Yesterday, while explaining our long running problem with our BoilerMate heating system to Alisons father, I had a revelation. The problem was that due to low water pressure, we couldn’t run more than one tap without the hot water slowing down to an absolute crawl. The revelation was that the low water pressure may be due to the previous owner not turning on the mains stopcock fully. I was right, and we now have high pressure hot water and the ability to run multiple taps, flush toilets without stopping the shower, etc. Luxury.

Our day today got off to an excellent start when Tiffany came downstairs in a fluster to tell us there was a problem with the shower. The shower tray had overflowed and the bathroom carpet was soaked through. It transpired that the water in that shower had always had a tendancy to build up in the tray, but because of the improved water flow it now had the ability to overflow!

I can understand why it never occurred to her to tell us, but I would have hoped that she would have thought it odd standing in water up to her ankles. Further investigation revealed an unfitted central heating pump in the space under the shower, two screws in the waste trap and a considerable volume of hair – all of which has been removed and all is working again. We just have to wait for the carpet to dry out.