When's the best time to have a disaster?

So, last night we all arrived at "the house" to finish off a few bits of painting and tidying prior to the carpet man arriving in the morning. However, only a few minutes into work Andy noticed some unfortunate stains appearing on the ceiling of the dining room. It became clear there was a leak somewhere above. Investigations proved that there wasn't a leak, but, in fact, three. One of the workmen in the house had managed to screw down the floorboard right into one of the central heating pipes.

This is where I was able to use a tip that my dad had showed me as a kid, and I had not used since, by taking a splinter and jamming it into the hole(s). The wood expands as it gets damp and staunches the flow (you can see this to best effect in the bottom picture).

An emergency plumber was summoned, came and started to effect a repair.

This morning, I got a text from Andy, saying "Getting the full set - checking for a gas leak now".

Luckily the plumber (from the previous evening) had returned and was able to track and repair the gas leak. There was an old lead pipe which lead to the hall which had not been properly capped.

We decided that while this wasn't exactly how we'd have planned it, getting these problems while there was no floor coverings was probably the best time......silver linings, eh.

While we waited for the carpet to be laid, Andy showed me his new pride and joy. The original Consumer Unit (I think this is a poncey name for a fuse box) was located in the living room, just above the electricity meter. This was a bonkers location, and so Caitlin and Andy have taken the rewire as an opportunity to relocate it to the cellar. And it is a thing of beauty....

Cool, eh? It's got lights and everything. The lights stay on, even if all the breakers trip so you can see what's what....as long as you don't fall down the cellar stairs in the dark getting to it.

They've also got an internet connected thermostat for the central heating so Caitlin or Andy can switch the heating on (or off) from in bed....or work, or the moon.

It is so cool. It's a bit like HAL in 2001.....but I hope it's a bit more cooperative.