Light at the end of the tunnel

You may recall me posting about a humidity problem in my living room. Since last October two companies specializing in leak detection have tried to find the cause of the humidity stains on the wall and the ceiling. Both have failed! I’ve had multiple visits of the janitor, the insurance companies, the neighbours and my landlord. Being a tenant there is very little I can do about it. And all the other parties involved don’t seem to care.

The situation as it was in September 2009.
Today it's far worse!

A month ago two insurance inspectors and the janitor turned up for another visit and to confirm something that I’ve known all along … the wall is extremely humid and there are no signs of improvement. The janitor then came up with what she considered a ‘brilliant’ idea. Why not put little markers on the wall indicating the date and the reading on the humidity measuring device. That way we could ‘monitor’ the evolution. When she pulled out a black marker I urged her to take it easy and not to put too much ‘graffiti’ on my wall. After all, we don't need that; the black fungus stain on the wall and the blubbering ceiling are sufficient to follow the progress.

Next the guy from the adversary’s insurance company had a better idea. Maybe the water came from the cellar! What a stroke of genius, considering that the stain comes down from the ceiling which is at almost three meters above the floor. This guy was really defying the law of gravity. His next idea was even better … Why not open up the wall on my side to look for the waterpipes in the next door neighbour’s wall?!!

To make a long story short, the only one who came up with a constructive idea, was my insurance guy. He suggested contacting a third, even more specialized leak detection company to do a new non-destructive survey, using even more modern techniques. Moreover, he promised me an advance of 500 euro to do some temporary repairs and cover up the visible damage.

Two weeks later the money was in my bank, and today the decorator is coming in to remove the dirty wall paper, sand the wall and the ceiling and apply a coat of anti-fungus product. Tomorrow he’ll put up some humidity resistant lead paper. In the meantime the decorative wallpaper that I’ve ordered yesterday will be available. Come Friday, the new paper should be up. It’s only a temporary solution until the day they hopefully find and repair the cause of this seemingly endless problem. But somehow, I feel like I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

_____

UPDATE!

12.00

I just got a phonecall from the decorator ... that immediately put the light out that I had seen at the end of the tunnel! After removing the paper he found the underlying wall soaked with water. Impossible to do any repairs or put on a protective coating as nothing will hold on the wet surface ... I'm getting desperate!

_____