EXCLUSIVE: Our move to London from Glasgow was a disaster as our kitchen ceiling COLLAPSED…and now contractors have taken a wrecking ball to the ceiling

• Stella Radeva moved into a house next to Turnpike Lane station in London
• But it soon turned into chaos when the kitchen ceiling came crashing down

A dream move from Glasgow to London turned into a nightmare for me and my pals as we found ourselves in the middle of chaos when our kitchen ceiling came crashing down.

Our London adventure kicked off with high hopes, but snagging a decent place in this city is like finding a needle in a haystack. 

So, when we lucked out with a whole house next to Turnpike Lane station that wasn’t too far from central London and didn’t break the bank, we thought we had cracked the code. 

But little did we know what awaited us – a ceiling crash course – just a few months in.

On Wednesday morning, I was casually making some coffee, and in a typical sitcom twist, I decided to head upstairs for a quick chat with my housemate. 

Stella Radeva (front) moved into her home with friends in London next to Turnpike Lane station. But it turned into chaos when her kitchen ceiling collapsed

Stella heard a loud banging noise seemingly coming from the first floor. She rushed downstairs and there it was – the kitchen ceiling was all over the place

It fell right next to the stove and the spot where Stella had just made her coffee. Debris can be seen on top of the dishwasher

Out of the blue, we heard a loud banging noise seemingly coming from the first floor. We rushed downstairs and there it was – our kitchen ceiling was all over the place. 

And guess where it fell? Right next to the stove and the spot where I had just made my coffee!

We immediately tried to contact the landlord, but no one was picking up. 

We saw water trickling down from the enormous gap, probably from the bathroom which happens to be more or less above the gap, and the ceiling was continuously splitting apart, with one portion suspended in midair until it eventually detached and fell entirely. 

We peeked through the hole in the ceiling and could practically see the upstairs bedroom floor among the wires that were also coming through.

We filmed the disaster scene and fired off the videos and pictures to the landlord and the letting agency. 

Our landlord was MIA on the phone, and when he finally got back to us, all he said was that he’d sent a message to the building company. No specifics, no urgency.

A day later and no help has arrived. Not exactly the heroic response we were hoping for. 

Piping was exposed and water was trickling down from the enormous gap, probably from the bathroom which happens to be more or less above the gap, and the ceiling was continuously splitting apart

Some seriously weird junk fell out of that hole – stuff like cement bottles and silicone sealants dating from 2008 that looked like they’d been part of the ceiling’s secret stash for ages

A sealant was another gem that fell from the hole. Stella said cooking’s off the table, showers are a distant dream, and even a bathroom visit feels like a precarious endeavour

So now, our kitchen looks like a war zone, wrecked and unsafe, with a whiff of mouldiness in the air that’s hard to ignore.

The half-hearted repair job they did on the ceiling is a saga in itself. We’re talking about some seriously weird junk falling out of that hole – stuff like cement bottles and silicone sealants dating from 2008 that looked like they’d been part of the ceiling’s secret stash for ages.

Cooking’s off the table, showers are a distant dream, and even a bathroom visit feels like a precarious endeavour. 

And just when we thought the drama had reached its peak, we remembered reporting another leak issue not long ago, which Thames Water claimed hadn’t been on their radar for years. 

Cue a water bill that could support a small village, or as the water company mentioned we’d ‘have to claim filling up a pool every day’ for them to believe we had used 1.77 units for a trimester.

All of this begs the question: did anyone bother inspecting this place before shoving us in? 

It’s a tragicomedy that’s short on comedy.

After a series of not-so-hurried emails between our landlord and the building company, the cavalry has finally shown up – with a not-so-great revelation in tow: ‘It’s bad, very, very bad.’

One of the savvy Property2Property contractors admitted that they had worked on our shower approximately eight months back, and even back then, things weren’t exactly looking stellar. 

After a series of not-so-hurried emails between our landlord and the building company, the cavalry has finally shown up

Rubble on the floor of Stella’s home. The kitchen looks like a war zone, wrecked and unsafe, with a whiff of mouldiness in the air that’s hard to ignore

More debris and the sealant on the floor of the home after the ceiling collapsed. 

One of the savvy Property2Property contractors admitted that they had worked on the home’s shower approximately eight months back, and even back then, things weren’t exactly looking stellar

Fast forward to today, they have taken a wrecking ball to the ceiling, all in the name of inspecting the damage.

As we suspected, the drama traces its roots to a leak originating from the upstairs bathroom, and now they will ‘have to knock’ behind the upper-floor shower.

According to the contractors, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill job; it’s more of a ‘clear your calendar for a few days’ type of affair, and it is the landlord that has to arrange another appointment for them to come and actually start the job.

So while they roll up their sleeves, we’re still left high and dry – both in the shower and in the kitchen.

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