EEVblog Lab FLOODED!

[Brumby]

Everybody is talking about your insurance.  Shouldn't the landlord have to pay for the damage to your equipment? 

The usual thing is that the building owner or body corporate (depending on the ownership of the building) will be responsible for insurance on the building, which includes fixtures such as carpet and light fittings.  Each tenant will be responsible for the insurance on their own contents.

[Red Squirrel]

Dave didn't notice this though.
...snip...

I saw that too, not sure if it's a shadow or water.  Looking at it again I think it's water, I don't see anything it could be a shadow of.   

[langwadt]

Everybody is talking about your insurance.  Shouldn't the landlord have to pay for the damage to your equipment? 

The usual thing is that the building owner or body corporate (depending on the ownership of the building) will be responsible for insurance on the building, which includes fixtures such as carpet and light fittings.  Each tenant will be responsible for the insurance on their own contents.

and usually that for apartments and such that also goes for finding a temporary place to stay while it is getting fixed

[edpalmer42]

Dave didn't notice this though.
...snip...

I saw that too, not sure if it's a shadow or water.  Looking at it again I think it's water, I don't see anything it could be a shadow of.   

It looks too symmetrical to be a water stain.

Ed

[edpalmer42]

Everybody is talking about your insurance.  Shouldn't the landlord have to pay for the damage to your equipment? 

The usual thing is that the building owner or body corporate (depending on the ownership of the building) will be responsible for insurance on the building, which includes fixtures such as carpet and light fittings.  Each tenant will be responsible for the insurance on their own contents.

and usually that for apartments and such that also goes for finding a temporary place to stay while it is getting fixed

But I can guarantee that if the tenant damages the building, the tenant is responsible for the cost of repairs.  So isn't the building owner responsible when a leaky building damages the tenant's property?  Now the old 'Act of God' exclusion might factor in here.  Cue the lawyers.   

Ed

[Brumby]

Cue the lawyers.

No lawyers will be involved.  This isn't America.

In cases like this, your reasonable Aussie will just put in the insurance claim and get on with it.  Getting lawyers involved just costs money which will put up premiums and waste a bucket of time - and there is no guarantee of winning (unless you're one of the lawyers, measuring a "win" by their balance sheet).

Dave is certainly a reasonable Aussie.

[Halcyon]

Cue the lawyers.

No lawyers will be involved.  This isn't America.

In cases like this, your reasonable Aussie will just put in the insurance claim and get on with it.  Getting lawyers involved just costs money which will put up premiums and waste a bucket of time - and there is no guarantee of winning (unless you're one of the lawyers, measuring a "win" by their balance sheet).

Dave is certainly a reasonable Aussie.

Indeed. It's a pretty simple matter for the insurers. Just about all policies will cover this kind of damage by default. They'll just send out their people to inspect the damage and make a list of what needs replacing. (You do need extra cover however if the building is near a river, creek, ocean etc... as "flooding" due to burst banks etc... aren't automatically covered.)

[langwadt]

Everybody is talking about your insurance.  Shouldn't the landlord have to pay for the damage to your equipment? 

The usual thing is that the building owner or body corporate (depending on the ownership of the building) will be responsible for insurance on the building, which includes fixtures such as carpet and light fittings.  Each tenant will be responsible for the insurance on their own contents.

and usually that for apartments and such that also goes for finding a temporary place to stay while it is getting fixed

But I can guarantee that if the tenant damages the building, the tenant is responsible for the cost of repairs.  So isn't the building owner responsible when a leaky building damages the tenant's property?  Now the old 'Act of God' exclusion might factor in here.  Cue the lawyers.   

Ed

only the tenants know how much their stuff is worth and what kind of insurance coverage they need

[EEVblog]

I hope you have comprehensive insurance.

It is not my office, so financially not my problem.
No real contents damage of mine.
So the only hit to me is in terms of inconvenience of not having a fully working lab space, and if the carpet has to come up, then likely the entire lab has to move out and back in which will take weeks.

[EEVblog]

Dave didn't notice this though.
...snip...

I saw that too, not sure if it's a shadow or water.  Looking at it again I think it's water, I don't see anything it could be a shadow of.   

[EEVblog]

But I can guarantee that if the tenant damages the building, the tenant is responsible for the cost of repairs.  So isn't the building owner responsible when a leaky building damages the tenant's property?  Now the old 'Act of God' exclusion might factor in here.  Cue the lawyers.   

Only an idiot engages lawyers.
The building strata has insurance, the owner almost certainly has contents insurance (carpet is contents), the insurance companies will deal with it among themselves.
None of this involves me or my insurance. Only thing I could possibly claim for (because it seems nothing of my property was really damaged) is loss/interruption of business of which I don't have insurance for anyway, and even if I did, this doesn't really financially interrupt my business.
If worst comes to worst I still have an empty lab half the size nearby.

[Halcyon]

So the only hit to me is in terms of inconvenience of not having a fully working lab space, and if the carpet has to come up, then likely the entire lab has to move out and back in which will take weeks.

Perhaps an EEVBlog "working bee" and BBQ? I'm happy to cook and supply David with all the coffee he needs. 

[Daixiwen]

You should put a pair of SOLUS graphene panels in there, they will dry up the carpet in no time and save on your electricity bill at the same time 

[nctnico]

I hope you have comprehensive insurance.

It is not my office, so financially not my problem.
No real contents damage of mine.
So the only hit to me is in terms of inconvenience of not having a fully working lab space, and if the carpet has to come up, then likely the entire lab has to move out and back in which will take weeks.

Then why didn't you go out and get a wet&dry vacuum cleaner? You can rent these for peanuts and they'll suck all the water right out of the carpet. Rent a carpet cleaner while you are at it. You can clear this entire mess in one afternoon and carry on. But you have to be quick.

