We Had A DISASTER At The Old Station Renovation 

This could be a blessing in disguise, it will give you the opportunity to get rid of the old water tank and have a combi boiler instead which is much more cost effective x

The reason the pipe is above the door is so you know that the tank is overflowing. That pipe should never have water in it so it should never freeze. It is fairly obvious that you have a problem with the ballcock in the water tank. In the future it would be wise to dispense with the holding and header tanks and have a mains pressure system.

I always thought that the ceiling had been lowered, that originally it was higher. Someone lowered the ceiling to make the upstairs spaces. And that plumbing looks totally crazy-not professionally done. Sorry it had to happen like this, but now you can begin the work you had planned to do.

You are SO fortunate that nobody was harmed from the collapse! ❤ It is more than likely there was no upstairs in the original depot as indicated by the painted out window tops. Your main room (the waiting room) would have been open to the rafters overhead. Unfortunately, the most practical way forward would be to gut the existing top floor. With an eye towards maintaining the stations historical appearance from the front, the logical design choice would be to extend the two roof ridges on either side to the rear of the station while leaving the front facade unchanged. This would allow you to have two or three sizable living spaces upstairs on both sides of the building. I would suggest an open walkway under the apex connecting both ends with a central open stairway from downstairs. i am an artist/designer/decorator and photographer among other things. You have a diamond in the rough in this charming little train station!! 💕💕💕

Watching from America, sorry this happened, but so glad no one was injured and pets are safe. Can’t wait to see all your hard work, and hardships pan into a beautiful restored home.

Time to strip out all the plumbing in the attic, including the water tank, and install a combi-boiler. :-)

Like you said, "it's all part of the fun." I'm going to definitely stick around to see all your hard work come to pass.

How prophetic. Didn't somebody else, in one of the earlier 'tour' videos comment that all that plumbing should be moved to another outbuilding on the property to avoid just such an occurrence?

The roof trusses are so beautiful! Remove the ceiling and expose the trusses. You could make that beautiful!

In the long run this will just be a memory. This used to happen to houses in Aus frequently until water systems were put outside. Main thing, no one was hurt. All the best

Assuming the ceiling is standard plasterboard, this disaster may be a blessing in disguise. Completely agree with the approach, empty the attic, remove all damp plasterboard - I would assume virtually all the ceiling has to go. I would then ask a good plumber whether you can remove the cold water tank completely and go to a direct mains feed system, pretty sure you will not need 2 hot water tanks, just get one modern large one. This would be a great time to take a close look at the beams, beams that regularly get wet do not last, better to find out now if any need replacing than later. Once the damp plasterboard is off I would stop and see what the space looks like without the ceiling - maybe a double height entrance way would look good

I'm really enjoying watching your progress series. Just wish they were longer!

Oh my! That could have been so much worse. So glad everyone is ok. Can’t wait to see your ideas for the space. ❤

Goodness me ...thank goodness no one was hurt . ❤

I reckon that room would make an amazing kitchen diner

Agree with other comments, a blessing in disguise. The overflow is positioned so you will see it if it drips. Does not look like the joists are damaged and you now have a big hole for the clutter in the loft to be lowered through. Suggest you wear a helmet and clear the fallen debris, cover the floor to protect it from further damage, remove the remaining wet/damp plasterboard. Then gently remove the loft contents through the hole as much as you can. You can then access all that plumbing to assess it. The header tanks should be lagged even short term. Check the electric wires, dry them with a cloth and check any junctions, power points and switches and if it is all dry, switch the power back on one circuit at a time. If a problem is revealed, the power should trip out and that indicates more investigation required. If you are doubtful about doing this, ask an electrician to do it. Don't panic! No one was hurt and its only water!

Your new home is gently steering you to the most urgent issues...the timing was so fortunate for you! Imagine indeed if loved ones, precious pets or furniture and finishings were all in place. And I believe that the dog's ball is a "dibs" on the pile of rubble haha

Recommend you use a good saw and cut all that pipe into little pieces. They could make good garden pots. Secondly, I beleive that there must have been a well somewhere that supplied the water to the tanks. Ifyour on a community watermain, most of that can be eliminated as your water pressure would be supplied by that community main. The Waterheater could be relocated to a closet on the main floor and still provide complete structure needs. Due to the Community Council's requirements, you might find that removing all the piping will be cheaper and replacing it with Pep plastic pipe. A repitable plumber will have to be contacted. One additional point is that you will find several Railroad Station Preservation groups there in the UK which might give good guidence and ways to preserve the pocket book.

Bugger! However, silver linings; You were there when it happened and had a chance to limit the damage by turning water and electricity off. I'd hate to think of the outcome had it happend while you were not there for hours or, heaven forbid, days. Second silver lining - best for this to happen now before the renovation, That would have been just heart breaking. Glad you an the pooches are both safe. Thanks for sharing.

