There was I, fast asleep in dream land, snuggled into my duvet when I woke suddenly at 3.28am to the sound of rushing water! I jumped out of bed and looked out of the window but nothing .... and as I slowly came to my senses I realised that the sound was coming from the bathroom!
Panic mode .... ran to the bathroom to hear a gushing water noise coming from the toilet cistern. I gingerly lifted the cistern lid to see what was happening ... and got a face full of water - that certainly woke me up!
The lid was quickly replaced as I thought about my next move - I'm a teacher FFS not a bloody plumber and I'm a Scotsman and I aint paying for a plumber at this time of the morning!
Where do I turn off the water to the cistern????? In my 10 years in this place I have never needed to do this and I vaguely remember the last owners telling me something about the stopcock but I didn't pay much attention - man was I regretting that now - the noise of the water was getting louder and I could hear it hitting off the lid now.
Now .. to let you know .... everthing in my bathroom is tiled - floor to ceiling and all the pipes etc are hidden. Well I searched for my claw hammer and started to carefully (PMSL) remove tiles from behind the toilet. OOPS ... I realised that I was searching on the wrong side of the toilet for the water stopcock after smashing 5 tiles. 8 smashed tiles later and I had the water turned off and I crawled back to bed .... just a little damp from the experience.
Emptied the cistern this morning and got my novice plumbers head on to have a look and see what was wrong ... in my professional opinion of course! Took the workings apart and found a jelly like orange circle which must have been a washer at some time in the distant past. I am now off B&Q to see if I can get another and I will hopefully remember how it all fits back together!
About Me
- Scots
- Hi ... me .... well I am 35 years old and always up for a laugh! I have a run away tongue and tend to chat ... a lot .... :o) Living in the ghetto that is Tilly and working in Perth.
Wallace Monument
Tillicoultry Glen
my home town
Edinburgh Castle
clackmannanshire
the Wee County
3 comments:
You're lucky to have found the stopcock. I had a similar instance, under the kitchen sink - finding out 30 minutes and one heck of a flood later - that the only shut off valve for the water is outside underneath the house.
If it's not too late ask the plumber to put an extension on the stopcock, so when you tile back up again - the knob can be on the outside.
Or you can call Dr. John for a roll of paper towels.
hi margaret
I was in a bit of a panic in the early hours but I am on cloud nine at the moment. A trip to the hardware store and I have replaced washers, high pressure valve and a diaphragm thingy ... I am sooooo chuffed!
I feel that I can now call myself an apprentice plumber PMSL
Glad that you have the problem solved. I am not a plumber I let the landlord solve the issue. If I have a stuffed drain and the drain cleaner or plunger doesn't work I call him.
Now if the Hot Water comes back, the gas company turned off the gas yesterday, they had to change the meter and left a note in the mailbox. No one was home so when the landlord got home he never lit the gas on the water heater. Needless to say heating water in the kettle on the stove and a sponge bath just doesn't do it. (I rent the basement suite from the Landlord and his wife)
Stopping by way of Dr John as you are his link for the day. You have a nice blog here, I will be back for another visit.
Pls stop by my blog if you get a chance.
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