundamental benefit of the forummmmmm

Ivor

 

[philpjuk100]

In that case he is "Gordons chimney repair specialists" 01775 292779, Mob 07397773160 and he is based in spalding.He showed me pics of major projects on period homes and I could not be more pleased with his service.Just noticed he has a facebook page.

 

[philpjuk100]

Building finished, decorator finishes today, carpet man due tomorrow with his samples, the "pot" comes off my leg on the 13th of Feb.Could not have done the chimney myself but I am PAYING a painter a job which I would do if I could stand up! I NEED to drive, shopping online seems to be problematic, prescriptions need collecting, the 94-year-old father in law wants taking to church and I need to tour the DIY shops to compare kitchen units, instead I am sat on the settee looking at kitchen units on the internet which really gives no idea of quality and watching "Father Brown" on the telly.As it is my left leg that`s bust I would try driving if I had an auto but sadly both cars are manual.I have not been in my workshop since before Christmas and my hands look as if they belong to someone else!

 

[Abi Cott]

This might help on the kitchen stuff. It is about 12 months out of date, but should be correct for the most part.

Wickes Cabinet
Lifetime Guarantee
12mm MFC Full Height back panel
Premium Blum integral soft-close on all doors and drawers
Small metal shelf pegs with plastic housing
10 year door guarantee

B&Q Cabinet
10 year Guarantee
3mm hardboard back panel
FGV buffer (Hafele soft-close is a paid for upgrade)
Metal shelf pegs

Homebase Cabinet (Schreiber) (This may have changed since they were taken over by Bunnings)
15 year Guarantee
3mm hardboard back panel
Blum clip-on softclose
Plastic retaining for shelves

Magnet Cabinet (This varies, Magnet offer more than one standard of carcass)
25 years guarantee
3mm hardboard back panel
Blum clip-on soft close
Plastic retaining for shelves

Wren Cabinet
20 year guarantee
8mm hardboard on base & 3mm hardboard on wall
Blum clip-on softclose
Metal shelf pegs with plastic housing

IKEA Cabinet
25 year guarantee
3mm hardboard back panel
Blum standard (integral softclose is a paid upgrade)
Metal retaining for shelves

Howdens Cabinet
25 year guarantee
6mm hardboard on base & 3mm hardboard on wall
Blum standard (integral softclose is a paid upgrade)
Metal retaining for shelves
5 year door guarantee

 

[Abi Cott]

I should think it's fairly easy to guess from that where I work. It is rather designed to accentuate one companies best features.

Other things to look at are the pros and cons of rigid carcasses. Obviously doors you actually like. Speed of delivery and replacement parts in case something turns up damaged.

One stop shopping is not necessarily your friend if you're on a budget, though it saves a lot of hassle and project managing.

 

[philpjuk100]

Many thanks for that, as we are a week or two away from this as our neighbour has recently had his kitchen extended and refitted we will ask who did it and if he would recommend them.My broken leg is a real problem and I would like to wait until I have the "pot" off and fit them myself but my wife has other plans!.

 

[CliffordPope]

A reference to the fire brigade leaving a tarp full of debris on a grass verge?

It does seem a bit odd, but perhaps this is normal practice after a house fire and it would have been collected by the council in due course? But all credit to Philip for clearing it up himself - hope the leg mends itself soon!

Well it can't be the Fire Brigade's responsibility to remove debris from a damaged house - they doubtless have other fires to attend to, not do site clearances. Leaving something for collection by an appropriate contractor is not fly-tipping.