While the ceiling has to be done maybe you should change where the fireplace goes I'd totally changed where your chimney goes

Might be a blessing in disguise. Pulling down the old ceiling will let you see the height and how grand it was. Looks like the old architraves are still there.

I am very grateful no one was hurt indeed. But it be nice or strange to see how you get all the stuff out of the attic while not being able to step on the floor in there. Please remain safe my friends.

That room would make a lovely dining room. Sorry this has happened but better now than later.

The roof is the first thing that should be done in any old place then water and electric. So sorry this happened. Now that that has happened im' sure it can be rerouted.

There will be many challenges like this to deal with, the old water tanks were installed up there due to gravity playing an essential part in the old days. Now you can have your water tanks fitted properly into one of the out houses along with a utilities room or laundry room. The first essential thing is the roof and guttering which look good, then work down from the top. The room wgere the ceiling collapsed I would have as the lounge room but extend it into an inside outside room with the covered porch area and glass folding ir sliding doors, this will be at the back of the house and your very own private place. Thank you for sharing 💕🇦🇺

Wow!! Luckily no one was injured.!! Thanks for taking us along on your journey.

Did you see the top of the room in the attic? I did!!! That ceiling should be a little higher and also shows you the original trim work.

You have a lot of followers on this “adventure “ and deservedly so. We wish you well and shall continue to enjoy your refurb!

Oh dear, how dispiriting, one step forward and two back. You both are real inspirational people. Don't quit, you WILL get there. XXX

The fallen ceiling actually looks worse than it is. Like you said it's a blessing in disguise. It's now the impetus to clear the space of the junk - putting that ahead of other projects. Replacing the ceiling plaster board isn't as big a job as you might suspect. Making sure the ceiling joists are strong enough to support a floor above, IS a more pressing project, but not an overwhelming one. Just take it one step at a time. Jon

This room is a nice size , I think that single door opposite the sliding door should be removed and opened up to double or even triple it's size. You have alot of work ahead of you, I am so jealous of every inch you have there. Thankyou for making a longer video. Please take us for random walks around to see how things change through season and see different views of your property.

From my experience, when a ceiling is wet it starts to show at the very edges. Take a good look at the joints in all your rooms and if u start seeing them even the slightest bit different start looking for the water.

In an old building, there will always be ‘surprises’. Luckily, in this one, the only damage was to the ceiling, and no living creature was hurt. Small blessings, but blessings, indeed. My next step would be to get a structural engineer in there to access the damage, the danger, and what to do next. Possibly, you might find one who would be willing to be videoed, as he/she works (obviously not all the time) , as a form of free advertising for him, and possibly a reduced cost for you. Maybe someone just out of school, who needs customer awareness of her company.

You are lucky that it happened now vs when it was all completed. Its interesting to see how they did things way back then putting awater tank and all those pipes in the attic - never seen that before. You are definitely living an adventure.

I had the same problem, caused by a previous owner installing the overflow pipe wrongly. He had failed to realise that the overflow pipe should always have a pretty good gradient downhill, so that there is nowhere water can accumulate inside the pipe. I changed the layout of pipes in the attic, and it never happened again in the 20 more years we lived in the house. In our case the consequence was no more serious than a very wet bed!

You neet to step up your game…. Results speak to success!!!

Classic Murphy's Law.....Good Luck!

Glad no one was hurt.

I am having so much fun watching your videos. Thanks for taking us on your adventure.

One good thing is you now have a great big hole to lower the junk down also it makes it easier for the plumber to use a ladder to get up to the tanks and get the water on again.

If you’ve got a fuse board put the power on to the kitchen only and Hire a dehumidifier. You wouldn’t have been stepping on anything but the beams in that space so you can still access the area. Clear it out. Dry it up and find the isolation tap to the tanks and turn it off that way you can still have mains water downstairs. Hire a skip or man with van waste collection and this will be sorted with a couple hours work.

Glad no one was hurt and the damage doesn't look too serious. Might be a good time to start a staircase.

So sorry to see this! Hopefully you're able to get everything out quickly and safely, and that the cost to get things back to normal are low.

I'm so sorry that happened! You might want to put a protective padded floor covering on that waiting room floor so that as you are removing things and more attic floor and "stuff" falls through, there is a nice cushion to protect the beautiful floors. It'd make the attic demo faster and much less stressful. My fingers are crossed for good help.

