Plumbing is hard

Well.

Probably not that hard. Just gotta learn. Or get someone in who has already learned.

If in doubt, call in the pros.

The plumbing jobs are steadily piling up.

I need to find a wingnut removing tool for one;
The hot water tank has a drippy feed tap;
I need to seal up the join between bath and wall tiles;
The washing machine cold feed has a leaky washer;
The heating still has that WHACKTHUMP and I think the boost pump is broke.

The heating is the big one, although I've been able to get by with it. The heating doesn't work but the house is kept warm by computers and a portable heater. The boiler can still make sufficient hot enough water to give me steamy showers and for washing up. So it's a problem that's been able to wait.

Pretty sure I've isolated the leak in the bathroom thanks to something LTK said (ah ha ! Lover of Tea Kettles - perfect). I'm not telling you what that really means. Gives away too much. Anyway. That bathroom leak is almost certainly a failure of the sealant between bath and the wall tiles and I've picked something up that'll sort that out. Next step, to actually take it out of the boot of the car and use it.

The drippy feed tap is something I don't think I should fix on my own. I think the ballcock assembly needs to be changed. The temporary kludge is to turn the house water off when I'm not using it as it takes a direct feed from the mains. Needs fixing.

The washing machine pipe just needs me to get new pipes. I re-used the pipes when I last bought a washing machine ... donkeys years ago and the washer has died. The weird thing is that it leaks more in the winter than spring/summer. This one is an easy fix but needs the washing machine to be pulled out from the wall and possibly an extra pair of hands to feed the pipes through when you put the washing machine back. Awkward.

It's great to have your own place but ...

It's a lot of work to keep up with the maintenance, the cleaning, the odd jobs, the fixing of broken bits and all the other stuff. But it's worth it to have your own castle of peace.

It's good when it is that castle of peace. We have the usual door to door botherers, worst of all is an Irish fella who touts for garden/outdoor work. He'll make up stuff about what he's hearing from the neighbours in order to try and shame you into getting work done. He'll get upset that you're not using your scarce resource (repeatedly saying "I have no more money" didn't get him to bugger off) to give him work he's demanding.

Honestly, I should be doing the garden/yard clearing myself. Perhaps I will now that my health seems to be improving. On the outsides at least. Inside, I'm struggling with a poorly back and legs that have lost their old strength. But I could do without the rude Irishbloke tapping me up for work whenever he's short of cash.

That's actually one thing about potential narrowboat life. Most of the time, you'd be in that marina behind a gate shutting out the outside world. Tempting.

Or perhaps I need a sign :

That dog knows what's important.