– or – Water Disaster!
Today has been a mixture of good news, bad news and it’s only lunchtime!
Trev is off work today – he came home early because of the bad conditions. At least two of his colleagues have a long journey to and from work and it’s just not work risking injury. This morning, one of the directors phoned and told him not to come in and later he was informed that the office is closed until Monday.
YAY! Good News!
I sat typing as I usually do, with my back to the double-doors leading into the kitchen. The wind is howling around the chimney pots and the fire is giving off a nice glow, but I have an unusual draft at my back and so, because he’s at home, I asked if Trev would please put up a curtain rail so I can have a curtain across the doors.
He obliged right away!
I need a curtain and I’m NOT going out to buy one!
As I was looking for a curtain in our bedroom, I had the notion that there’s one in Mia’s bedroom. I went in and you know how you see a glimpse of something but your mind dismisses it as not probable – until you see it again?
Well that happened to me.
I thought I saw a drop of water falling.
I looked down and saw a dark patch on the carpet and I leaned down to feel if it was wet.
Oh… it was wet!
And so is Mia’s bed!
BOO! Bad News!
I shouted Trev who came down from the attic office to look. Oh bloody hell!
He rushed back up into the attic, behind the ‘wall’ into the storage space in the eaves, where he found the dripping pipe!
He eventually came down to tell of his disaster.
There’s an overflow, pressure release pipe and it’s dripping onto the floor, leaking into the bedroom below.
He took a look at the pipe and had a go at relieving the pressure.
He propped his phone up as a torch so he could see and he removed the twist-cap.
The water is under massive pressure at that point and a jet of HOT water spurted out of the valve, knocking his glasses off and the cap out of his hand. Hot water jetted up about 2 feet where it sprayed the underside of the roof.
Yep! THIS bad!
BOO! BAD NEWS!
He had to find that cap and put it back on!
He put his glasses back in place and just where his glasses had been, was the cap!
YAY! Good news!
He managed to replace the cap and stop the jet of hot water.
Then his task was to find where the water should go.
The overflow pipe is frozen solid.
Meanwhile, I phoned my daughter-in-law to tell her we couldn’t have Mia tomorrow night.
BOO! Bad news!
We had a nice chat and decided it was probably for the best that we didn’t go and fetch Mia. It’s not so much that our car isn’t good in this weather, it is – it’s the other drivers out there who really cannot drive in these conditions, yet they still go out!
Trev is busy getting cold outside, repairing and sorting and unblocking stuff.
He’s wearing the hat 
So, I’ve decided to count our blessings.
If I hadn’t have got a cold draft on my back, I wouldn’t have gone looking for a door curtain and wouldn’t have discovered the leak. That would have continued to drip until tomorrow when we have Mia and she would have nowhere to sleep when she got here.
Plus the leak would have damaged the living room ceiling which we've just had repaired from the last leak in the bathroom!
Trev could have been at work and I would have all this to sort out by myself and I really am not a handyperson where DIY is concerned (unless you class ‘Destroy It Yourself as DIY).
All in all, we have been fortunate that the frozen pipe has not caused more damage.
Trev is a little cold, but we have a fire for when he comes back in again.
Even if he can’t un-freeze the pipe, he IS a handyperson and can rig up a temporary overflow to take the drip away until we can get either a plumber out or Trev can fix it after it thaws.
Now, I’d better go and make him a cup of tea.
Most pictures from Google Free to use Search, last three are my own