the work, which began last tuesday, was done by two chaps, much to my surprise. i was expecting at least four, as well as more heavy duty gear, especially when i thought external structural support was required when they have to remove the rotting timber plate and joists. i obviously know bugger all about engineering, don’t i? i left them to their own devices after the surveyor showed them which bit was what. the biggest surprise came when, after less than two hours, they showed me the new timber plate.

whilst he did the timber plate, the other chap was stripping off the cellar’s plasterboard wall and ceiling. luckily for me, the extent of the mycelium from the ‘shiitake’ infestation didn’t go very far.

they left early in the afternoon to buy timber for the joists, the skirting board and the floor boards. the next day saw the major work being done – the removal of the rotting joists and replacing the floorboards.



by thursday, they’ve put the new skirting board up. as for the wall treatment, they drilled several holes and pressure injected them with water-based fungicide. when the water dries, the fungicide remains and would stop any future infestations. the new joists are also treated, so no worries there, insyaAllah. the cellar walls have been repainted with bitumen, to reinforce the damp-proofing. these guys work really efficiently and the workmanship is second to none. they even clean up well before they leave.

i guess seeing all the work that goes into this provided me with some relief that this is money well-spent, especially when it provides me with peace of mind. i’ve also noticed that all this while, the house did have a musty smell in the front hall – which has now, obviously, disappeared.

this tuesday, the work was finally completed with the re-plastering. some form of normalcy has resumed since – as you can see here: