Diane Robinson is an author of mystery fiction, an accountant, and member of u014cru0101kei Baptist Church in Auckland City.
Well, strictly speaking, we didnu2019t so much open a sauna as walk into one. On the 29th of December, Debra felt a u2018nudgeu2019 to check something out at the church building. It could have waited till Sunday, but u2018somethingu2019 made her go that Friday. She stepped into a sauna. Steam filled the air, and water flowed across the floors.
When Debra rang Diane to ask if she knew where to turn off the water main, Diane suggested bringing some old towels to soak up the water. Debra replied, u201cWeu2019re way past that; weu2019re going to need pumps.u201d
Further inspection revealed that the hot water pipe under the basin in the ladiesu2019 restroom had burst. Ironically, this metal weave flexible pipe was the newest plumbing in the building. It was only five years old. The hole in the pipe was the size of a $1 coin. 5cm of water sat on the restroom floor. The utility bills show the leak starting two days earlier. During that time, the water spread around half of the upstairs area.
Unable to get hold of anyone at the Baptist Insurance Fund or the Baptist National Support Centre, Diane and Debra tracked down a plumber and a flood recovery company. Their moisture detectors revealed the water had soaked through the stairs and spread over half the downstairs area. Diane says, u201cWhen I thought we were u2018onlyu2019 dealing with the upstairs area, I was stoic. Weu2019ve got a problem; now we need to solve it. When I realised the water had spread into the tenantu2019s downstairs storage cupboards and the youth area, my heart sank.u201d
It took many days of fans and dehumidifiers to dry out the affected areas. The bill for that was $30k; add to that the carpet and so on, and you have to say, u201cThank goodness for insurance.u201d
u2018Normal serviceu2019 for the three congregations using the building resumed the second weekend in February. The church and insurers are still working through the damaged doors and so on.
For some years, the church has had an outreach to children and teenagers in the immediate area. Due to the churchu2019s location, over 90% of the young people are connected to the local marae, which is on the same street as the church. The youth had held meetings sitting or lying on cushions on the downstairs floor. The cushions didnu2019t so much float as sink in the flood. Some congregation members have managed to turn old curtains into cushion covers. While we couldnu2019t offer our normal after-school program for several weeks, the youth could meet at Okahu Bay.
It was certainly u2018hot and steamyu2019 in the building for a while, but all church activities are slowly getting back to u2018normalu2019.
Photos: The Welcome sign for u014cru0101kei Baptist Church services which have all resumed and a Youth meeting at the beach. Supplied by Diane Robinson.
