Shower Fixing(s): Part III

So since January the shower in the main bathroom has been non-existent. On Tuesday, I finally arranged for the replacement to be fitted, next Monday morning. This was A Good Thing.

Tuesday night, 4am. We're asleep in bed. I'm woken by the sound of a shower. A loud shower. Which is strange because there shouldn't be anyone using the shower. When I investigate the en-suite, I find that the on/off knob has dropped off the side of the shower meaning it's effectively "on" but that it also has a tonne of water streaming from where the knob used to be. This isn't good. I try to put it back but there's no way that's going to work whilst the water's on so I turn it off at the mains.

Eventually I'm able to get the knob back on but not to stay on. Something seems to have gone wrong that means it just won't stay together any more. This is bad as it means we have to leave the water off.

It's obviously at about this point that we start needing the lavatory...

At first I don't think I'll be able to sleep but eventually I do. And I have bad dreams about showers.

I call the plumber first thing in the morning and he comes straight out to look at it. He deems it irrevocably f**ked and removes the shower and seals the pipes. This is bad because it means we now have no showers. But at least we can turn the water back on and wash and wee and drink tea.

Not happy!

Only silver lining is that I should be able to bring forward the shower they were going to fit on Monday and hopefully have it put in this week. Fingers crossed...

Shower Fixing(s) - Reprise

An old problem resurfaced today and has made me most annoyed.

We'd been out for lunch in town at Nineteen (previously known as 19 Grape Lane). Upon return to the flat, K noticed a couple of problems - namely wet patches under the carpet in various places. It looked familiar and it didn't take me long to trace the source of the water - it was the shower in the main bathroom again. The work that had been done eighteen months ago had come undone and so again water was leaking into the wall behind the shower and thence to the floor.

Bugger!

First thing to do was to move all the furniture away from the affected areas and then get the carpet up - there was a lot of water underneath. Next, take up the kitchen lino. Lots of water under there too. Next mop up all the water with old towels. Next call the plumber!

Since it was teatime on Sunday, I wasn't sure whether they'd be able to send anyone out to me or not but I needn't have worried - they sent someone round within an hour or so. He was very helpful but unfortunately wasn't able to fix the shower. It seems to be one of those problems where a small fixing breaks and the whole unit needs replacing. Darn.

He took the old unit off and then put some stoppers over the pipes. This has (hopefully, touch wood) solved the leak. But they are going to have to come back and install a new one for me. If I'm really unlucky this may involve them having to cut a hole in the living room wall, but that would be preferable to the alternative of having to retile the bathroom!

So in the short term we are down to being a single shower household. And for the next couple of days (until things are proper dry) all the living room furniture is squashed in an area half of the normal size. This makes watching television quite challenging. And we're also having to use the laptop as I had to move the big computer and can't be arsed to set it up somewhere else.

And so I'm somewhat annoyed and pissed off this evening.

But every cloud does have a silver lining. After nearly five years I have conclusively found where my stopcock is.