Despite having been vindicated from responsibility for the leaking pipe and stain on the exterior of the building (see previous blog entry: The Old People Won't Leave Us Alone), we have recently found out that there is indeed a leak from our flat.
When we got back from Florida several weeks ago, we discovered a funky, cheesy smell from the utility closet where the boiler lives. We weren't sure where it came from for a few days, but then K noticed that the carpet in the closet was wet. A small pipe at the bottom of the boiler had been dripping since sometime while we were gone. She put a bowl under it to catch the leak while we waited for the plumber (a process that, as you know, can take a very long time). We finally managed to secure an appointment with him for this past Wednesday. However, last weekend we discovered a second leak; this one from a small pipe leading into the reservoir of our toilet. Another thing for the plumber to look into.
The leak from the boiler was just due to a valve that needed to be tightened. No biggie. The toilet, however, was actually the cause of the dripping pipe outside the building and the stain on the exterior. For some inexplicable reason (at least to a practical-minded person) there is an overflow pipe from the toilet which connects to the drain pipe from the boiler (the one that drips outside). And because there is a part missing from the guts of the toilet, it has basically been running continuously for the entire time we've been living here. Since the overflow was going into the pipe, we never noticed it. And being practical-minded, we didn't make the connection that the drip from the exterior pipe that is about four feet above the toilet was coming from this very same commode. British plumbing is indeed strange. And here we thought the water-heating system in our Winchester apartment was peculiar!
The plumber is coming back on Tuesday to install the missing part in the toilet. To stave off the dripping, he re-routed the overflow pipe temporarily so that it drains into the toilet basin instead. Consequently, it sounds like we have a small waterfall installation in the bathroom. You know, one of those little Japanese water garden things.
Brilliant!
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212 Days, 20 Hours, 20 Minutes
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