Excellent outcome, I see that as a situation that has provided you with a solution. Fortunately, it has happened now, imagine if it had happened when you have just put thousands of dollars into the room. Being here in Oz and living in the tropics we are somewhat use to water egress into our homes. At the moment we are tracking a Cat2 Tropical Cyclone Kirrily and a few hours north of us in getting some serious rain. Anyway, personally I think it's time to look at the plumbing and electrics before you do too much more. Cheers

Sorry to hear about your ceiling disaster - setbacks are never welcome. On a positive note, your ceiling joists look sturdy and should bear weight without problems. Hopefully the really cold weather has passed and you’ll be able to fix the damaged pipe easily. Like wise the electrics.

I sorted a problem similar to yours for a neighbour . I replaced a small rubber washer in the water feed valve ( ball cock ) easily remedied so long as you have easy access where the mains water supply enters the tank . A spanner type grip is all you will need . If you have never done this before watch a tutorial on RU-vid. Easy quick job . With my neighbour the freezing caused a joint to separate. I would recommend you have no joints in the overflow.

Sometimes it's getting worse before it's getting better. So fingers crossed, that you can safely remove the junk out of the attic (take care!) and take another step forward. Stay safe! ❤

Good thing no one was hurt, always a big plus.

Sorry that happened but it may be a blessing in disguise! now the problem is identified you can address it head on in your renovations.

I mean I think that everyone appreciates the efforts you are making in the garden, and this may sound like a criticism, but really, the first thing the most important thing is to ensure your building integrity. If the roof is leaking, then that has to be the priority. All other work may be for nothing if that first issue is not addressed immediately. I know that the temptation is to work outside when the weather is good, but that the ceiling falling in, is a very worrying problem, aside from the structural issue there is the real problem of dampness and the possibility of having mushrooms or other growth that can seriously affect your health. If this is not remedied quickly the building may be deemed unsafe for habitation and all kinds of very expensive decontamination procedures may be required.

Oh nooo!! The joys of a project eh! So glad no one was hurt! ❤

Thank goodness none of you were hurt, and best to be able to fix this before you'd actually done the renovations. Phew. Glad you're all OK.

SO sorry that happened to you and your family. We will be praying for you🙏

Minor set back. Joking of course. I have an 1960's home I bought about two years ago and I feel your pain. Still, such a beautiful home you are renovating.

The pipe work in your Attic reminds me of the railway lines going through Clapham junction, and beyond It always makes me smile when I travel on that part of the national railway. I hope that you will benefit of bringing that lovely old building into the 21st century

Use this as a positive. Pass the junk from the attic down through the hole you now have. If you lag any pipe work in the loft space and change the ball cock valve then you can turn everything back on once it’s dry. I would get the heating back on to dry out the space to stop mould growth.

The stories that old station could tell. How awesome

I am enjoying your videos. Just found you! Played catch-up. I am sorry for your latest mishap. But all ends well with hard work. Have fun! Brenda, Georgia,USA

My best friend and i worked on a little lounge in my basement and we had a flood... it destroyed a lot, but in the end when we cleaned up and redid somethings we liked it even better than it was... these things truly are a blessing and it makes the final product that much more meaningful... can't wait to see what clever things you do with these moments! :)

Hi from Spain! You was very very lucky no one was injured! Be strong!!💪

The railway station building were built to last and workmanship second to none

Oh dear! What a mess.😥 Luckily you and the family and doggies are ok. 🤗🤗I can't wait to see how you restore that fireplace! 😍

Your still smiling,that’s a good thing not to let it get you down.

Best wishes on the restoration. Good job.

I just love the building and the story.

Amazing what some people do.

Thank God no one was under that area. All about the process. Be careful and let the fun begin. 😮

Just looking at the view from the loft. You can see an aera below the beams which is painted. This painted area was something which would have been seen from the room below, so the base of the beams was the original roof of the room below. I would suggest that the large room below, of which the ceiling collapsed was originally two rooms and a passage from the front to the rear of the building. The passage would have contained the window to the booking office where passengers would purchase teir tickets. One of the rooms would have been the ticket office, the other the waiting room. Just a guess, but room for thought, The waiting room would have had a fire, but from my experience, they were never very warm.

The 2 commenters below said it all. Rip out the tanks (and the overflow) and put in a pressurised CH system with a combi boiler - a largish, floor-standing one that has a small storage tank for a few litres of hot water, enough to run a shower or fill a bowl for washing up.

I am glad that no one was hurt..

Sometimes old houses tell you what they need next. My guess this on yelled. You got this.

Oak framed doors and windows would look amazing in that room. Omg bless yah

Im really enjoying the chance to follow your journey, normally watch on tv so haven't posted much but cracking videos and I wish you guys well, keep up the great work

What an amazing family you are - absolutely stoic and determined. Get that attic cleared and safe. Good luck and here is a bit of love XXXX

The fireplace in the corner suggests to me that the wall on the right in your first shot has been added at some time. I think there would originally have been one room through from the front of the building to the back. And probably open to the rafters too. It would make a lovely large room to put it back like that, but you would lose the smaller rooms behind, the high ceiling would make it harder to heat, and you'd need to find somewhere else for the water tanks!

