General Chat

This is a photo of my floor.
It's not easy to see, but there's an 'average' pencil for comparison.
The straight edges of the tile are slightly longer than a pencil.
I have 2 questions

1) If this was in the middle of an empty floor, would you notice it?

2) Would you say this was a hole in a floor, with broken/damaged tiles?

I guess you are still having problems with the flooring.

If it is your face who has got their foot right next to it - or are you a secret gymnast

It could well be a broken tile and may I say how bad the grouting is around some of the others. If it is the middle of the floor I would certainly notice if I caught me heel in it.

Edit. When I read this on the computer I’m sure it said it was a picture of your face, but now I have shown it to OH on the iPad it says floor.

That's just my foot - it's not actually that big, the slippers are!

The 'bad grouting' top right is where the fireplace used to be.
It's about 2 ft,to 2ft 6 from the wall - just where a leg of a sideboard would be.

When I passed the iPad to OH I could see the pic from the side and the hole looked HUGE.

.....but, apparently, not noticeable in an empty room!

I didn't notice it until I started decorating - the removal men had put the sofa over it
(I was in the bathroom with two terrified cats, whilst the furniture was being moved in)
On moving other stuff, I found broken/crumbling tiles around the edge of the room.
I also pulled up some rusty carpet grippers, which made few more tiles shatter.

Once I'd finished decorating, I informed the council, only to find out the tiles contained asbestos - which I should have been told when I moved in.
Council said 6 - 8 tiles needed replacing, asbestos contractor said the whole lot should go.
The council gave me less than a week to clear my living room. I asked for more time. Dates were changed for 13, 14 & 15 December.
I cleared the room on 6 December, which meant I didn't have access to the 2nd bedroom, or, my wardrobe or chest of drawers in my bedroom. This did'n't bother e too much, as it was only for a week or two.
Council then informed me, as I'd changed the date, only 6 - 8 tiles would go.

It appears a 'compromise' was made, and on 13 December about a quarter were removed.. more holes were left in the floor. Sealing and retiling was due to take place on 14 & 15 December.
This was, apparently cancelled. No-one told me. I protested.

Tiler came out on 20 December - took one look and got his mate in. they wouldn't touch it. The whole floor was 'blown'.
6 January, Asbestos people came out again, and removed the rest of the tiles.
On 5 December, I'd asked the council when the other contractors would be out to seal & tile the floor. Apparently they would phone me on 6th. They didn't.

I contacted the council again - to tell them, I also pointed out they were the council's contractors, not mine, it was THEIR responsibility, and why didn't they have a plan arranged?

One thing I keep insisting, is that the hole was obvious, and the council is meant to check any building with asbestos in when it's empty - which they obviously didn't.
I was told on 5 December (the day before ALL tiles were removed) that
'We would not remove asbestos tiling once a tenant vacates a property unless the area is damaged or disturbed' I sent a pic of the broken tile, and asked what he thought THAT was. I then sent pics of the now stripped floor, and asked whether both the asbestos firm, and tiling contractors were wrong.

The only plus side, is I'm not breathing in asbestos dust anymore - now it's concrete dust.

Thanks for the update. I had been wondering how the flooring was going. Ca n’t believe they can’t get it sorted. No, I Do. Lived with appalling maintenance provision for years.

Bet it’s freezing in there with no carpets.

It's not just the lack of carpets making it cold - the concrete is wet - but drying out nicely, cracking, and turning to dust, courtesy of my heating.

Maggie, get in touch with your enviromental health dept at the local council.They may well be able to help you

Thank you. LaGooner - though the perpetrator is the Council - I shall still contact their Environment Department!
I tried complaints in November - apparently it can take up to 3 months, so only a month to go!

Just explain that is dangerous for us older folk and if you fall over you will sue them. In my experience that usually fires them into action .

The main hole has now disappeared, as they've taken away the asbestos containing tiles - I'm now left with uneven, crumbly concrete, with many ridges, where the sealant survives.
It's more the fact that the Council didn't check the premises, despite having an asbestos register, and left me breathing in asbestos dust for 10 months.

It is easy to skid on crumbly concrete . Throw every excuse at them that you can

I will!

I got results with them and our Housing Association by throwing everything at them

Well before I managed to find a phone number, there was a message in my Tenancy thingy, informing me that contractors would be out 'in a few hours'.
I replied, asking why nobody had bothered considering whether I would be in or not! Half an hour later they were here. The lovely young sensible lad, and the one who is in too much of a hurry to do anything properly.
One of them was for .lobbing everything on top of everything else, and suggested putting the sofa on the table! NO!!!
They're going to clear & seal half the floor today, do the rest tomorrow, then tile.

A bit of subtle quizzing - the council had cancelled 14 & 15 December
They also hadn't contacted the contractors, until this morning, since the young lad came out on 20 December. So much for organising a full and proper job!

On Friday, I allowed my Government rep to contact them, and my sister has a very official sounding email she's going to send them.
I've changed my photo - THAT isn't my floor!
It's not over yet!

Didn't they basically force you to move to this place? Local news tell them you were forced into here and found this dangerous situation and the stress and worry you've been through just to get a basic human right a safe place to live.

That's true, Caroline. Due to being unemployed during a pandemic!
Well, sensible nice lad went away, leaving the useless lump.
He hasn't noticed the air vent he put on the wall has fallen off.
He's concreted half the living room, didn't cover my sofa, and he's managed to get concrete on it - he also stacked a load of chemicals on it.
I've sine covered it with a couple of old shower curtains, and removed the chemicals.

Betty & I are squashed into the kitchen, with a victorian desk and my laptop.
She's not going to be happy, I'm shutting her in here for the night.

I asked the useless lump when the tiling will be done - apparently it's not.

Interestingly, I had a letter from the council today, asking me for feedback on the job on 6 December - when they removed the rest of the asbestos tiles.
Apparently, this job was: 'To replace floor tiles in Lounge & entrance hall, asbestos tiles have been removed & make good'

So, that's what the council know about what's happening in their own properties!
Apparently, I now have tiles.

Maggie, was the asbestos blue (the most dangerous)?

Did the workmen seal the room while they removed the tiles in question?

Did the workmen wear protective covering while removing the tiles? (If not, they need to ask their union about this aspect.)

Did they use dust suppression techniques while removing the tiles? (Dust suppression techniques are nothing new. They have been known for years - we had a Dust Suppression Officer where I worked more than fifty years ago.)

My own feeling is that they ought to have put you into other accommodation while they carried out removal of the asbestos. It may be worthwhile asking why they did not do so - and don’t let them fob you off with ‘we had nowhere’ as I’ve known councils lease big mobile homes to house tenants while work was being carried out on their properties.

The asbestos was brown (one of the dangerous ones)
They wore full clobber, and vacuumed as they worked.

I have no issue with the asbestos company, it's the useless Council.
According to their own 'Asbestos Management Policy', the house should have been checked when it was empty, and the surveyor suggesting I 'just put carpet down', was definitely out of order, but I have no evidence he said this.
I do have evidence the council decided only 6 - 8 tiles needed removing, when I had the audacity to say I needed more time to clear the room.

I still have the tiles in the bedrooms - they're undamaged, but I bet the concrete has 'blown' under them, and I'll be asking for a sealant to paint them with.

I was looking up asbestos floor tiles, out of nosiness, and was staggered that they were referring to the Marley type floor tile of pre 1990. Didn’t most homes have these somewhere?

Also, wouldn’t carpet grippers break through any tiles - causing leakage?