Hidden Conveniences

It's the other end of January (the 31st) and we are digging another ditch. This ditch became necessary because the plumber put his shovel through the mains pipe while trying to find it and discovered that it was so corroded that a replacement would have to be laid. This was a good thing to discover, by the way, as it explained black flakes in our water and all sorts of other undesirable characteristics.

Thank heaven for that machine!

This plumbing was a major part of the preparations we had to make before any further progress could be made on the renovation. Before we could move our bathroom and kitchen, the plumbing had to be done; before we could install a new ensuite, the plumbing had to be done; before we could move our taps and drains around in the laundry, the plumbing had to be done; before we could set up our solar water heater, the plumber had to come. I'm sure you get the picture.

Plumbing is one of those aspects of a house that is not generally thought about until it stops working properly. The electric network is another hidden convenience that makes our easy lifestyle what it is, yet isn't generally thought of till it is gone. In a sense, one could justifiably argue that this is as it should be, as it would seem to indicate a lack of aesthetics for the existence of the plumbing to be constantly intruding on one's thoughts; however, it is good to be reminded of blessings of all those hidden pipes and wires.

Between the laundry and the house, a trench had to be dug - without the help of that wonderful machine to be seen in the above photo - for both the plumbing pipe and the electric cable, as usual six hundred millimetres deep and a spade-width wide. Guess who got her afternoon exercise on that job.

Unfortunately, I haven't any more photos. I especially would have liked to show you pictures of several of us digging trenches under our house, where the pipes came under the foundations and branched off in different directions. Considering we were bent nearly double, this was probably the most awkward form of ditch-digging that I have yet experienced - and let me tell you, I have experienced the digging of many ditches!

Thank you, Phil the plumber, our house would not be the same without the help of your services!