Rainbow Restoration Morecambe save school in Christmas leak disaster
On the 6th on January 2023, Jonathan Hargreaves-Townson and his team at Rainbow Restoration Morecambe were alerted to an incident a school in their area.
Whilst the students and teachers had remained home for Christmas break, the head tank in the schools loft had different plans.
The tank experienced a leak which had drained it of its contents. As the tank drained, the pump that was fitted had been working overtime resulting in the overproduction of mains water which then continued to leak out of the tank.
It was estimated the tank had been gushing out for 5-7 days, causing extensive destruction of the schools infrastructure and its contents.
The school originally opened in 1717 as a boy’s grammar school, and the building which still remains today holds many of its original features such as coving and parquet flooring.
Unfortunately, the leak had caused damage to many of these features, and even effected an old piano. Overall, the water had leaked on to two floors and left many classrooms in disarray.
Given the job involved attending the site whilst children were at school, they required all attendees to be vetted and DBS checked to ensure the appropriate safeguarding measures had been taken.
The loss adjuster was confident Rainbow Morecambe were the ones for the job, given their reputation and professionalism. The technicians were on site same day, and began the strip out process.
A water damaged property holds the risk of being contaminated by mould, which can be toxic if inhaled. The strip out process is vital to ensure all effected surfaces are removed, cleaned and dried effectively if not past repair.
Rainbow Morecambe ensured the safe removal and disposal of contaminated materials from chemistry desks to plaster and tiles. The steel chemistry desk frames, alongside other articles were washed down and sanitised and restored, saving the school thousands of pounds as there was no need to re-purchase.
Following this, the walls were re-plastered, mist coat was applied and the redecoration of classrooms and other effected facilities in the building commenced. Plumbing and gas works also began.
Due to the age of the building, the electrics were past their best and unfortunately shut down due to the extensive water damage. The school had to deploy generators to supply electricity to the building, costing them thousands to run.
As the electrics were so old, some parts from Germany had to be ordered, and Rainbow were able to complete the works within one week – a tight turnaround which saved the school thousands of pounds which would have been spent on the ongoing use of generators.
Rainbow Restoration Morecambe were able to complete the strip out of the building, and initiate the drying regime so that the school was able to partially re-open within a week, and the students could return to school after Christmas.
The school were so pleased with the service provided, they also requested additional renovation work to be completed by the technicians as part of a separate project.
Jonathan Hargreaves-Townson, Rainbow Morecambe branch director gave insight into the new-found relationship. ‘It’s been fantastic working with the school, and it’s always especially fulfilling being able to help the local community by doing our jobs. We’re so glad we were able to help save such an important institution money, and hopefully our work will continue to serve them as savings for a long time to come.
Whilst waiting for authorisation from the Loss Adjustor, we have begun renovation work in areas of school not effected by the escape of water. We’ve also been able to handle a second escape of water caused by a plumber.
We’re proud to have established a long-term relationship between Rainbow and the community, and look forward to serving them long-term in the projects still yet to come.’
Rainbow Restoration Morecambe handled this job with the attentiveness and professionalism needed. Their reputation of their standard of service precedes them for good reason, and we are beyond pleased they were able to restore the school with little to no disruption to its student’s education.