This post is sited in a pub car park and although most surface features have been demolished to allow for the car park the access hatch is still intact and it aroused the interest of some of my friends.

After opening the hatch it was found to be flooded, quite badly.... the water was halfway up the access hatch, meaning that the main post room was completely flooded.

After some ingenious thinking the post was pumped out. Everything was covered in a thick black sludge and a lot of stuff that was left there is badly damaged but some of it is surprisingly well preserved....

Most of the telecomms and info equipment has gone but some of the original stuff in still down there, such as the cupboard, batteries, jerry can's etc.

We are thinking of restoring this post, even though it will never be a pristine example or even original, due to the lack of surface features, but we think it is worth the challenge.

This is how the post started out:

Above Photos courtesy of Skydiver

On the next visit we tried to get things a little cleaner and remove the last of the water. We need to figure out where the water is coming in, and find out what, if anything, is salvageable from the post

Update 2ND Jan 2009

Just returned from the post. We have been trying to get it cleaned up a bit and also taking stock of what we will have to repair/replace and what can be salvaged.

We have removed most of the original woodwork today - desks etc - and have taken measurements for replacements...

We have also started to clean up the walls - we have a small clean patch - and hopefully it won't be as bad as we first thought.

It is still very damp down there though - with almost no ventilation - the vents are blocked - condensation is rife! Would it be possible for all the water that was down here to have been condensation?? surely not? I'll have to find out how much water there actually WAS down here....

Anyway... pictures.

Update 10th Jan 2009

Skydiver, Dweeb, Turkey, NickUK and Daz666 visited and things started to move on the bunks were taken apart, quite easily actually, and the main room was cleared. Everything salvageable has been stored in the toilet room. Photos courtesy of NickUK

Update 19th Jan 2009

Back up to the post to try and remove the paint from the walls. We figure that it we are going to treat the walls to make them waterproof again the the first thing we need to do is remove all the old paint - should be a doddle right?? er, no.... armed with scrapers and paint stripper we made a start. The scrapers on their own were not touching it, so we tried the paint stripper.... that also did nothing.... we phoned a couple of people and someone suggested a gas powered blowtorch, so off to B&Q we went... half an hour later we were back armed with a blowtorch.. 

All we really succeeded in doing was filling the post full of smoke...photo courtesy of Skydiver

 After waiting half an hour for the post to clean of smoke we went back down and decided to just tidy up, so not a very productive day :( Although we did manage to clear the far vent a little and completely clear the vent next to the shaft.

Update 24th Jan 2009

 Skydiver arrived at the post to be greeted with this

 The water level was way above the sump again A genny was set up, which gave plenty of light down the post and plenty of power for tools. numerous things were done, the ladder was secured to the wall in additional places for H&S reasons, and holes round the shaft were either plugged or created. Down in the post there was a pretty fireworks display.

 It was decided that the best plan for the far vent (the one that had been levelled for the car par) was to empty the mud out of it and then drill holes down the back, at an angle so that the water that came down the shaft would drain away. out comes the drill...

Unfortunately, instead of draining the water, it just let more water in, panic set in and drastic measures were called for...

 after much discussion it was concluded that the post may have been built in clay-based soil and that when it was back-filled after completion, it may have created a reservoir around the post - it would explain why the post had flooded and also why the water seemed to be seeping through the walls...

Could this be the end of the Hyde ROC post restoration??

go to the next page to find out ....>>

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