Our home wrecked by one firework on Saturday.

[Thomas61]

Originally Posted by macabethiel

Due date is the 25th November give or take a day!
We have never bred a dog before and this is a one off we are not breeders. If all goes well we will keep one pup and close friends are lined up for any spare ones. The cost of the Sire and vaccinations will be shared between us on a non profit basis.

Well that is something to look forward to amongst all the upheaval. Nothing like puppies to bring a smile to the face.

When our dog (now sadly past) used to get stressed, she was a very badly beaten and starved 2 year old taken from a game keeper. We used a product called Adaptil (Dap) as recommended by our vet which helped calm her and relieved some of her stress, the dog not the vet ��. We used a plug in diffuser near her bed but think you can get sprays and collars as well.

Here is a link but some of the diffusers can seem cheaper but think there was a design change a few years back so will only except pre change refills. Worth double checking if buying. Sure your vet will advise as well especially with pregnancy suitability but worked for us.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...-fL&ref=plSrch

[solarman216]

Originally Posted by macabethiel

The fire service were brilliant they arrived in just under 10 minutes after the were called. The firework struck our house at round 7.35 pm, within 5 minutes of impact the fire had took hold of the rear corner of the roof due to the power of the firework burning in our roof void. The house design is known as a Dormer Style Chalet Bungalow with upstairs bedrooms and bathroom with storage cupboards built into the eaves. All the inside of the rafters were insulated with 2" type Celotex Insulation boards as were the eave storage compartments.

The seat of the fire was essentially in the roof rafters and the first 5 or 6 trusses have almost burnt right through. There are two large wooden beams that span the length of the property one on each side that act as supports for the trusses inside the roof itself. These long beams are about a 15" x 4" in profile and one section is very badly charred.

The corners of the roof inside provide built in storage spaces in the eaves and these were packed with storage boxes containing family photographs spanning three generations in addition to hundreds of the wife's books etc. To tackle the fire there was a 3 pronged approach. One fireman on a platform was spraying the roof from the outside where the firework had smashed through the roof tiles. The second fireman went straight up the stairs and at the top is the loft hatch. He deployed a second hose inside the roof / loft. A third fireman entered the rear bedroom to tackle the fire from the inside of the bedroom.

The fire brigade arrived at about 7.50 pm they worked continually until around 10.30 pm by that time they had pulled out all the burning material from the one side of the bedroom and damped it down on. There were four tenders in all and they left at around 11.30 pm coming back every hour or so to check that there was no smoldering or danger of the fire re-starting.

We were not allowed to enter the building due to the build up of toxic smoke until the next morning. Although all the windows were intact they were blackened on the inside throughout the building due to smoke. Our ground floor is concrete covered with Porcelain Floor Tiles throughout the house . In the morning there was standing water on the ground floor some 2-4" deep, all the walls were dripping with condensation. As at yesterday there was still ground water varying between 0.5-1.0" in depth in half of the rooms.

The kitchen ceiling has completely collapsed with a substantial collapse in the lounge. The floor joists in the rear bedroom are damage in one quarter. All of the wife's clothing except underwear was in her rear bedroom - it being essentially a dressing room with a King Sized Water Bed that we have for guests.

Due to the nature of the damage to the roof itself and the effect of flash over the whole roof will have to be removed, I suspect the rear half of the floor joists will also need to be replaced. Our lovely Solid Oak Staircase with matching Oak doors throughout was only fitted two years ago to replace the original open plan stairs. Due to water ingress the staircase and all the doors will like wise need to be replaced.

The doors were around £240 each plus fitting and are a beautifully paneled design. Solid wood material - no egg box design with light oak veneer finish. They are so heavy it is a two man lift to mount them on the hinges. All the ground floor walls will need to be replastered after they house has been dried out with de-humidifiers . Due to the standing water getting into the grouting and seeping between the tiles and the concrete floor if they are not taken up and replaced they will start to come loose when the house has dried out and foot traffic returns.

