A disabled Birmingham dad is devastated by the poor repair work after his council house flooded.
The water damaged Shaun’s home badly on September 27. Shaun, age 55, lives in West Heath, Birmingham. He lost furniture and pictures of his late wife. The walls stayed wet for weeks, and Shaun said the house smelled bad from wall contamination, making living there difficult for him, his son, and a friend.
Shaun broke his back in 1989 and is now disabled. He argued with the council about their response, and they even threatened him with eviction twice. He was told repairs would take 18 months due to the council’s lack of funds.
The repairs finished last month, but Shaun is not happy. He said it looks worse than before the flood, and the poor work made him want to cry. The kitchen units were fitted wrong.
New cupboards, drawers, and a work surface are there, but only the hall’s bottom half got new plaster. Upstairs, they only painted a small ceiling patch with mold. Shaun said they removed a meter of hall plaster, cutting the wallpaper at one meter. The workers chipped plaster off, replastered, then painted white, leaving the old wallpaper above.
Sewerage contaminated the area. Half the old wallpaper remained, even when rotten, and fell off due to house moisture. You can see where the wallpaper still is. The kitchen units are cheap and terrible, he said, off the floor by an inch and a half. Shaun believes they want him to get evicted again, as upstairs, they only painted one ceiling area.
Shaun and his friend Julie, age 50, stayed at a friend’s home during the three-week repair period. His son had moved out after the flood. He used electric heating to help the paint dry, giving him a large £300 bill. Shaun said only one builder did the repairs, and he praised the builder but criticized the council, as the builder followed their orders.
Shaun says they did just enough work to get by, leaving paint all over his new carpets upstairs. He calls it a quick, sloppy job. His friend was away, so Shaun borrowed his flat using the heaters all day while they worked, and he thinks a better job could have cost less.
Birmingham City Council was asked to comment about this.