[Zero999]

Everybody is talking about your insurance.  Shouldn't the landlord have to pay for the damage to your equipment? 

The usual thing is that the building owner or body corporate (depending on the ownership of the building) will be responsible for insurance on the building, which includes fixtures such as carpet and light fittings.  Each tenant will be responsible for the insurance on their own contents.

I think if the landlord is negligent, then they will be liable, but don't worry, just claim off your insurance and they can claim off the landlord's if it's their fault.

The only concern I'd have is premium increases. Here in the UK, the insurance companies are cunts. If you claim, then they increase your premiums for the next few years and changing insurance company doesn't help because the bastards share information.

[timgiles]

Dont you think though that there is a need to investigate a bit before just doing that? Is there underlay? Is the concrete underneath soaked.... You dont want to suck up the surface water and have a fungal outbreak in a few weeks.

[Brumby]

So the only hit to me is in terms of inconvenience of not having a fully working lab space, and if the carpet has to come up, then likely the entire lab has to move out and back in which will take weeks.

Perhaps an EEVBlog "working bee" and BBQ? I'm happy to cook and supply David with all the coffee he needs. 

I'll put my hand up for that, too!

IIRC though, Dave isn't into tea or coffee.

[makerman]

That's not flooded, try living on the South coast of Britain then you'll know what a flood is!

[Fungus]

Since this was clean rainwater, the carpet might not be a problem.

If it's that nylon office carpet then clean water won't do much except wash some dirt out of it. It may leave a tide mark from that but a pass with a carpet cleaner will fix it.

[Electro Detective]

Why stress any further? 

Get one of those carpet cleaning people to rock up and sort it out -ASAP-,
he/she may use some magic chemicals/mold/mould inhibitor
and perfume things up a bit.   

That's their specialty and a flooded EEVblog lab would be an easier gig for them than some of the stinking suburban rentals they have to rescue,
vacated by semi-feral tenants    with locked in pets that did their business on the carpets everywhere   

They work cheap enough, maybe the insurance may pick up the bill or half or it.


For DIY detailed drying, small fan heaters, with variable thermostat cutout dial and inline RCD!!!, propped on a some dry wood or rubber mat,
are great for corners and wet wall stains,
and easier than sitting there bored out of your mind with a heat gun or hair dryer, which may eventually thermal out halfway, unlike fan heaters which can run for hours. 

Once a section is warm enough and in a gradual self drying state, the thermostat cutout kills the heater if you forget to check,,
then move it to the next section. Repeat the cycle as necessary, two passes should do it depending on the water retentivity.

I've also done flood stained ceiling sections this way too with the heater propped on a step ladder, most times the plaster bulge (with a timber prop or two) reverts back to normal with minimal staining.
For bad cases a screw/nail refresh and a top coat of paint > good as new.

BTW, this urban hackery has been performed AFTER checking and verifying the surrounding electricals FIRST!!!

and of course with windows and doors open

[EEVblog]

Then why didn't you go out and get a wet&dry vacuum cleaner?

I did, within hours, it's in my video.

You can rent these for peanuts and they'll suck all the water right out of the carpet. Rent a carpet cleaner while you are at it. You can clear this entire mess in one afternoon and carry on. But you have to be quick.

It's not that easy. There is foam underlay that is I'm told virtually impossible to get the moisture out of.
A professional industrial cleaner was in the unit next door that also got flooded and they have the exact same carpet and underlay as my office. He said it's gone, there is no saving it. You can save the carpet, but you have to get rid of the underlay and then dry out the carpet with blowers under the carpet, and do it right then and there.
The rental manager said someone would be in on Friday but they never turned up, so my unit has been left to rot for the weekend at the very least.
The place is already starting to stink even though I have 5 fans running plus the aircon. By next week the office is likely going to be unusable.
It's not my financial responsibility, it's the owner. I can't go lifting up carpet and hiring big industrial blowers etc to fix this.

I now need to plan for moving the entire lab out (and then back in when it's all fixed), that's weeks of down time.

[EEVblog]

Get one of those carpet cleaning people to rock up and sort it out -ASAP-,
he/she may use some magic chemicals/mold/mould inhibitor
and perfume things up a bit.   

It's not my financial responsibility. In fact I should not be getting anyone in without permission of the owner.
And it may all be for naught anyway if the owner decides to use the opportunity to recarpet the whole place under insurance.

They work cheap enough, maybe the insurance may pick up the bill or half or it.

My insurance would have to cover that, and quite frankly I don't want to do that, I'd have to pay the excess, and it may not be claimable anyway because I don't own the carpet. I have contents insurance, and carpet is contents, but it's not my contents.

[EEVblog]

Dont you think though that there is a need to investigate a bit before just doing that? Is there underlay? Is the concrete underneath soaked.... You dont want to suck up the surface water and have a fungal outbreak in a few weeks.

Yes, and this is what the cleaner told me, and he said he's trained in fungal growth in such things and he said it's not going to be savable.
Here is the carpet and underlay in the office next door that also got flooded.

https://www.electrodry.com.au/news-blog/did-your-carpet-get-wet-in-the-recent-storms/
I have no authority to go lifting carpet, this is not my unit, I will not take responsibility for it. This happened thursday night, and it won't be until at least Monday that someone will be here, but I've had no word of that anyway.

[dbinokc]

It is probably a little late to help now, but pig mat is handy for soaking up big messes like that. Just be sure to get the water absorbing type and not oil absorbing type. They are quite tough and can be reused.

[unitedatoms]

If you can you claim anything, then you should do it. May be about $20k, supported by pictures of ruined business.

The interruption by flood caused the millions of dollars loss over the world in terms of feels of community. It should be monetarily compensated by faceless insurance company. Just because everyone feels like it.