Apartments in a historic house in the center of Minsk are flooded: "I carried out 30 buckets of water in a day"
The thaw at the end of January brought flooded ceilings and walls to the residents of a historic house at Rakauskaya, 20. People are saving furniture, moving into one room, and on duty day and night to empty buckets of water.
Utility workers came, drew up reports, but the damage is increasing. And roof repairs have been postponed until positive temperatures, writes Realt.by.
"I carried out 30 buckets of water in less than a day"
Thanks to its bright brick facade and long history, the house at Rakauskaya, 20 has become one of Minsk's landmarks. The two-story building from the late 19th century is still residential. There are 13 apartments here, although some of them have been converted for commercial use.
This snowy and frosty winter has caused a lot of trouble for utility workers. But the problems for the residents of the historic building began due to the mundane knocking down of icicles. After another such work, water started pouring from the ceilings in the apartments.
The owner of an apartment on the second floor wrote to Realt and reported the problems. His one-room apartment is currently rented by pianist Dmitry. The musician encountered "rain" in the apartment on February 7. The man reacted instantly: he reported it to 115, then bought beams, film, and built a canopy to protect the 19th-century wooden floor. All the water now drains into buckets.
— That night I didn't sleep until 5 AM. I carried out 30 buckets of water in less than a day. I waited for utility workers for several hours, but no one came. Then I checked the status of my application and saw that it was marked as completed. I immediately called the service to complain. After some time, they finally came to me and drew up a report. A return visit is scheduled for February 23. They will assess the damage then. But the problem is that with each passing day, the apartment gets worse, because no one has solved the problem.
In the one-room apartment, the stream of drops truly doesn't cease. They are already seeping from several cracks. The walls are damaged on several sides, and due to the humidity, the Yamaha electronic piano and the acoustic system have swollen. Dmitry also had to send his laptop for repair.
— These reports only concern future repair issues, but right now it's impossible to live or work here. In the evening you feel like you're in a bathhouse, — notes the man. Even during the day, when the sun shines, it's difficult to be in the room. — We were told that roof repairs will begin when the snow is gone and the temperature is above freezing. Can you imagine what will happen to the apartments and the building as a whole by then?
"We don't even turn on the light in the room"
Water also reached the first floor, into the "Pyataya Kvartira" (Fifth Apartment) cafe. It was noticed above the stretch ceiling on February 14. Employees managed to drain the water themselves. Since then, the situation has been closely monitored, but no collapses have been observed.
Major renovations in the house were completed in 2007. According to local residents, they had previously experienced flooded ceilings, but never before had the situation been so critical. Most apartments suffered damage from the street side. Icicles were cleared more actively there. Locals believe that the damage occurred due to strong impacts. Utility workers hit not the icicles themselves, but the standing seam roof, residents suggest. That's why it broke.
Oleg's apartment was one of the first to suffer. Now the family huddles in one room.
— It all started three weeks ago with the ceiling in the hall. We immediately reported the flooding to the services. They came to us, also drew up a report, but during this time the water migrated to the bedroom. The chandelier started cracking, water appeared in the light bulb. We moved the furniture, moved into one room, and in that one, we don't even turn on the light. A second report should be compiled soon. Who knows how much more snow there will be. The sun appears — everything melts and flows to us.
There is an attic in the house. Most of the flooding comes from the roof above Dmitry's apartment. There, drops run down the facade to the floor. Above Oleg's ceiling lies a black film.
— When my son-in-law went up, he said that our roof was broken along the perimeter. There is also no vapor barrier film (roof insulation against moisture). On Friday, alpinists came. They cleared snow from the roof, but ice collected in the gutter, and that's exactly what they can't remove.
Mikhail's apartment suffers almost every spring due to excess moisture on the northern wall. Near the window is a downpipe that freezes in frosts. Then water from the roof begins to drain down the facade and enters the man's apartment through cracks. This time it all started at the end of January, but for a different reason.
— They checked the pipe — it seemed clean. We called the housing and utility services. The guys came the next day, wandered around the roof and said that there were 15 square meters of roof needing replacement. The spot where water was dripping was selectively covered with film. After that, the water moved to the next room, where the plasterboard on the ceiling began to soak along the seams. We are no longer being flooded, but it's unclear if this is due to the film or because the frosts have returned.
"We will start repairs as soon as the temperature outside is above zero"
— Currently, the housing and utility services of the district have this house under control. On the technical floor, a film was laid over the places where water drips. Workers cleared snow from the roof. We will start repair work immediately after the outside temperature is above zero. Then we will check again where and what is leaking, purchase equipment, materials, and proceed with restoration, — explains Yuri Radetsky, Deputy Director for Social Affairs and Work with the Population of the Central District Housing and Utilities.
As the representative of the housing and utility services explained, there is currently no other way to help the house due to the weather.
— Specialists from the housing and utility services found a large accumulation of ice in one place. If they start hitting it, they will damage the roof even more.
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