First Fix

It's August 2014

The whole bungalow gets a re-wire.

Changing the consumer unit is clearly a professional job. We have to get an up to date PME (Protected Multiple Earthing) fitted by Western Power but Chris the electrician handles the rest.

Original Unit

New Consumer unit

I'd looked at whether replacing the circuit wiring is something I could do but it's a confusing job and Chris will do it better and faster. He puts in a radial circuit and leaves it at first fix. Cables are also put in place for the proposed extension: lighting sockets and the cooker circuit. There is now no lighting and only power in the kitchen socket.
I don't seem to have any photos of the wires through the studding :/

Hot Water Cylinder

Nick the plumber comes. He removes the old water cylinder and replaces the old boiler with an oil-fired combi-boiler. The pipes are all laid ready for the bathroom fittings and the radiators.
The bathroom sink is moved to the new position, making room for the proposed shower.
Pipes are also put in place for the planned extension: radiators plus hot & cold water supplies.
There is now hot water in the kitchen and bathroom!

That's the full first-fix. Time to get the walls insulated, covered with plasterboard and skimmed...

And Then the Boiler Burst

It's March 2014

It’s the day after we got the keys and I’ve returned to Sunny Acre.  I need to have a better look at the boiler and it’s bad news.  It’s a lot wetter and I can’t work out where it’s coming from.  Time to call in that plumber.

I’ve never been good with plumbing.  If something goes wrong, there’s water everywhere. And something always goes wrong. I never seem to get a good seal and have to call a plumber to fix it so the plumber might as well do the whole job.

I like wiring.  We replace the wired fuses on this old consumer unit with mini circuit breakers (MCBs) straight away for immediate improved safety even though we know we'll probably be re-wiring. Each one costs about £10 but I’ll be able to sell them on ebay if we don’t have them for long. If you have circuit breakers and you get something wrong it either just doesn’t work or it trips the circuit breaker.

Nick the plumber arrives and fixes the problem. It’s an overflow outlet that’s supposed to leak but it was too leaky! We chat about on-going plans and decide that the temporary fix will suffice until we are ready for a new combi-boiler. The call-out charge is £30! Wow, what a bargain!

Our old youthgroup logo

The boiler didn’t burst.  The post title is a reference to a game that my old youth group used to love. Everyone starts by sitting on chairs. Someone starts a telling story which builds up to the line “and then the boiler burst!” at which point everyone has to stand on their chair – to avoid the flood… The last one up has to start the next story. Happy memories!

The only other things I do on this visit to Sunny Acre are: remove & replace the external letter box that has no key with one cut into the wooden door & replace all the light bulbs with eco-friendly ones.

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