Finally, there has been some progress on the saga that has been our heating system for the last week and a half - all year. For a brief recap, the heating system couldn't handle the extreme cold temperatures and the inside of the house got down to 9°C. It took days to get a proper diagnosis, which was that four years ago, the wrong machine was installed. They finally got the new machine, but as they were installing it, because the heating had been so low and then no water was running, some basement pipes froze and cracked. As a result, we have been staying in a hotel, and then an AirBnB for the last week.
Right now though, I am at my own home office desk.
And as of an hour or two ago, there is even running water, so I can wash the dishes that have been sitting there for almost two weeks. And go to the bathroom.
Luxury.
It is good to be home though and I kind of just feel like laying down and having a nap in my own bed for a bit of a proper sleep. However, the drama isn't completely over, as there is still the issues of who is paying for what, which has been stressing us out a little, as it isn't going to be cheap. But this morning, after the letter from our insurance company and the report from their surveyor with pictures, the heating company sent an email to say that it is clear that they are responsible for this.
That is a weight off our shoulders at least.
The plumber was saying how busy they have been with similar situations, and he has worked a lot of overtime. At one place, a couple turned their heating off to save money due the cost of electricity, and now will have to likely foot the bill for new piping, which he estimates will run near €20,000. As stupid as they were, I really do understand that people are looking to save money on electricity, because the day they made that poor decision, the price was €2.35 per kWh. For a small house, that is around €200 for the day.
We had to have the water shut off to the block, which is the council's responsibility, so we also had to have them come back and turn it on so the plumber could test. All of this costs of course, but they also installed a new meter, which means that rather than sending us a letter to fill out how much we have used, they know from the meter. Don't ask me how this gets its power, but I am going to work under the assumption that it draws it from the water movement - or do I have to change a battery occasionally? The top number is total, the bottom is current flow. Zero is good for current flow, otherwise it would indicate a leak, because we had nothing running at that time.
The plumber spoke English well (some tradespeople might not), and we chatted about about some ideas for future heating. He said that we were pretty lucky, as it seems that there was only two sections of pipe that required replacing, and one was more of a "just in case" thing. Rather than replacing the entire pipe, he cut and fit the sections. The angle above was where the crack was, and the pipe was old and the join welded, which is where the spit had started too. It was also bulging in areas. The one below was to create a stronger section near the water meter.
So here we are, the dishwasher running. The washing machine is in the basement and yet to test. If that doesn't work, the heating company will be footing the bill for that also, as if the water froze inside the machine, it will be useless. But after so many days away, running from place to place and worrying about a flooded basement, finding places to sleep and wondering if we will be the ones footing the bill, it is nice to be home, with warmth and running water.
Just in time for the temperature to drop again.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]