MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Cumbria Floods

Just wondering how Neil is up in Cumbria after all the flooding.
Are you and the car ok Neil? Havent heard from you recently on this forum.
Colyn
colyn firth

Hi Colyn,

Thanks for the concern.

We are next to the river Cocker about two miles up from Cockermouth and so we were caught in the floods. The water level rose over four metres here making the river about 200m wide. I have a number of outbuildings and one was over waist deep.

One month ago that had two MGA resto projects living inside! luckily I moved them (one just the week before last) to another building that was not so badly affected.

The main house got just over a foot, but we managed to get everything off the floors (except the laminate!). The sockets, fires, Rayburn, washer and dryer were all submergeged but after stripping and drying out are working again.

We didn't leave the house (The drive was the first part to be cut off) and by 7.00 in the morning the water was below floor level again so we could get it all cleaned up and drying out straight away.

There is a bridge at the end of our lane that was damaged and is still closed, so the only lingering affect (apart from my slightly warped floors and skirting boards) is the fact that my mile trip to take my daughter to school now takes about half an hour!

We were really lucky in many respects; my parents were here with their caravan and the water stopped an inch below the door of that and about half an inch below the floor of my annex flat.

Worst part (for my nerves at least) was that at 11.30 in the morning a new 3,000 sq ft building (steel frame and insulated panels) was dropped of on twenty to thirty pallets. At 3.30 in the afternoon the pallets started drifting away! Some of the panels made it to Cockermouth, but amazingly we managed to recover over 80% after the flood water subsided.

Work has already started (on Monday) on the assembly and the steel structure is complete and (winds permitting) will be raised today. Best of all the builders insurance company will replace the panels!

I have to say that the help we got from neighbours and friends was absolutely staggering and it is at times like this that one really gets to appreciate the immense kindness of human nature.
Neil McGurk

Really sorry to hear about your flooding Neil, I had a feeling that you were near Cockermouth but I was hoping that you had gotten away with it.
I really understand how you must feel because my house was partially flooded in the Toll Bar floods a couple of years ago.
We lost much of our carpets and floor coverings, all the downstairs doors ( 8 of them ) and half the bathroom was destroyed.
I managed a crazy dash across 20 miles of flooded roads and a drive across a bridge over the river Don that was just becoming awash to find an electric water pump.
I didnt have any suitable hose for the pump and using duck tape and some old windsurfer and sailing dinghy masts I jury rigged some piping to get the water away. Thankfully the pump just managed to keep the water level an inch or so below the floor boards.
Its amazing what you can do when something like this happens!
Like you I found that my neighbours were amazing, some of them helped me for over 15 hours that night!
It took 3 months of 24 hour industrial dehumidifier operation to dry out the floors and rid the house of the smell of mildew (my wife still says that it is me that smells mouldy).(the electric bill was over £1000 for that period!)
So I hope you have solid floors Neil.

Also like you, the MGA was ok, by sheer good luck it was delayed at Bob Wests for some last minute teething problems to be sorted out. I was in the process of tidying up my garage and a week before and I had just organised all my tools (spanners, power tools etc into 6 separate large plastic boxes and I found that they were all ok, floating around in a foot of water like mini barges.
So I really do know how you must feel and I just wish I lived nearer to give you a hand.

Best of luck and I hope you are dried out and back to normal very soon Neil
Colyn
(will dig out some photos later when I get home, one of them should be captioned" I know every Englishmans home is his castle, but I never ever thought I would have a moat!)
colyn firth

Neil

Sorry to learn of your problems. I hope you are now well on the way to recovery. I live 60 miles south of the Lakes and, on the day of all the rain up there we had not a spot down in Preston. Very localised to you. As I type it is blowing a gale outside. I expect it is even stronger up there and not helping the recovery programme.

Your 3,000 square foot building sounds very generous for the MGA. Are you starting up the production line again?

Steve
Steve Gyles

Good luck with your clearing up and drying out Neil. As Steve says the heavy rain missed us but it is still very soggy - goodness knows how you cope with it all - all the best - Cam
Cam Cunningham

Colyn, the house was built in 1762 but concrete floors were put in in the 1970s. I keep the industrial dehumidifiers for the car storage, the house will dry by itself eventually!

Steve, I have the MGA in an identical building that was finished a few weeks ago, together with three more MGAs I have for restoration, so you are not far wrong!

The assembly of the new building started on Tuesday (the steel frame didn't float away) but had to be abandoned this morning due to the wind. Things are forecast to settle down this weekend, so hopefully things can resume then.

Cam, many thanks for your concern

As I write this, the day is ending with blue skies above, an oil painting of a sunset, a bright half moon and dark cloud covered fells! A tribute to the mixed and changeable weather we have to enjoy!

Neil
Neil McGurk

Neil- So pleased to hear that you have concrete floors. Also glad that you enjoy ALMOST all of the Cumbrian weather!

Found some pics I took for the insurance company of the flooding of my house.
This one shows one of my many amazing neighbors helping me with the jury rigged pipe we made up from old windsurfer and dinghy masts and duck tape and also my garage with a foot of water in it

colyn firth

This is the moat I spoke of, its just missing a few ducks to finish it off

colyn firth

Looks really pretty like this if you discount the 6 months drying out process and the terrible mildew smell that goes with it.
Hope you fare better Neil, let us know how it goes.
best of luck
Colyn

colyn firth

This really brings back both horrible memories and also ones of wonderful friends and neighbors
Colyn

colyn firth

This thread was discussed on 25/11/2009

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGA BBS now