Friday, November 11, 2011

Mould and Redback Spiders

Now there's an interesting title for a blog post.

I finally got the insurance claim sorted for our lounge room where the wall leaked during heavy storms back in July. Water has actually been seeping in for a long time and the carpet under the built in cabinetry has gone very moldy.

Yesterday I emptied the cabinets and started the huge task of fixing this room up. I am feeling a little stressed for three reasons:

Firstly, how do I own so much crap??? I know ....I sew, paint, craft, play board games, read etc. And these cabinets are our main storage area....BUT when look at the piles of STUFF I really wish I was someone whose hobbies were going to the movies and watching TV.....

Secondly, under the cabinets we found a huge amount of mould and a family of red back spiders (very poisonous, for my international readers). They were right next to my daughter's bedroom....I was glad to kill them. No concerns about bad feng shui here. We've now hauled out the carpets and will air the room over the weekend.
and thirdly, i don't actually know how to fix the leaky area. So how to decide what to do going forward....

This room is a badly done extension, probably built around 40 years ago. Our plan is to eventually knock it down and rebuild this part of the house and at the same time build an upstairs with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The rest of our house is double brick and tile, and wooden joists with floor boards. But this room is on a badly laid concrete slab, has uninsulated fibro walls and a sloping tin roof....hmm.,. that sounds attractive! I can't wait to rip it down and rebuild. But the renovation is more money than we want to spend at the moment so I need to live with this room for at least two more years. I'm pretty sure part of the slab is under ground level and that's why the water is entering the house. I don't think there is an easy solution for this so I'm going to rip the skirt boards off behind the cabinets and paint it all with waterproofing membrane.

Tonight Phil and I will pull out the rest of the carpet and see if the concrete floor is paintable. I'd really like a white painted floor in this room as the carpet gets filthy with the foot traffic, kids and dog, and also if the wall leaks again it would be easy to clean up any water.  Fingers crossed the floor is smooth enough.

.....Or at least good enough to live with for the next 2-3 years.

1 comment:


  1. Mould thrives in damp environments, requiring moisture and organic matter to grow. Redback spiders, native to Australia, are venomous with a distinctive red stripe on their abdomen. Both can be unwanted household guests, but while mould poses health risks, redback spiders can be dangerous due to their venom. Regular cleaning and maintenance help prevent mould, while professional pest control may be necessary for redback spiders. bankruptcy lawers near me

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