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May 13, 2000 write up.
Well, it rained last night and overflowed the gutter again.
The wood strip above the door helped but didn't cure the problem.
First thing, my wife turned to the Yellow Pages and started looking for a firm who might be able to look into our gutter. She identified one (that shall remain nameless) and phoned them. They had someone who could come the following day.
Which would be too late - the weather forecast was predicting thunderstorms that night. She pressed for someone sooner. As it happened, they had someone in the area who could be around shortly.
Time passes.
The man turns up and looks at the gutter. "Oh, it's quite high up then. I don't know if my ladder will reach." He looked rather worried. "I don't really like heights." He stood and thought a while longer.
"No, my two-section ladder won't reach. I'll have to go back and get a three-section." So off he went.
My wife phoned his office to ask what was going on, after he didn't reappear. They told her it was a two-man job, so we'd be charged for two people for an hour. This worked out at rather a lot of money for what we reckoned would be a ten minute task.
She decided to try our household emergency insurance cover (who have been wonderful in the past). She explained the kitchen was being flooded. They said, yes, we'd be covered and they could send someone out tomorrow. Again, she explained about the weather forecast. Again, someone was found.
All this arranging and failing to get up ladders had taken up most of the day. The man the insurers sent arrived after 4pm. Wasted day.
He put up his ladder, climbed up, fished around the top of the downpipe, climbed down and presented my wife with a tennis ball. "There, that should sort you out."
He assured her there was nothing else wrong with the gutter.
Oddly, the ball looked like it had been there for ages. Maybe... But it's odd how we never noticed flooding before.
Oh well. Now we're waiting for the next disaster...