Mouldy Quarters at RAF Brize Norton.
Welcome to life in the Military.
Now, are you going to ponce out with your nose in the air... or are you going to get stuck in and get on with it?
If you don't like it you can always rent locally...
On the bright side, at least the aircraft are maintained better...
Now, are you going to ponce out with your nose in the air... or are you going to get stuck in and get on with it?
If you don't like it you can always rent locally...
On the bright side, at least the aircraft are maintained better...
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Mini, this is not part of the 'man the F*** up' rationale that we should accept as part of Military life. It is about your family living in reasonable accommodation, there is nothing in JSP 464 about complementary damp and mildew. There is however lots of talk about eroding the 'extras' we get for the burdens of Forces life, I would argue that trying to maintain or improve standards is equally as important a quality for anyone serving, don't forget any fool can be uncomfortable!
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when I took over a Quarter at Brize in 1985
....and when I took over a quarter at Brize in 1975 etc etc etc - and even then the problem was of long standing.
plus ca change, plus c'est la meme change
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Brize quarters have always been crap. I have a similar story where my new wife was in tears when she first saw what she had married into. As others have said, there is little the Stn Cdr can do as the whole thing is controlled by someone else (is it still DHE/Annington?) About the best he can do is attend the Hive and listen.
I find myself asking whether a benefit collecting sponger would accept, or even be offered, such rubbish.
I find myself asking whether a benefit collecting sponger would accept, or even be offered, such rubbish.
A Note of caution to those calling for action...
Firstly if one is a regular occupant of SFA, one is NOT a tenant - instead the occupant has a 'license to occupy' and therefore the rights and obligations are different (considerably fewer 'rights') so before one stomps off to CAB, MP etc, check what one is 'entitled' to.
Secondly, are there any outstanding works requests with MHS? It would be most embarrassing to call for A Day of Rage just as a team of workers pitch up to rectify the problem...
Thirdly is this could attributable to an inherent fault in the property or a a result of poor ventilation/unvented clothes driers/long showers etc. In our own rental properties we had tenants complain of 'damp' yet the problem vanished when we moved into the properties ourselves and enured the ventilation fan was connected in the bathroom or a window was cracked open. And if it is thought that I am telling you how to suck eggs, most assuredly this is the response you will get!
Finally, complaining bitterly about this - posting on here, confronting clerks and housing officers and the like will only see the SP being hauled in front of the CoC - and ccounselled on his/her behaviour. Not saying that's right - just warning that it will happen. Edited to add that you will probably have the sympathy and support of the Stn. Cdr who can apply pressure, but doesn't own the problem. Don't jeopardize that support!
Just be careful what one asks for - and, yes, I do live in SFA!
Firstly if one is a regular occupant of SFA, one is NOT a tenant - instead the occupant has a 'license to occupy' and therefore the rights and obligations are different (considerably fewer 'rights') so before one stomps off to CAB, MP etc, check what one is 'entitled' to.
Secondly, are there any outstanding works requests with MHS? It would be most embarrassing to call for A Day of Rage just as a team of workers pitch up to rectify the problem...
Thirdly is this could attributable to an inherent fault in the property or a a result of poor ventilation/unvented clothes driers/long showers etc. In our own rental properties we had tenants complain of 'damp' yet the problem vanished when we moved into the properties ourselves and enured the ventilation fan was connected in the bathroom or a window was cracked open. And if it is thought that I am telling you how to suck eggs, most assuredly this is the response you will get!
Finally, complaining bitterly about this - posting on here, confronting clerks and housing officers and the like will only see the SP being hauled in front of the CoC - and ccounselled on his/her behaviour. Not saying that's right - just warning that it will happen. Edited to add that you will probably have the sympathy and support of the Stn. Cdr who can apply pressure, but doesn't own the problem. Don't jeopardize that support!
Just be careful what one asks for - and, yes, I do live in SFA!
Last edited by Whenurhappy; 29th Apr 2012 at 08:33.
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This type of mould is invariably caused by a reluctance to ventilate a room that demands it; usually because of ineffective or costly heating needed to compensate 'letting the cold in' when the desired effect is 'letting moisture out'.
That the Stn Cdr has no direct influence on remedial action does not mean that he cannot apply pressure when a genuine complaint is staffed correctly and I would suggest immediate CoC in the first instance supported by photographic evidence. If this proves ineffective, the CoC are almost certain to share the frustration, although I have seen evidence of the contemporary Estates system being royally anal when a Chief Tech refused to accept a disasterous FMQ. SSAFA & Padres assistance is within the rights of everybody from the onset of the complaint as is a Regional Health Worker/Social Services if young children are at risk.
