Bleedin' hell

Our new bedroom project is progressing. We've made a new room out of three cupboards and part of a kitchen recess.

All the hard work is done and now we have to paint it.

Getting behind radiators to paint is awkward so I disconnected it and lifted it away to paint the wall behind. Something I've done about a dozen times before.

Surely nothing would go wrong?

Alas, connecting it back up again proved traumatic, as the little bleeding valve cap shot off as the radiator refilled under high pressure. A jet of water spewed out onto the freshly plastered wall (look at the photo closely), down through the exposed floorboards and an awful period ensued as I tried to figure out how best to fix it.

Although I knew what to do and felt calm under this stressful situation, my reactions felt like treacle as the water gushed out. I suppose this better than NOT knowing what to do.

Relieving the water pressure meant I could then reattach the cap on the valve, and the situation was under control again.

Anyway, the lesson I learned is: never loosen the valve too much when you fill a radiator up...!