THE RENOVATION FILES CASE #5: THE STRANGE CASE OF THESTAINED CEILING

Living in a property scarred by persistent leakage, foul smells or structural movement can leave even the most rational homeowners teetering on the brink. Overwhelmed by conflicting advice from assorted trades, specialists and well-meaning neighbours, the natural response is to resort to frantic Googling.

This was pretty much the state of affairs when Ed, who works for a well-known quality national newspaper, got in touch with me recently. The photos he emailed over showed his flat in a dreadful state. A massive, brown damp stain more than two metres in diameter defaced the living room ceiling, with paint peeling off and water dripping onto the carpet below. He’d been living like this for several months while various trades had attempted repair works, all of which had