Drip, drip, drip....

Today was to be a quiet day where I caught my breath and rested. But as sometimes happens, that wasn't to be.

As I ate breakfast downstairs I became aware of a dripping sound. Yep, a slow but steady drip coming down the join where a support beam meets the ceiling. Not a good sign on any day, less so on a Sunday.

There wasn't much to see and I investigated as much as I could along the join and upstairs in the bathroom and hot water cupboard. Nothing obvious.

I called my friendly plumber/builder Mark and he said he'd come over during the afternoon. In the meantime I turned off the tap leading off the hot water cylinder and phoned my insurance company. The drip stopped which was good, and the insurance company confirmed my guess that it may not be insurance. Not so good but as I expected.

Water in ceilings and the gap between upstairs and down never gives me a good feeling, less so given the other stress in my life.

Mark was impressive to watch as he worked through the logic of what was most likely to be going on. He made a hole in the base of the hot water cylinder and checked the pipe joins directly beneath. All dry.

He then enlarged the hole further to get a better look. Still dry. The he pulled up the carpet in the hallway between the bathroom and hot water cupboard. Wet. A leaking shower.

All I could see was dollar signs.

But Mark was cheerful and said it was a couple of hours work to sort. Before starting that he undid the shower mixer thingy to check the pipes behind. And there the culprit, a loosened nut thingy.

An easy fix and only NZ$60 on a Sunday.

Once dry the carpet, floor and ceiling will be fine. I'll have to get the carpet stretched and tacked back down. In the meantime a couple of beer bottles are holding it it back to allow air to circulate. A little bit of kiwi ingenuity ;-)

Mum has had a trip to theater today to fit the part to her they will feed her through. She is in good spirits and is holding her own.

I'm away to write her a card and to give some thought to any questions I want the doc in the family to ask tomorrow.

Not the day I would have wanted but it's ended well.