Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Under Pressure

by Russell Turner - 20:24 on 04 August 2017

Day Five of The Great Heating Makeover: Mr Plumber and his lad made a late start today – 9.30am – knowing that the the bulk of the work was done. In a couple of hours they’d attached the two radiators we were replacing downstairs, set up a temporary electrical connection to the boiler (Mr Electrician will come next week to make a permanent one and install our control panel), and fired up the system to test it. The delight on Matchgirl’s face when heat came pumping out of the radiators, and hot water out of the taps, was profound.

All that remained to do was show us the boiler’s controls, which we shouldn’t need to fiddle with, then pack up the last of their mess and drive away. Which is what they were doing when Matchgirl had occasion to enter the bathroom and discover a leak from the vintage radiator, untouched by plumbers. Fortunately we were able to delay the workers’ departure.

Mr Plumber soon identified the problem – a pinhole leak caused by the increase in water pressure, up from 0.3 to 1bar. So our thrifty plan to leave the old upstairs radiators in place was hurriedly revised. The bedroom and computer room will, sooner or later, be graced by modern radiators; the bathroom, now radiatorless, will receive a heated towel rail as part of The Great Bathroom Makeover.

The leak left its mark in other ways – discolouration on the living room ceiling. We’ll just have to live with it until The Great Living Room Makeover, which will take place in conjunction with The Great Kitchen Makeover. Matchgirl’s purse is bottomless.

Happiest of all today are cats, who’ve already readapted to quietness and lack of strangers. The new radiators won’t be in action again until after Mr Electrician’s done his job, and then maybe not until late autumn. They’ll have something to look forward to.

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