It will need a new kitchen and the fitted mirrored wardrobes in the rear bedroom will need replacing. The only rooms not badly damaged are the front upstairs bedroom, bathroom, the downstairs front room and downstairs toilet. The conservatory replaced three years ago with a "Warm Roof" design is not damaged at all despite spanning the whole of the rear of the house.

The electrics will need re wiring pretty much throughout and some central heating pipes that run under the bedroom floor will need replacing. The boiler is situated in the lounge behind the fireplace with an electric fire set in a granite faced fireplace. The condensing boiler is a Baxi BBU unit that has a double skinned plastic flue liner. If this has sustained heat damage that's a £1000 job alone.

With Christmas / Winter looming I do not see substantial repair work starting until the end of January. The new roof will need to be a bespoke CAD design even if only half of the timber needs replacing- no doubt another wait between order and arrival.
The house was built in 1978 so is pre-metric in dimensions.

The initial estimate of it being done by Easter has had slippage already and nothing has really been done yet except the sheeting over the hole in the roof and a drain down of the heating etc. Much like car repairs it takes longer to repair a badly damaged building than to build a new one!

Ah that equates to water damage and will need a drying out time, irrespective of other works, so sorry for you, but enjoy your pups, Rick

[macabethiel]

IMG_0043 by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr

IMG_0044 by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr

IMG_0039 by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr

IMG_0005 by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr

[solarman216]

Must be devastating to see your house like this, you have suffered both fire and flood, both are very detrimental to house fabric, Rick

[makeitfit]

Did I hear " new kitchen " needed? I can do that

[solarman216]

Originally Posted by makeitfit

Did I hear " new kitchen " needed? I can do that

And a most special job as well, Rick

[macabethiel]

After some delay finally got the keys late this afternoon to the temporary accommodation - its just round the corner from our damaged home so I will be able to keep an eye on the rebuild.

We will probably stay at the hotel we are in for another couple of nights.

[jims-terrano]

That sounds positive and great being just around the corner. How’s the dogs getting along?

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by makeitfit

Did I hear " new kitchen " needed? I can do that

Unfortunately the Loss Assessors I appointed will put the new kitchen out to tender, if I have the opportunity I will put your name forward if you PM me your details. It's nothing fancy it was a B&Q one that I fitted in 2003. It is a like for like replacement but I can pay for upgrades.

Not sure if it would be worth the business if you are any distance away from DE3 4BJ.

ted

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by solarman216

But it beggars the question, "how can a numbskull get hold of such a device?" and if it was a result of an organised display by "professionals" then their insurance should be made to pay, worth investigating, Rick

Our Insurers are looking at pursuing civil action if the culprit is an adult with means or house public liability cover.

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by Thomas61

So sorry to hear your news.
I hope you find somewhere to rent quickly in time for Christmas.

Take care

Oh, very very sweet looking dogs by the way, hope the puppies arrival goes well.

The wife is on East Midlands Today again - a bit of media star. lol

We are moving into our temporary home tomorrow (Wed) we got the keys late on Saturday. Have been moving stuff into the house with the help of my brother & friends.

The response by our neighbours has been amazing. Flowers have been sent to the hotel where we are staying from a neighbour on the road behind our property - we have no idea who they are and can't put a face to the name. Might be a fellow dog owner.

On a bright note our pregnant Chihuahua Mitzie the "Welsh Tart" who we drove to Mountain Ash in South Wales to buy 2 years ago is doing fine. We have never bred a dog before and seeing her belly change shape and her six nipples turn into Chapel Hat Pegs has been quite funny and has cheered us up no end. As I type she is fast asleep in her cage with our other Chihuahua Percy in our Hotel Room.

Our eldest Chihuahua Ben who is 15 could not cope with living in a cage, we have re-homed him with some close friends who have dog sat for us over the years. We will leave him in Foster Care until Mitzie has whelped and everything has settled down a bit in the new house. He is taking full advantage of the situation as only a pet can be it a dog or a ferret they are clever cookies on the QT.