It’s an old building, you are going to find plenty of weird and wonderful things happen. It will be beautiful once it’s all done and you’ll learn a lot on the way. xx

Like you said lucky no one got hurt. Seems a very funny system for the water. Overflow coming out over you door. That system needs bringing into the 21 century. Shame it has spoiled a lovely room. Hope you get it fixed soon . And have more luck with the rest of the renovation. 👍👍👍👍

Sorry it happened at this time. Old houses have a mind of their own it seems. Glad you were aware this would be something to be addressed , just got bumped ahead on your list. You have a good attitude about it though. Wish you good luck on the quick decisions you'll be making.

The station is trying to make sure you're too busy to get up to mischief! Would it be worthwhile to reach out to Ecoflow to see if they'd sponsor you for a solar panel kit with generator? That room is a great space, can't wait to see the end result with your hard work 🤩

It’s easy to condemn those terrible philistines who tore down every piece of history they saw as standing in the way of progress until we see the enormous amount of work that is needed for restoration .Also.the criticism levelled at those irresponsible souls who toss out perfectly good timber,fittings and so on that could be cleaned,repaired and reused.That is a lot too much to ask of a commercial enterprise.Not that I am on the side of such ‘soulless oafs’ but unless such saving enterprise is taken on with love, sensitivity and meticulous care by such people we are privileged to see working here,everything of historical importance will be lost.God Bless these wonderful people in whom all the heart and determination needed for saving our past have come together.This is a great deal more than a couple of enterprising people making a cool house for themselves.

well I'm glad no one got hurt. Now it's time to go into the Attic and clean it out really good and insulate it and have somebody go in and wrap all the piping over insulation and check your system and once you 've insulated the ceiling there put plywood And you can have a nice room up there but clean it out and have it checked over really well because you don't want to have that again it happened water just destroys things so learn by your mistakes so you don't do it again

Hi there, My old friend Jake always said: It sometimes freeze in winter times --" The pipe auxiliary heating installed serves to heat roof valleys and drainpipes depending on the outside temperature and humidity" -- maybe you should do something like that - combined with a reliable thermostat. Good luck for your further renovation, greets - H.

Such a enjoyable video good luck for the future renovations from New Zealand

I really enjoyed your guys ideas about the house and videos.

That kind of stuff tends to happen in a restoration/remodel. Some workman inspecting for mice in the attic put his foot through the ceiling of the dining room the week before my wife and I got married. In our current house, where I subsequently replaced ALL the sewer, water, electric, and HVAC, the sewer plugged up and I had to get a plumber to run a drain snake for 2 days to clear a wad of wipes as big as a basketball. Thus, the furnace/A/C replacement fell back and a complete new sewer line moved up to take its place. Stay the course. All the work must be done. And IT will tell YOU in what order - more or less.

Very inconvenient, I think your first point of investigation should be "Why does the water tank overflow " my first guess would be the ball valve in the tank has limescale in the valve stopping it from fully shutting off! Tackling that problem first is a priority everything else will be easy without the danger of it happening again.

Hopefully this will be your only OMG moments. Having restored an 1823 train station, it seems every time we turned around it was I wasn’t expecting that or that wasn’t supposed to happen. It is adventure and. You will end up knowing each and every inch of your new station. Best of luck and have a lot of fun

Most definitely fit for an entrance room

Think as just another hiccup in life! I like your positive vibe *its all part of the fun* All the best from me❤

Omg I’m glad your ok just imagine if 🤔 no don’t imagine just glad you was ok

It would be great to remove the complete ceiling to its original height, which exposes those beautiful wooden beams upstairs. Use it as a living room and make the small room off the kitchen with the fireplace as the dining room.

Great job filming! Steady and looking at the camera while speaking. Bravo!

When we were renovating our cottage ,we removed the old water tank and installed a pressurised cylinder water system .

Bon courage ♥️😊🇧🇪

Amazing content and authentic narration. U really Love ur work guy's

Much, much better camera work. : ). But OMG, what a disaster!

Glad you are both ok. Treat the rest of the station with caution….the previous works seem to leave a little to be desired….. On the positive side, you have started the removal of the central ceiling…. I would finish the job!

Here in the states (California) overflow pipes from HVAC ( heat & air conditioning) must drip or flow over a window so when this occurs, it will be more likely to be seen.

Sorry to here you have had a setback. I hope you can get it sorted soon.