Once these avenues have proved inefective, that is the time to go nuclear with Press and MP letters. As has been suggested though, a reluctance to ventilate or correct with elbow grease could open up a world of hurt. The problem is that once mould has an appetite for a location, getting rid of it is a serious problem that usually involves industrial standard dehumidifiers and excess heating settings that demand windows being open, and the associated costs.
That the Stn Cdr has no direct influence on remedial action does not mean that he cannot apply pressure when a genuine complaint is staffed correctly and I would suggest immediate CoC in the first instance supported by photographic evidence. If this proves ineffective, the CoC are almost certain to share the frustration, although I have seen evidence of the contemporary Estates system being royally anal when a Chief Tech refused to accept a disasterous FMQ. SSAFA & Padres assistance is within the rights of everybody from the onset of the complaint as is a Regional Health Worker/Social Services if young children are at risk.
Once these avenues have proved inefective, that is the time to go nuclear with Press and MP letters. As has been suggested though, a reluctance to ventilate or correct with elbow grease could open up a world of hurt. The problem is that once mould has an appetite for a location, getting rid of it is a serious problem that usually involves industrial standard dehumidifiers and excess heating settings that demand windows being open, and the associated costs.
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The MHS complaints procedure is very effective - get a complaint raised straight away against a job reference related to the mould and don't let them close down the complaint reference until its sorted. It knocks their KPIs and they are desperate to get complaints closed, I have used it to great effect a number of times.
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Rent Free???
It's a good job those houses are rent free, there would be a national scandal if you had to pay rent, and as with the above post's there is nothing the Stn Cdr can do about it, apart from raise concern, as it's not part of his budget's, we all know it's about budget's and nothing else.
I am so sorry you support you country and it does not support you........ Please sort this out, our people deserve better
I am so sorry you support you country and it does not support you........ Please sort this out, our people deserve better
The RAF's chain of command only ever really extended up to unit and station level. Now it would seem it only goes as far as the former. Above that, as has already been pointed out, are merely varied levels of administration. Command means just that, the ability to get on a phone or drag into one's presence, bang heads together, and get things done. It is a fundamental requirement in a military organisation, the other side of the requirement to do one's duty to the point, if required, of paying the ultimate price. We all know that now as the Military Covenant, but long before it was just plain common sense. "Money, Mail, Meals", was an easier concept for JO's to grasp. Without that power of command, no matter how grand the title, "Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief" or whatever, he or she is not a commander. Not their fault simply fact, for you cannot expect to lead men and women to war without the ability to look after them when they or their loved ones need it. You might just as well hand it all over to Capita...oh, we already have? I didn't realise.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
The title should really have been:
Mouldy Quarters at RAF Stations
Tigermate says:
But there is more to it than that. In my home of 30 years we open the window in the morning as do many in quarters. Unlike quarters we do not have mould. One reason is a huge extractor fan in the main bathroom with a humidity stat. It keeps the humidity down and usually comes on only after a bath rather than during a bath. In our shower room we also have an extractor fan; it has an overrun timer.
In the last MQ I was in this year the bathroom fan operated on the light switch and stopped as soon as the light was switched off. The toilet fans did have overrun timers. The drains however were block solid with soil and detrius from the roof and one with a tree in it. One bedroom is over the out buildings and the floor is uninsulated thus contributing to the mould. The kitchen cooker extractor didn't work.
The underlying problem is patchwork updates, inadequate insulation (who pays the fuel bills), inadequate ventilation provision (not failure to use the ventilation).
Now if rents were increased significantly (say £100-125/m) and fuel costs were met by MHS you could be sure there would be a rapid spend-to-save solution.
Mouldy Quarters at RAF Stations
Tigermate says:
This type of mould is invariably caused by a reluctance to ventilate a room that demands it
In the last MQ I was in this year the bathroom fan operated on the light switch and stopped as soon as the light was switched off. The toilet fans did have overrun timers. The drains however were block solid with soil and detrius from the roof and one with a tree in it. One bedroom is over the out buildings and the floor is uninsulated thus contributing to the mould. The kitchen cooker extractor didn't work.
The underlying problem is patchwork updates, inadequate insulation (who pays the fuel bills), inadequate ventilation provision (not failure to use the ventilation).
Now if rents were increased significantly (say £100-125/m) and fuel costs were met by MHS you could be sure there would be a rapid spend-to-save solution.
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Looking at the picture, it seems the wall has had a wardrobe or the like placed against it. I'm no expert but that will be breading ground for damp patches, the damp will have been caused by bad ventilation behind the furniture. The house I have recently purchased needed a new damp course throughout, one room had a large welsh dressser against a internal wall and it was the same as the picture, also seen it in other non mil houses.
