adventures in home repair – night plumbing

I’d literally just stepped up to the bar to order a drink when my phone rang, and kel asked “Where’s the water mains?”. Knowing that she probably hadn’t chosen that moment to be curious about the tap that shuts off the water supply to our house, I asked a few more clarifying questions.

A couple of hours later, we’re at Bunnings. The friend I’ve met up with for dinner good naturedly goes along to Bunnings in his suit with me, and we wander around, looking for whatever we’ll need to fix the situation. Not content with just a washer, in case we can’t get the tap opened up, Kel points to a tap that she thinks will be the right size.

We drop my friend home, then head back to the house. Kel parks so that the high-beams are illuminating the tap, and I go to work – removing the new shifting spanner from its packaging, opening up the plumbers tape, taking off the tap, checking to see if it fits – it does! – applying the plumbers tape, screwing the new tap into place.

Kel turns the water back on, we test the tap, and it’s all working. Now, I can add “moderately successful home plumber” to my list of skills.

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7 Comments

  1. Can you please come round to my place — I’ve got a few plumbing jobs. Everyone needs a friend who can do plumbing!

  2. I was mostly game to try because it’s an outdoor tap: there’s nothing that can go too badly wrong if you make a mistake with it…

    I think the last plumber I saw charged about $150-$200 to supply and fit a $30 shower head… I figured it was worth trying myself this time!

  3. Wow sounds like you are quite the handyman. When I go to fix things at home the spanner I need to use is the only size I don’t have or is not metric. the tap would then be on so tight that it would take ages to get it off, then when I get it all back together after trying not to lose any of the little pieces on the lawn the thing would probably still leak. Well down Dave hats off to you!!

  4. Seeing it is now on your list do you want me to find a few more testing jobs. What a better to spend Christmas

  5. Ben: Thanks, your respect means a lot. I don’t want to take too much credit here: it was really just replacing a broken tap with a non-broken one, and somehow getting it to seal: there weren’t any little pieces to speak of.

    Barbara: Not sure if I want to spend all of Christmas working on plumbing jobs: I should perhaps stick to my strengths.

  6. I am impressed! This major feat qualifies you for slightly less computer geek and slightly more rugged handyman status!

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