London's Ancient Dwellings.

The city's housing crisis is always in the news, but what isn't in the news is the

conditions that London's tenants are actually living in for the high prices they pay.

In 2020 E.H.S began working with an estate agent in the London Borough of Harringey. The client made use of our property maintenance service; oiverall this resulted in the development of this branch of Elephant Handyman Service; and a vast improvement to the health client's property portfolio. In the city we have both rogue landlords and poor contractors/tradesmen. A compound fracture in the quality of the housing stock available. Tenants and landlords suffer from problems left behind by rogue traders, and quick-fixes by desperate individuals working at a low wage.

The housing stock in London is Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian, alongside the post war council housing. These old houses built of lime mortar and soft porous #brickwork; with arches and ancient lintels, dodgy #plumbing and #electrics, suffering from #damp from the #gutterleaking and #risingdamp from the ground, require a particular approach with specific knowledge when undergoing maintenance and alteration. One example is ventilation. The sash windows of these old buildings are often decried for letting in uncomfortable draught. Tenants and maintenance operatives are tempted to seal the draught, in some instances it has been done many years ago by painting the windows shut. Unfortunately the windows are providing the ventilation, which prevents condensation. This condensation is aggravated by relatively modern central heating systems. Do remember these houses were built in the days of wood and coal fires, heavy drapes and net curtains blocking the draughts from the sash windows. This clash of modern interiors and lifestyles with ancient dwellings in London, with her awful landlords and workmanship; together bear the responsibility for an increasing frequency and cost of maintenance work.

Damaged bathroom floorboards reveal extensive rot and plumbing issues, highlighting the need for urgent repair and renovation.

At E.H.S we found ourselves tasked to turn nightmares like this one you see, in the first two photos of this blog, into what you will see in the third. I am just thankful that I don't have to live in the conditions I have to ameliorate! Landlords and agents are compelled to provide solutions that are economical and effective, with the emphasis on economical.

In this terrible case there was no #floor underneath the #shower tray it was just riding on inadequate #timber-work so it collapsed. To affect the repair we installed a proper timber frame rebuilding the shower tray sub floor. We did what we could to support rotten joists in the existing floor, which had partially decomposed due to water damage. We laid a moisture floor-board on top of that, and bedded the shower tray down.

The repaired shower room.

That was not the end of the problem. E.H.S had been informed that the leak had been repaired. However the wall had not dried at all after some days of waiting. After a lot of work, involving the discovery and repair of a ongoing leak from the ceiling, and tiles dropping off as the wall dried after the leak stopped, we arrived at the result you see to the left. This was our tradesman's crash course in plumbing and bathrooms, and E.HS. initiation into this aspect of building maintenance.

The work was cramped in this en-suite bathroom and we can't say it was much fun. But restoring the shower area for the tenant and discovering the leak was certainly satisfying.

We leave you with a video of the leak and the sentiments that together with our customers there is nothing we cannot fix.

You don't want to know what I had to go through to fix this, do you?

The Leak: