The next morning Rebekah could hardly bear to get out from under the covers and get ready
for work. Needless to say, there was still not much heat. One of the three radiators on the upper level and neither of the radiators on the lower level seemed to be working. Luckily there was a gas fireplace on the lower level that allowed us to at least heat the living/dining room. Rebekah was able to get a hold of our leasing agent to send out a repairman. This was actually quite an accomplishment considering most businesses were closed for the holidays.After waiting around most of the day with no television, radio, or Internet connection, the repairman finally showed up at about 3:30. He poked and prodded around for about ten minutes before he concluded that there was definitely a problem with the valves on the radiators. He then proceeded to load up his tools and informed me that he would be back about 10:00 the next morning to fix them. Apparently there was another house with even less heat than ours.
10:00 came and went, so did 11:00……and 12:00. Finally at 12:30 he had made it to the house. At this point I didn’t care that he was late, as long as he was going to be able to fix the heat. He and his helper worked for a couple of hours, and he began to pack up the tools. He said that the valves had all been replaced, and we should begin to feel heat in a little while. By 8:00 that night the upstairs radiators we cranking out the heat, but the ones on the lower level were still ice cold. This was Friday night. Due to the weekend, and Hogmanay (New Years) holidays the repairman was not available to come back again until the following Wednesday.
To my pleasant surprise he arrived bright and early Wednesday morning. For the third time he poked and prodded. The final conclusion….an addition was added to the house a few years ago. When they did, they extended the heating lines, but did not increase the size of the pipes. The pipes were too small for the application, and the radiators had probably not worked for years. The solution? Re-plumb the entire heating system on the lower level.
That was over three weeks ago now. I just called the leasing agent back this past week to see what was going on. They told me that they were still waiting to receive a quote, and would let us know when more information was available. In the mean time we continue to keep all of the doors to the living room closed and the gas fireplace burning.
10:00 came and went, so did 11:00……and 12:00. Finally at 12:30 he had made it to the house. At this point I didn’t care that he was late, as long as he was going to be able to fix the heat. He and his helper worked for a couple of hours, and he began to pack up the tools. He said that the valves had all been replaced, and we should begin to feel heat in a little while. By 8:00 that night the upstairs radiators we cranking out the heat, but the ones on the lower level were still ice cold. This was Friday night. Due to the weekend, and Hogmanay (New Years) holidays the repairman was not available to come back again until the following Wednesday.
To my pleasant surprise he arrived bright and early Wednesday morning. For the third time he poked and prodded. The final conclusion….an addition was added to the house a few years ago. When they did, they extended the heating lines, but did not increase the size of the pipes. The pipes were too small for the application, and the radiators had probably not worked for years. The solution? Re-plumb the entire heating system on the lower level.
That was over three weeks ago now. I just called the leasing agent back this past week to see what was going on. They told me that they were still waiting to receive a quote, and would let us know when more information was available. In the mean time we continue to keep all of the doors to the living room closed and the gas fireplace burning.
One of the real ironies about this whole situation is the UK's constant efforts to be energy efficient. A day does not go by when we do not see something on the tel-e about being "green" and conserving energy. At the same time we sit in a house that has no insulation in the walls. Every door has an old fashion key hole that goes directly out side. And the best one of all is the vent in the dining room wall; essentially it's a 12x12 inch plastic grill on each side of the wall.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion……if there ever is one!
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion……if there ever is one!