Another scarey thought, the new patch they are building on the S***ton Road look very nice, but how many are going to be given up to social housing (10% plus). A new thread in a few years 'Can the Staish help sort out my noisy non service neighbours'
Another scarey thought, the new patch they are building on the S***ton Road look very nice, but how many are going to be given up to social housing (10% plus). A new thread in a few years 'Can the Staish help sort out my noisy non service neighbours'
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When i moved into a MQ at Brize in 1970 everything was perfect 
Only stayed two years and then bought a house in Cirencester. Upon leaving the service departed UK and never looked back. Sympathy for those still there.
Only stayed two years and then bought a house in Cirencester. Upon leaving the service departed UK and never looked back. Sympathy for those still there.
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Just be careful what one asks for - and, yes, I do live in SFA!
Well said Ivan
This is not about 'life in the military' and MTFU. This is about being provided adequate service accn that is not a health hazard. This is your home for the period you are in MQs. For those that think we should 'get on with it' I agree there are times in the mil we need to man up and employ the can do attitude - this is not one of those occasions IMO.We can be our country's best asset by being flexible, but we can also be our own worst enemies if we don't know when to say "enough is enough" and "i cannot do this." I seem to remember the safety officer in the Haddon-Cave report (Nimrod) had a can-do attitude when he probably shouldn't have.
this is your home and the health of your family; ask yourself if MTFU and carry on is appropriate in this situation? not in my MQ it's not.
H
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Don't worry - i think i saw them installing Mould Generators in the new Belfast Square (now "Rectangle"?) Quarters the other day to maintain even standards across the board 
Well, technically I'm in SSFA - an overseas hiring. And you think you've got problems with housing at Brize Norton? One of the problems is the attempted application of UK standard and the JSP abroad. But let's not hijack the thread!
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I can still remember the crash of a picture falling off the wall in my Lyneham MQ. The picture nail had rusted through - after having been in place for around 6 months. After one particularly bad storm the inside wall was visibly wet.
We had a lovely big patch of mould on the bedroom ceiling too, several of the roof tiles were missing. 4 weeks after informing DHE I threatened to get a private building firm involved and charge the work to DHE, miraculously DHE fixed it the next day.
We had a lovely big patch of mould on the bedroom ceiling too, several of the roof tiles were missing. 4 weeks after informing DHE I threatened to get a private building firm involved and charge the work to DHE, miraculously DHE fixed it the next day.
The families' accommodation at BZN has been an absolute scandal for decades and I don't buy the "no-one can do anything about it" argument.
No-one has done anything about it because fast jet poling experience does not qualify their airships to address tricky morale issues, so they get put in the TFD box. It is much easier to publicly wring their hands about how many Typhoons the RAF should get.
The closure of LYE and the creation of a "super base" was the opportunity to sort out families' accommodation issues at BZN once and for all. The opportunity was ignored (there's a surprise!), so future generations of RAF families will continue to live in cr@p houses.
Our Servicemen (and women) desrve better!
No-one has done anything about it because fast jet poling experience does not qualify their airships to address tricky morale issues, so they get put in the TFD box. It is much easier to publicly wring their hands about how many Typhoons the RAF should get.
The closure of LYE and the creation of a "super base" was the opportunity to sort out families' accommodation issues at BZN once and for all. The opportunity was ignored (there's a surprise!), so future generations of RAF families will continue to live in cr@p houses.
Our Servicemen (and women) desrve better!
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Finally, complaining bitterly about this - posting on here, confronting clerks and housing officers and the like will only see the SP being hauled in front of the CoC - and counselled on his/her behaviour. Not saying that's right - just warning that it will happen. Edited to add that you will probably have the sympathy and support of the Stn. Cdr who can apply pressure, but doesn't own the problem.
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A very sad reflection on the mentality of "superiors" when confronted with issues that even prisoners would not be made to live in :
"man up"
"get on with it"
" I had worse"
Sorry but it is an utter disgrace treating people like that, using fear of damage to careers to stop them complaining.
The way to sort it is report to the MO with stress, a few weeks off work would soon have the problem sorted. Not the correct way to do things, but nothing ever happens if you follow the correct route.
"man up"
"get on with it"
" I had worse"
Sorry but it is an utter disgrace treating people like that, using fear of damage to careers to stop them complaining.
The way to sort it is report to the MO with stress, a few weeks off work would soon have the problem sorted. Not the correct way to do things, but nothing ever happens if you follow the correct route.