While politicians posture, Ballina tiler Ben Hamilton and a few tradie mates have been getting on with the job of helping flood-ravaged communities across the Northern Rivers, free of charge.
Mr Hamilton told The Echo how he got involved. ‘I first started watching it all unfold on the Monday because my apprentice, he lives out in South Lismore. And I said, “Can you get to work?”
‘He said “Probably not.” And he kind of sort of laughed it off. But I didn’t realize how bad it actually was.’
By the time it became obvious how serious and widespread the floods were, roads were already cut. Mr Hamilton says he was pretty frustrated about not being able to get over to Lismore and do anything.
Ballina
He began helping people closer to home, assisting residents to move heavy stuff out of caravan parks at West Ballina, and other areas subject to minor flooding.
Then Mullum and Lismore became accessible again.
‘That’s when I really started, just getting in and helping people clean out, doing all that sort of stuff. With my background in construction and bathroom renovations I knew what needed to occur, and if it didn’t occur, would cause more damage,’ he said.
‘So I started mentioning to people that we would help them clean up, regardless of whether they had insurance or not. if you don’t start exposing the wall paneling, where it’s been damaged, it’s going to cause more damage to our property. So I just started doing what I do and stripping out places.’
Ben Hamilton used social media to call for more tradies and mates to help save more houses if they could.
First on the list was his apprentice’s place. ‘His house is gone. His parents’ house got completely obliterated in South Lismore, and his grandparents.’
These houses are on Casino Street. Next door was an elderly couple. ‘They were beside themselves, so we literally gutted their whole house,’ said Mr Hamilton. That house led to another, and another, and another.
‘As soon as Wardell opened up we went straight down there, and went to work on more houses. Kept going as long as I could.’
Saving houses
Ben Hamilton explained that by getting the structural timbers exposed, houses could be saved in many cases from demolition.
Although hardwood houses were less susceptible, ‘If it’s any kind of pine, with that amount of water going through, all that water and that moisture that sits in behind that cavity, the only way to save all that framing is to expose it and get the airflow through. Otherwise it just rots it out.
‘The mould is the most dangerous thing because that’s the perfect condition for it to grow in there where it’s super humid, with heaps of moisture, and no light. It just flourishes. So if you strip that back out and up to a height that’s easier to replace, that’s your best bet.
‘If it’s left it causes more problems, and you’re out of pocket for more money to replace timber framing and repair the structural integrity of the house.’
More help needed
Ben Hamilton has an ‘awesome crew’ of helpers, from as far away as the Gold Coast, but needs more, as he tries to balance earning a living to support his family with voluntary disaster repair work.
He said it would be good if there was a more coordinated approach to work like this.
‘There are so many people that aren’t covered by insurance and there’s a lot of conflicting information about to what to do and what not to do so. It’s been a bit overwhelming…’
Today Ben and his crew will be working in Coraki and Lismore.
As they finish each house they try to give owners some idea how much it might cost to get their properties back up and running, to help with decisions for the future.
‘It’s easy to condemn a place, but I think a lot of a lot of places potentially could be saved… some of these places will potentially flood again, but there’s other ways, and people don’t have insurance or money to begin with, so if you can save a joint I’m all for it.
‘Unfortunately there are some places that are completely gone.’
What else do you want people to know?
‘We are in desperate need of a state body that literally dedicated to disaster management. The SES can only do so much, and disasters are obviously going to be more frequent. We need a properly resourced group that can mobilise within 24-48 hours,’ said Mr Hamilton.
‘The community is awesome, but it shouldn’t be up to ordinary people to handle this load.’
What about your own health, as you’re doing this dangerous work?
Mr Hamilton said his lungs have been badly affected, especially from the first week of salvage work. ‘I was like a bull in a china shop. I had half my gear on me, I wasn’t expecting to do that kind of work.
‘Pretty much all of South Lismore is full of asbestos, and the mould, that rattled me. I didn’t have the proper PPE. I do now. But that first week was just crisis mode.’
Mr Hamilton is just one of a large number of quiet heroes currently working to help people recover from the flood crisis across the Northern Rivers.
If any tradies want to join Ben Hamilton and his crew, or if readers can assist in any other ways, Mr Hamilton is happy for people to contact him directly on 0421 529 857.
Ben Hamilton is also on Instagram here (Tile Whisperer).
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